The NiCd batteries have died on my father's 14-year old Makita drill; to be more precise, they are type 1222 2Ah batteries in a 6313D drill. There are many suppliers from a wide range of battery manufacturers on the internet - and I'm sure that some of the replacements will be rubbish. However, dad has been quoted £85 for a genuine Makita battery, whereas the ones on the net (Amazon, e-bay etc) are around £25. One battery will be sufficient - he only uses the drill once in a blue moon.
I wonder if any of you chaps have bought batteries for a Makita, and if you could recommend any particular supplier or make? Thanks.
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Another option if it is only used "once in a blue moon" is to buy a new drill from ALDI for about £25 with a three year warranty and treat it as a disposable tool.
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>> However, dad has been quoted £85 for a genuine Makita battery, whereas the ones on the net (Amazon, e-bay etc) are around £25.
Is the replacement another NiCad battery, Ni-Mh, or Li-iOn?
Sounds a lot of money to splash out on a 14 yr old drill though.
As he only "uses the drill once in a blue moon" I'm surprised the original battery has lasted 14 years. If portability isn't an issue, it might make more sense to buy an electric drill instead. Granted cordless drills do have their uses, but unless they're used regulary the batteries tend to have a shortened life. You might find this is the case with whatever replacement battery pack you go for.
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my Makita drill cost £100 and came with 2 batteries.
Depending on his spec, would something like
www.screwfix.com/p/makita-8391dwpetk-18v-1-3ah-ni-cd-combi-drill-101-piece-accessory-kit/83834 be a better option?
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Most batteries on Amazon are fake, the latest scam seems to be using genuine batteries shells and replacing the cells with cheap Chineese crap. I have been caught out myself.
I would not pay £85 for a new battery, B&Q do offers on Makita or Dewalt 18v drills with two batteries for £99.
I have a higher end Dewalt 18v, (better quality than the £99 specials) had it a couple of years now but I use it very frequently. It is far nicer than the stuff you get in Lidl to use, simply because it is so easy to control the torque. In past two months I have used it well over 1000 times because of the kitchen and in that time I have gone through just two scew bits.
I have a 750w Black and Decker corded for the heavy work but my Dewalt is used for everything else and I am glad I paid nearly £200 for it, seems over the top but has been one of the best purchases I have ever made.
I am not sure what the £99 ones will feel like in comparison.
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Just seen Bobby's reply I have that Makita accessory kit but it isn't up for much, ok for the occasional use and infrequently used odd sized bits have come in handy but I soon got through the 6mm, 7mm and 10mm masonry bits. If the OP has all the drill bits already I would save the £20 and go for the £99 model as the kit is only £19.99 anyway.
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You get what you pay for...:-)
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>> You get what you pay for...:-)
A large marketing budget, very often. Insert irritating smug smiley.
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Thanks for all the replies, chaps. I should tell you that logic doesn't really apply where my father is concerned; those of you with aged parents (he is 88) will already be aware of this sort of thing. Dad is a retired coal miner with delusions of being a skilled craftsman with the ability to tackle anything- even though his legs are now paralysed. He can't contemplate throwing away a 'built-like-a-brick-outhouse' quality drill when all it needs is a new battery. I must admit that I (at 64) also have some trouble reconciling requests to re-use/repair/re-cycle whilst at the same time, manufacturers are constantly inviting me to 'throw it away and get a new one'.
I bought a new 18v Makita for myself at Christmas with 2 x Li-ion batteries from B&Q for £99 with a further 10% off for being over 60. For domestic use, it's excellent; for heavier stuff, I have an old Bosch 550w corded job. The batteries on my old 'Skil' cordless are totally kaput, and replacements of any sort aren't available at all - but it still doesn't feel quite right to be throwing it away!
Anyway, I just wondered if anyone had successfully, or otherwise, tried to replace the batteries on a Makita. I might just take pot luck and hope that a replacement would last a few years just to keep the ol' boy happy. On the other hand, if I bought something that was total rubbish, I would never hear the end of it!
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>> 'built-like-a-brick-outhouse'
I have never realized that was the correct words for that phrase!!!
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Maybe explain to him that there is no logic, and it is all a matter of supply and demand. The sheds will sell these drills cheap as a loss leader, and then hope they buy a draught excluder or some extremely highly marked up sheet materials to make the huge profit on the sale.
It is amazing that he is even able to think about using a drill though, my grandpa was a highly skilled plumber but by the time he got to his mid 80's he wasn't even capable of changing a washer due to his disabilities.
In your dads case, giving his age this drill doesn't need to last ten years or so and it probably be rarely used so a Lidl special may do just fine. I have used quite a few of cheap none power Lidl tools for the kitchen and find the quality better than the cheap shed stuff.
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>> Anyway, I just wondered if anyone had successfully, or otherwise, tried to replace the batteries on a Makita.
Is the power pack sealed, or just screwed together?
If the latter, then try taking it apart. You never know, it might just be standard sized batteries in there that can be obtained from somewhere like RS or Maplin.
