Thread: After market 18V 6.0AH batteries for Makita LXT

Originally Posted by Fuzzie

Last year I replaced my old petrol mower with a cordless Makita mower that takes 2x 6.0AH 18V batteries. Unfortunately I have found I usually can't finish mowing on a single charge, several times over summer it has taken me 3 charges to complete the job!

I'm looking at purchasing another set of batteries to save me some frustration. Original Makita 6.0AH batteries presently cost around $165 each however aftermarket 6.0AH batteries are listed on ebay for around $75 for two .

Has anybody here tried the aftermarket 18V batteries and have any opinion on the batteries or particular sellers? A couple of years ago I bought aftermarket 14V NiMh to replace original Makita 14V NiCad ones with good results, but I seem to remember somebody else here had a bad experience doing the same.

Thanks,

I presumed that you have this mower MAKITA 36V Brushless 3 x 5.0Ah 460mm Lawn Mower Kit DLM464PT3 | Total Tools that comes with a dual port fast charger. I also have the line trimmer from Makita so I have some experience with the batteries

5.0Ah vs 6.0 Ah - It must be said that 5.0Ah must also be suitable given that it comes with 5.0Ah batteries by default. 5.0Ah is cheaper and more readily available but doesn't hold as much charge obviously. However, you will only need them to hold enough charge while you are charging the other set. What I would do is to start using the 5.0Ah batteries first, once they are exhausted, I'd put them in the charger and use the 6.0Ah next. I think they only take 20 odds mins to charge them fully.

OEM batteries - What I've found are that

1. the Ah rating is totally unreliable and sellers are always lying. However, the weight is quite accurate. I think the reason for that is that while it's reasonable hard for the customer to know that rating is overstated for sure, the customer can readily weigh the battery and complain to the seller. My research shows that weight is directly proportional to capacity. so rather than capacity, focus of the advertised weight.
2. Amazon is better than eBay in my view because Amazon is more diligent in terms of dealing with customer complaints. Of course, eBay is quite acceptable as well.

I was considering Makita battery from this seller Power Tool Batteries & Chargers - Replacement Batteries for Power Tools, they have free delivery. But shipping would take too long. So I considered these ones from Amazon.com.au 2 Pack 18V 5000mAh BL1850B Battery Replacement for Makita 18V Battery BL1830 BL1850 BL1840 BL1850B-2 BL1845 BL1815 BL1820 BL1860B LXT-400 18-Volt Cordless Power Tools Batteries : Amazon.com.au: Home Improvement.

It says it's 5.0Ah and weighs 600 grams. I weighed my 4.0Ah battery and it was 616 grams. So the capacity of the battery is likely to be somewhat less than 4Ah. Now once they were delivered. I found them t be 553grams each. They are most likely to be 3.6Ah.
They look to have the same electronics that control over-temperature protection and other regulations that Makita have, And they work well. The batteries don't last as long as 4.0Ah, but only just. indicating that they are more likely to be 3.6Ah

So if you are going for OEM batteries. Pay attention to the weight, and customer reviews. I don't think the 5.0Ah(3.6Ah for real) batteries would be suitable. Skip those with no weight published.

Reviews for even some 'genuine' Makita branded batteries listed at higher prices on ebay seemed to indicate purchasers were receiving other poorer quality generics instead. Little to trust in this space apparently.

I decided to keep with the 6's and bought the real deal this morning at the local United Tools store. 2x 6.0Ah for $289 ( Seemed worth it for the flexibility for only $40 more than the 5s)

The battery arguments rage intensely in the various DIY-Battery-Wall discussions on Reddit ¹

Cheap 18650's are as dodgy AF and they all discuss "good" suppliers endlessly.

Needless to say, Caveat Emptor in extremis is required.

BUT, when one gets good ones, they are very very good!


