[Closed] Are all Power Tool batteries the same??

Some will last as long, some will last longer but not for many charge cycles, some will barely hold any capacity at all.

Completely random IMO.

Screwfix had a Makita drill with two charges and 2x 5.0ah batteries recently for 140 quid. I got that and the drill and case went on eBay.

Some no brand units might not even have brand new batteries inside.

Need any more bare units? I did so I've used the £55 offer on

http://www.powertool-supplies.co.uk/

...to get 2 new Makita 5ah batteries. Good prices on the bare units too

I had 2 no-name Makita LXT batteries, one died pretty quickly and was an easy refund, the other was always weak- probably half the capacity of the equivalent genuine ones. I actually broke that one with a small drop, tbh I don't really think it should have died but I can't really blame it when I dropped it!

I'd always go genuine now though.

Poopscoop
Full Member

Some no brand units might not even have brand new batteries inside.

Though tbh that's fine- good quality reused/tested cells are generally better than low quality new ones.

I have a few unbranded Chinese Ryobi batteries. They are going on 3 years old now and I use them for work so they have hade a pretty hard life. I wouldn't buy branded batteries again.

Some no brand units might not even have brand new batteries inside.

Though tbh that’s fine- good quality reused/tested cells are generally better than low quality new ones.

Its fine if they're labelled as such and you know thats what you're buying - its not how they tend to be marketed though 'non brand battery pack made out of bits of old battery packs'. But while those used cells might be better on they day they are tested/ sold than some crappy new ones, they'll be older, and therefore have a shorter (and unknown) service life than the cells in a good new battery. The old packs that are being split to salvage out the good cells will have been used enough times for one of those cells to fail, so they can generally be assumed to be nearer to the end of their useful life than the start.

I have a few unbranded Chinese Ryobi batteries. They are going on 3 years old now and I use them for work so they have hade a pretty hard life. I wouldn’t buy branded batteries again.

given they batteries you bought were unbranded - how do you know that any you buy in future will be as good? or better? or worse?

I took a punt on a non branded battery on Amazon for our Bosch. So much better performance! Longer run time and more power, I’m guessing the latter just proved how knackered the old one was.

I've not tried any knock-offs, I only have genuine Makita.
But, Amazon and Screwfix aren't the best place to buy them I find.

I've used 'Buyaparcel' through eBay, FFX, Powertoolworld and a couple of other places.

Buyaparcel quite often seem to have deals and usually have deals if you buy multiple batteries at once.

all mine are genuine makita, a few other tradesmen i know have tried cheaper ones without much success and now will only buy genuine.

I use Dewalt but also have one 5 ah non brand and its been fine.

Its a lottery to be honest

You can recell batteries quite easily. If you have a battery spot welder or I guess buy tabbed cells.

I too have used Makita deals, sometimes buying a tool you cant really justify but its actually nearly free when what you want is the battery.

Slight tangent, do you NEED the 5.0Ah version? It's possibly useful if you're climbing up electricity poles in the middle of nowhere, but for in the workshop I much prefer two much smaller (which means it's easier to get the whole drill into cabinets, engine bays, etc as well as being lighter). And they always charge quicker than I use them.

I've found that ones branded "Waitley" on Amazon are OK in my Makitas. Seem to last well - not quiet as good as the originals but 1/2 the cost.

Just pony up for the genuine ones - every Non-OEM power tool battery I've bought has been a poor buy. Given Screwfix prices are £50 for 3ah and £100 for 5ah the smaller (lighter) batteries seem a better bet.

Slight tangent, do you NEED the 5.0Ah version? It’s possibly useful if you’re climbing up electricity poles in the middle of nowhere, but for in the workshop I much prefer two much smaller (which means it’s easier to get the whole drill into cabinets, engine bays, etc as well as being lighter). And they always charge quicker than I use them.

I mainly use 2Ah batteries for the same reason, but for drilling I occasionally have to use a 4/5 Ah as the drill can't generate max torque on the smaller pack - not enough current available.

I bought a pair non branded 5.0Ah batteries for my makita LXT stuff for £50ish  from Amazon, and they've been great. Not heavy use but more than normal DIY over the past year while I've been doing up my house.

If they die soon I won't be bothered, but I'd expect proper Makita ones to charge fatser and last longer but I couldn;t justify the price at the time.

My BIL is a builder and bought some no name batteries for a couple of Dewalt bits he doesn't use as much any more and was happy with them, the heavy use Makita stuff he has always gets proper batteries though.

Suppose it depend how much use they're gonna get really...

Slight tangent, do you NEED the 5.0Ah version?

Not at all - for most use lower Ah batteries are fine so long as you have a reasonably fast charger. Makita chargers will charge a 3ah battery in 20mins, but get it to 80% capacity in much less time than that so - if you've got two batteries theres not much likelihood of running one flat before the other charges. But look at the charge time - its the are much slower than others and even premium brands can slip a cheeky cheap, slow charger in with a kit (I'm looking at you Dewalt)

For thinks like drill driving lower capacity is more than fine  - If you use tools with a more continuous load - angle grinders, circular saws - then the higher Ah matters because you can then be running batteries down faster than they'd charge. The higher Ah batteries have made new kinds of cordless tools possible  - table saws, and larger bench top tools - I've got a makita wheel barrow which is just mental for how much weight it can drag up a hill and for how long on a single 5ah / 18v battery.