If it is a sealed unit, then even they can be got into with a bit of force, then superglued back together afterwards.
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"Is the power pack sealed, or just screwed together?"
The power pack is sealed, and I can't see any joining line where I could possibly force an entry. I fear that any attempt at entry would have to involve a sledge hammer!
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Maybe I've imagined it but I'm sure I've seen somewhere a company that takes your old discontinued battery packs and reconditions them so you can still use your favourite power tool.
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I never "twigged" that power tool or other large batteries were merely "cases" that contained several ordinary ones! - until after reading this thread, I checked on Utube.
It appears that the cheapest way to buy AA batteries is to buy a 6v lantern battery (the ones with the spring terminals) and open them!
Whilst I was enthralled with this concept I discovered that a lot of cheaper C + D size batteries are actually just an AA hidden in the larger case!
p.s
And I came across this if it's any help!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yBnY54o2vw
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGCUb2oHTnY
Last edited by: devonite on Tue 18 Mar 14 at 11:35
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Again, thanks for the comments.
I am another who had no idea that a battery pack would be made up from 'ordinary' batteries. I may investigate this on an old 'dead' 9.6v Skil cordless drill.
Following Rudedog's suggestion, I googled for 'battery refurbishment' and came up with this company www.multicell.co.uk/index.html
I rang them, and a chap looked up the battery on his list, said that they had 'done them' before and the cost would be £23.80 each plus vat. They get into sealed units using a hot wire. I asked if the batteries would be 'as good as new' and he said that all the cells are replaced with new Panasonics. This compares favourably with prices on ebay/Amazon where you don't know who you are dealing with or quite what you are getting. I'll be checking with my father, but I reckon we'll go for this one.
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>> I may investigate this on an old 'dead' 9.6v Skil cordless drill.
Haywain, you are a boy (I think). Thus you should dismantle, break, disassemble or destroy everything before disposing of it unless you know exactly what it contains. And sometimes even then.
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"Haywain, you are a boy (I think). Thus you should dismantle, …………………."
Quite, but I have to fit this in with football, sea-fishing, beer-drinking, wife-beating etc!
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I think we need to discuss priorities as well....
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The sad thing is, NFM, even before your mail came in, I had already been out to the garage, dug out one of the old Skil batteries and stripped off a label to see if it was concealing any screw heads; it wasn't. The battery now sits on the desk in front of me awaiting the do-or-die crunch!
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If they are any good I will keep this in mind for my Dewalt batteries although still working fine I am sure I am having to charge them a bit more than I used to.
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>> in front of me awaiting the do-or-die crunch!
Surely one eagerly reaches for ones ultimate "boy toy looking for an application" DREMEL (or cheap lisle copy thereof)
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 18 Mar 14 at 18:27
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"ultimate "boy toy looking for an application" DREMEL (or cheap lisle copy thereof)"
Funny you should mention that. In one of my sheds (I only have 3) somewhere is a B&Q copy of a Dremel kit. It has a million uses but I think I bought it for one particular task about 15 years ago (can't remember what but I think it involved drilling a small hole in something which required a flexible drill link thing). It has not been used, or out of its box for the other 999,999 uses in the last 15 years.
No, I don't want to sell it - if I do I'm sure the other 999,999 uses will crop up the next day!
I also have about 16 sets of Allen keys. Problem is, I can never find them when I need one!
Hate to tell you how many drill/screwdriver bit sets I have!! As for spanners ......... bought in the days when one could actually apply a spanner to a car rather than a computer diagnostic thing and when I could face getting under a Citroen and getting covered in LHM in the dark on a winter's night!
P
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Just to bring the cordless drill enthusiasts up to date ………………….
I took one of dad's Makita 12v battery packs over to Multicell (mentioned earlier) along with one battery pack from my 9.6v Skil. I had already neatly chiselled into a seam on the latter to reveal the 8 duff batteries contained therein; the Makita pack was completely sealed and could only be split using a hot-wire cutter.
The refurbished batteries were ready after 5 days, though I had to give it a few weeks before I was able to go over again and collect them - and they appear to be at least as good as new. The cost was about £23 for the Skil and £35 for the Makita. I should add that Multicell come over as extremely knowledgeable about battery technology and you may find it useful to note their name. They deal with all sorts of batteries.
The crunch question, of course, is 'was it worth it?'. Dad may be 89, but he still feels the need to have a drill - it's a 'boy' thing and, as the Makita was a high quality drill when he bought it, he's very pleased to have it restored to its former glory. I was reminded that the Skil wasn't a top-notch drill - it doesn't have hammer-action, and the speed control isn't very precise for low-speed screw-driving jobs. I'll give the Skil to my son who has just bought his first house, and who doesn't have any sort of cordless drill - it'll tide him over until he gets a better one.
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Interesting - my Makita has started slipping in 2nd speed mode , 1st speed is fine but 2nd will slip like it's not in gear properly.
Am humming and hawing whether I need to pay to get this fixed or just stick with 1 speed!
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Replacement batteries for Makita drill? - Old Navy