Curiously, there are sellers here in Oz that will sell used 18650's that are certified good and with specific ratings. I'll try to find them... but this is probably not too interesting for most here as they don't want to be spot-welding up their own packs



¹ like this mad bloke: Australian man'''s DIY powerwall made from scrap batteries - ABC News and How To Build A Mini DIY Powerwall with Maker Batteries – DIY Batteries

Originally Posted by Fuzzie

Last year I replaced my old petrol mower with a cordless Makita mower that takes 2x 6.0AH 18V batteries. Unfortunately I have found I usually can't finish mowing on a single charge, several times over summer it has taken me 3 charges to complete the job!,

I purchased the Makita DLM536PT4x (self propelled 21”) kit that comes with 4x 5ah batteries & rapid charger in January. Needs 2 batteries to run but has place for all 4 & a changeover switch. Was worried about how many batteries it would take to mow lawn. So far have always have completed the yard on one set (2 batteries) even when wife had a go at mowing the lawn & used self propelled all the time. Block is about 840 square meters. Must admit I try to mow every week in summer as after a couple of weeks it is hard going. Time will tell if my batteries hold up but so far very happy.

Sorry off topic but interesting to hear how many sets of batteries you need.

Hi Pete, mine is the 18" DLM464. I think most of my problem is the turf selection rather than the mower , even so I can't see managing 840 sqm even if all TifTuf on a single charge. I think I'd want a ride on for that!

Cheers,

Just to prove the perversity of nature, having bought the swap set of batteries, lawn growth appears to be on the wane. I just mowed the lawns after 10 days on a single charge (the new set). Perhaps I'll be back to less frequent mowing now until next summer.

Those two batteries were 👍 buys

Smaller "TOOL" Battery Better? Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, 2 Amp Hour vs 12 Amp Hour Battery - YouTube

Originally Posted by Flintlock

Smaller "TOOL" Battery Better? Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, 2 Amp Hour vs 12 Amp Hour Battery - YouTube

Wow. The difference is HUGE.

Im quite surprised by this.


edit - It shows the tools have almost NO current regulation built in. With a brushless motor on most of these Im really surprised it made any difference.... but I suppose it does show the lies we are sold as consumers.

not sure what things are like in australia, but used full quality batteries often sell here around the same price of the generic/knock offs. In my experience, finding lightly used high capacity batteries or even moderately used is far better than buying a generic. They have more capacity per rated battery - because the cheap generics are almost always far overrated - and even with some of their life used, they still will cycle longer.

I have something like 8 ryobi batteries - two small ones and 6 4ah, and none of them have ever failed. However, ryobi and probably others, did start supplying a cheaper seeming and less well performing 4ah battery that's all black vs. their older silver and black pattern batteries with one of the items that I bought, and it's not as good.

For 1.2v cells, I must've bought a few hundred NiMH batteries over the years. if the batteries say japan on them, they'll last longer - enough longer to make up for their price several times. I think I probably have about 60 eneloop cells in AAA and AA and not a single one of them shows any signs of not taking a strong charge back to high voltage. Every single other battery that I've gotten has problems. I don't love spending money on batteries and it can be a bit of a stinger to pay what eneloops cost but they also are worth the money. The branded stuff here - energizer and duracell rechargeables, etc, are almost as high in price and work OK, but they're not as good.

Batteries seem kind of like garbage bags to a point - the quality level is a commodity. you can make a bad buy trying to get something for nothing, but there is no point here with garbage bags where you're going to find something half the cost and nearly as good - the plastic commodity cost (like the lithium) makes it so that different price levels are generally in proportion to the strength of the bag.

I posted here (about 2 years ago) my experience on attempting to return incorrect batteries (for use in an older Panasonic drill). There are battery replacement companies which are based in China but use an Australian address to appear local. I had to call in PayPal to force the company in question to accept the return of the batteries. The problem was - and PayPal supported the Seller - that I had to return the batteries to China at my own expense (which would be credited by the Seller on receipt). Needless to say, I did not do this, and instead described this affair on the pages of this forum. The Seller took fright at this unpleasant advertising, and sent me new batteries, with extras thrown in. Anyone needing a free battery for an old Panasonic drill can collect one from me!

Regards from Perth

Derek