I have several 18volt Makita drills and drivers, all with their star battery rating. I use their 3 AH batteries in all of them but recently saw where they have a 5AH batteries that power their chainsaws. In the photos that I've seen, the batteries look to be the same where it connects to the tool, but slightly different on the body of the battery. Question is: Are these 5AH batteries compatible with the earlier 18 volt tools that take the 3AH batteries? I've been looking at their battery powered chainsaws that require two of the 5AH batteries, but I don't want to have two different chargers for the same brand of batteries.
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Makita battery compatibility
- Thread starter J Persons
- Start date
B_Bimmer
Well-known member
Far as I've seen they are all the same.
jollygreengiant
Well-known member
All Makita 18v batteries above 3.0aH are compatible with all of their 18v tools. I have some older 3.0 batteries and some newer 5.0 batteries and they both work on all of my tools, even my old white coloured drill. The 5.0's do have a slight difference to them, mainly a charge indicator on the back.
The one battery that is different is the smaller 1.5aH battery. It isn't compatible with certain tools. I have two of them and they will only work on my drill, impact, and flashlights. They don't fit on my high draw tools like my circular and recip saws or my hammer drill. Apparently you can make them fit with a bit of modification but it is not recommended.
The one battery that is different is the smaller 1.5aH battery. It isn't compatible with certain tools. I have two of them and they will only work on my drill, impact, and flashlights. They don't fit on my high draw tools like my circular and recip saws or my hammer drill. Apparently you can make them fit with a bit of modification but it is not recommended.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Question is: Are these 5AH batteries compatible with the earlier 18 volt tools that take the 3AH batteries? I've been looking at their battery powered chainsaws that require two of the 5AH batteries, but I don't want to have two different chargers for the same brand of batteries.
All star batteries will fit all star tools.
Use the black charger whenever possible. It communicates with individual cells.
engineer2
Well-known member
I have some newer 5AH Makita batteries that won't attach to some of the older tools with motor brushes (jigsaw, sawzall). Supposedly you can modify them to make them fit, but I haven't looked into it.
anndel
Well-known member
I have some newer 5AH Makita batteries that won't attach to some of the older tools with motor brushes (jigsaw, sawzall). Supposedly you can modify them to make them fit, but I haven't looked into it.
I have the same - recip and jig saws where I broke the tabs on the tools where the batteries slide on to and they now work and are "STAR" compliant.
Rabid Badger
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2018
- Messages
- 1,338
Yeah, you can remove the tab from older tools and the new batteries will fit. Just keep an eye on the charge indicator so you don't over-discharge the battery.
IndyGarage
Well-known member
I have about 15 makita tools that run on the batteries. As mentioned, some of the newer 5ah and 6ah batteries don't fit in some of the older tools because they added a tab in the sliding connector.
It can be tricky to cut the tab off, I tried with various knives and saws, but I found it's an ideal use for my multitool. Cuts them off in about 10 seconds. Now all my batteries work with all my tools.
BTW - I dropped one of my newer 5 ah batteries into the lake this summer. Damn! I retrieved it with a fishing magnet in about 10 minutes, but it would no longer charge on my charger. Nothing wrong with the battery, the stupid brain box won't let it charge.
However it charges fine with my black and decker 18 volt non smart charger. I ordered a new board off Amazon and plan to do a battery brain transplant and see if I can get it to work again.
It can be tricky to cut the tab off, I tried with various knives and saws, but I found it's an ideal use for my multitool. Cuts them off in about 10 seconds. Now all my batteries work with all my tools.
BTW - I dropped one of my newer 5 ah batteries into the lake this summer. Damn! I retrieved it with a fishing magnet in about 10 minutes, but it would no longer charge on my charger. Nothing wrong with the battery, the stupid brain box won't let it charge.
However it charges fine with my black and decker 18 volt non smart charger. I ordered a new board off Amazon and plan to do a battery brain transplant and see if I can get it to work again.
It sounds like old Makita tools are mostly compatible with new batteries, but what about the other way around? I've got about six old tools and several old BL1830 batteries. The batteries (and tools) still work fine. I'm thinking about buying one of the small rotary drills like the XRH12Z or XRH06ZB. Will the old BL1830 batteries work with these rotary drills? I guess they probably won't run very long on a 3.0ah battery, but that's not a concern right now.
Thanks,
Ira
Thanks,
Ira