Makita Cordless Recip Upgrade

[Farmall 1066]

My old BJR82 Makita cordless recip saw has been bulletproof, but takes the old style 18v batteries. Got a few left, but they’re getting weak, and this is the only LXT tool I have left that isn’t compatible with newer batteries.
Is the XJR05 brushless model worth it to upgrade to?
It gets used often, but not commercial use.

 

[engineer2]

Same here. My BJR182 works fine but I'd like to go brushless and use the newer batteries. I'll wait for a sale though. Selling my old one should be easy. Contractors buy them.
We briefly discussed it here:

Makita Addiction Thread

Last one showed up. Maybe I should take a family photo of everything together.

www.garagejournal.com

 

[duneslider]

I too have that saw and am looking to upgrade. Anyone know the reason they changed it so the batteries wouldn't work on that saw? I found that sort of annoying.

 

[engineer2]

The old recip saw would slow to a crawl when the battery got weak.
The brushless tools or tools with the "Star protection" look to be microprocessor controlled and shut off when the battery gets too low.
You can use an older battery in a brushless or Star tool but not the other way around. It's to prevent over-discharge of the battery which can damage it. It is possible to modify the older tool to accept the newer batteries. Info is online.

General info for all lithium ion batteries.
For best battery longevity, recharge it at the first sign of degrading performance.
If the battery is hot, let it cool down before you recharge it. If you can't don't worry, the charger has a fan.
There is no harm in recharging a partially discharged battery.

 

[duneslider]

I need to double check but I swear the saw has the star on it but the star batteries don't fit. Maybe I am mistaken. I need to look closer.

 

[ekuhn]

The new batteries don't fit because there is a little bump within the battery channel that prevents it from going all the way in. I have the same saw and remove the bump, haven't had an issue yet and its been a few years.