Stick with Ni MH or move to Lithium Ion (Li Ion)?

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Carlow52

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I have 3 cordless drills and one cordless jigsaw (all Makita) all of which use the same 18V 2.6Ah Ni MH batteries

[All the amounts that follow are in euro before vat.]


I am now down to 2 good batteries (bought with a drill and jigsaw kit for 350) in March '09 so have recently been exploring purchasing new batteries with my regular suppliers.


[All the figures that follow are in euro before vat.]

1 new Ni MH battery on its own is 120

A kit with 2 new drills and 3 new Ni MH batteries and charger is 350


All the tool merchants are advocating investing in the Li Ion kit.
(Time to 'moving on' Bud:)

[ Lighter, 3 Amp hr, no memory issues, 20 min recharge, better quality tool.....etc etc ]

Basic cordless drill with 2 Li Ion batteries and charger is 300

1 std drill + small impact drill with hex "chuck' and 2 batteries and charger is 399

[ Am being told that using the impact drill is THE way to drive big screws: with no torque control I am skeptical.... there is also the 'need' to upgrade to 'impact' type screw driving bits....)

I use the drills more than the jigsaw but the saw is very useful, particularly when working in attic spaces etc so one option is to retire the drills and 'move on' to Li for them.

Would welcome your opinions/suggestions please.
 
i've had a makita li-ion kit for about 4 years now used professionally nearly every day and they are still going strong so I can fully recommend Li-ion batteries
 
I'v had my makita li-ion for a couple of years now and it takes some heavy usage every day and its still going perfect. As for the impact driver i was a bit unsure until i had a go with one and now its going to be on the christmas list i think.
 
I have owned my Makita LXT BHP451 for about 3 years now and it was worth every penny. A couple of weeks ago one of the two 3 AH Li-Ion batteries gave up the ghost, and even though it was well out of guarantee I contacted Makita who did not hesitate to replace it.

I would certainly recommend the Li-Ion kit above any other system.

Cheers

Mike
 
Have used an hitachi impact for over 5 years now. Unbeatable for longer screws.

Recently spent £900 on a set of Makita li-ion gear. Amazing. one bag to wheel on the job. Health and safety sorted as cordless. Have jig saw, circular saw, reciprocating saw, angle grinder, impact driver, standard driver, torch and SDS drill. All gets used every day and no memory dramas with the batteries. Saved me loads of tool setting up / down time. Highly recommended. So much so am going to buy another 3 batteries to save changing between tools so much.
 
Mike.C":3bzrxinu said:
I have owned my Makita LXT BHP451 for about 3 years now and it was worth every penny. A couple of weeks ago one of the two 3 AH Li-Ion batteries gave up the ghost, and even though it was well out of guarantee I contacted Makita who did not hesitate to replace it.

I would certainly recommend the Li-Ion kit above any other system.

Cheers

Mike

thats good Mike I have 4 and one of mine is on its way out i think, i use it in the radio and it wont last a day now where it used to last 2 or 3 days.
 
peter99":14xx7v87 said:
Have used an hitachi impact for over 5 years now. Unbeatable for longer screws.

Recently spent £900 on a set of Makita li-ion gear. Amazing. one bag to wheel on the job. Health and safety sorted as cordless. Have jig saw, circular saw, reciprocating saw, angle grinder, impact driver, standard driver, torch and SDS drill. All gets used every day and no memory dramas with the batteries. Saved me loads of tool setting up / down time. Highly recommended. So much so am going to buy another 3 batteries to save changing between tools so much.

Whats the sds like any good ???
 
surprisingly good for an 18v. Obviously it isn't going to do the same as a 28v or 36v machine but for general stuff it's fine.

I use it for 7mm holes in concrete for screws etc no problem and have used it for 10mm and 12mm in concrete too, no problem either. it isn't as quick drilling 10/12mm as a 36v but manages fine for a few here and there as long as not really deep. Breezes through brick too.

For the 10/12mm and larger I bought panasonic 28v li-ion with 2 3amp batteries recently for £400 delivered. Brilliant machine so use that if doing multiple larger holes etc.

But for day to day fixings the 18v is a winner. Your welcome to try it if near the Leeds area.
 
chippy1970":2kwgah39 said:
Mike.C":2kwgah39 said:
I have owned my Makita LXT BHP451 for about 3 years now and it was worth every penny. A couple of weeks ago one of the two 3 AH Li-Ion batteries gave up the ghost, and even though it was well out of guarantee I contacted Makita who did not hesitate to replace it.

I would certainly recommend the Li-Ion kit above any other system.

Cheers

Mike

thats good Mike I have 4 and one of mine is on its way out i think, i use it in the radio and it wont last a day now where it used to last 2 or 3 days.

Yeah give their Milton Keynes office a ring 01908 211 678 and ask for their technical department.

Cheers

Mike
 
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