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Is there a good site for tool batteries ?

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Evans Electric

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One of my Makita batts is carping oput  ...the old red & yellow ones  18V  X 3 AH    .  Some on ebay but just wondering if theres a secret place for them at reasonable prices.

 
For goodness sakes man, treat yourself to something modern will you, it'd be easier to go to Screwfix and get a deal drill for 100 quid, drill and two batteries, whilst smaller Ah would probably last as long as the old red ones?

 
old red & yellow ones


Are you sure it's red & yellow? They had red & grey, the old NiCad ones.

I'd be inclined to stick it on eBay and then get yourself a new one, keep an eye out at Screwfix/B&Q, they are always doing a Makita Ni-Mh drill & 2 batteries for ~£100.

 
I have recelled them, not a bad job to do if you have a spare hour, I got the replacement cells from eBay, here is a pic of a Sealey impact gun I did.image.jpeg

 
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Have you actually used these or are they from a random Googling? I only ask because a lot of them are just random fronts for Chinese ebayers, and/or just sell you crappy Chinese batteries. Complete gamble IME, I used one of these random sites years ago for 2 Makita 24V NiMh batteries and they were garbage, 1 failed after a short while, neither of them really lasted long between charges and they weren't as good as the batteries they replaced, even though they were 3.3Ah and the old ones were 3Ah. Once I opened up the packs they just had some tiny 2/3AA cells and a load of foam rather than the full size sub-c cells that should have been in them.

 
Have you actually used these or are they from a random Googling? I only ask because a lot of them are just random fronts for Chinese ebayers, and/or just sell you crappy Chinese batteries. Complete gamble IME, I used one of these random sites years ago for 2 Makita 24V NiMh batteries and they were garbage, 1 failed after a short while, neither of them really lasted long between charges and they weren't as good as the batteries they replaced, even though they were 3.3Ah and the old ones were 3Ah. Once I opened up the packs they just had some tiny 2/3AA cells and a load of foam rather than the full size sub-c cells that should have been in them.


I have used an online supplier quite a few years ago for generic replacement batteries for Bosch & Hitachi drill/drivers,  (both batteries & drills are still working fine). But I am struggling to remember the name of the site. 99% sure they were UK based, somewhere in the Midlands or North. After another search it may have been this company; http://www.countybattery.co.uk/drill-batteries-/makita/  They are UK Ltd company, trading for a few years, which suggests a reasonable level of customer service. Plus they still stock equivalents for the previous batteries I replaced. The address was saved in favorites, but I now think it was on an old long disposed of computer, hence struggle to find it again. Sometimes I think that an old Rolodex card system would be better for storing all those useful web address that you can never find when you want them.

Doc H.

 
They are UK Ltd company, trading for a few years, which suggests a reasonable level of customer service.


I would say that goes some way towards ending up not getting completely rubbish batteries, but they are still generic Chinese cheap copies. I bought several 18V Li-Ion batteries from Axminster as they have been on offer over the last few years, some 3Ah, some 4Ah. They have mostly failed or been replaced. The Makita ones that came with the original drills I bought still work fine, so from now on I will only buy genuine. There was nothing actually wrong with the batteries for the first year or 2, so most people would say they were fine, but when they all fail and the Makita branded ones still work then I would say it's not worth the saving.

 
. it's only gonna get worse, the manufacturers are essentially making the tools garbage by having no serviceable parts.

everything is now controlled by cpu's and mosfet's which are  potted to make it impossible to replace that 4p resistor that went all burny.

It's not that hard to re cell your batteries, just a few 18650's and some soldering although the manufacturers are trying to put a stop to that too.

Here's how the Canadians do it...







 😮

 
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Are you sure it's red & yellow? They had red & grey, the old NiCad ones.

I'd be inclined to stick it on eBay and then get yourself a new one, keep an eye out at Screwfix/B&Q, they are always doing a Makita Ni-Mh drill & 2 batteries for ~£100.
Probably are red & grey Lurch ...its my age you know .    Its as I said on another thread , I'm of the generation that thinks stuff should last forever  ...drill is OK just the battery so get a new battery.     I know you're right ....I get a new battery and next week the drill packs up . But I thought £25 for a battery isn't £100 for a new drill .  

Sharpy       The stuff I was keeping in the garage was bordering on OTT  , I could see myself on one of those TV programmes so I've been dumping stuff like a man possessed .    I shall start again when the weather warms up a bit .  Have to disguise the stuff for the tip as they are really hot on Domestic only , can't go there in the van etc .  

Last trip was 3 comp. Plastic  dado trunking ... overordered for a job 10 yrs ago :C   Had to saw it up into 2ft lengths  & bag it .

 
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