Makita has a new 64V Max cordless power tool system!
Images of a new Makita 64V Max cordless power tool battery first surfaced in 2020.
I contacted Makita USA with some questions at the time, and they completely evaded the subject.
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Later that year, there were more sightings of a Makita 64V Max cordless power tool system, when images and videos seemingly taken at a Makita event surfaced on social media.
Fast forward a bit, and Makita USA announced XGT in North America, following its global launch more than a year earlier.
When XGT eventually launched here, Makita USA’s product managers emphasized how their 40V Max battery was designed to power everything from impact drivers to cordless outdoor power equipment.
Will XGT batteries like the massive 8Ah pack work great on a compact impact driver?
It seemed that Makita had abandoned their plans for a 64V Max system. 36V/40V Max XGT was the future, 64V Max was not.
At the time of XGT’s launch, Makita USA also pointed out competitors, namely Dewalt and Milwaukee, don’t have single-system solutions.
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If you want the best from Milwaukee, you need their M18 batteries to power handheld cordless power tools, and MX Fuel to power their cordless light equipment.
If you want the best from Dewalt, you need their 20V Max batteries to power more compact and core cordless power tools, and FlexVolt batteries to power their heavier duty 60V Max tools.
But with Makita XGT, you get “ONE SYSTEM” that’s supposed to do it all.
There are still many holes in Makita’s XGT cordless power tool system. Where’s the jig saw? Brad nailer? Cordless air compressor? Cordless table saw?
Makita has 12V Max, 18V, 18V X2, which uses two 18V batteries in tandem for 36V equivalent voltage, 40V Max XGT, which is an 18V-size battery with 36V nominal voltage, and 80V Max, which is essentially XGT X2 with two 18V-size 36V batteries that together provide 72V nominal voltage.
And now, Makita has launched 64V Max.
When Milwaukee launched their MX Fuel line of cordless equipment, they made the argument that 18V-sized cordless power tool batteries were never designed for the type of equipment that can be battery-powered today.
There was always the desire for a “cordless jobsite”, but when most modern Li-ion platforms were first designed, nobody could have imagined that in 10+ years professional users would be able to replace gas-engine tools, generators, and AC-powered equipment with cordless tools.
Milwaukee MX Fuel was designed for the next-level-up light equipment that can be battery-powered.
When they introduced the XGT system here, Makita USA tried to poke holes in their competitor’s rationale, arguing that it was better for one battery system that can do it all.
Well, it looks like Makita took some notes and brought 64V Max back to the drawing board.
Here is what the new Makita 64V Max cordless power tool battery looks like.
To me, this looks like a lead acid battery with a handle. Looks great! This is definitely going to work better for certain tools than a cordless power tool slide-style pack.
How many Li-ion battery cells is it built with?!
A 64V Max battery, which would likely deliver ~57.6V nominally, would have a minimum of 16 batteries. 16 x 3.6V = 57.6V nominal, or “64V Max” if you consider Li-ion cells measure ~4.0V when they’re right off the charger and before any load is applied.
If this battery is built with 4.0Ah cells, such as 21700-sized 4.0Ah cells, the battery pack should have 16 cells inside. If it’s built with 2.0Ah cells, such as 18650-sized, the battery pack should have 32 cells inside.
Here is the battery on its charger.
I wonder, what else will Makita power with this 64V Max battery?
It seems fitting for lawn mowers, snow blowers, powered wheel carts and wheel barrows, and other such equipment.
Handheld tools? Not a chance, I don’t think.
But on the other hand, the 4Ah battery looks to be a manageable size. Footage of their earlier model made the battery look awkwardly large for a slide-style battery. The final design looks to be much-improved.
Here’s a thought – will Makita also goes the “X2” route as they have done with 18V X2 and “XGT 80V Max”?
If so, 64V Max x 2 would be 128V Max, or 115.2V nominal, which is very close to the US’s 120V AC electrical standard.
Makita filed patents for a cordless planer, and it was assumed a hypothetical machine would be powered by 2x XGT batteries.
Makita’s standard XGT batteries still only have 10 Li-ion cells, just like their standard 18V batteries. 64V Max could just be what’s needed to power Makita’s next higher generation of cordless power tools.
Interesting.
It looks like Makita’s first 64V Max cordless power tools are two cordless mowers. What do you think is next?
Unfortunately, there’s no compatibility between Makita’s 18V and XGT cordless power tool systems, aside from a one-way charging adapter, and it seems unlikely for the new 64V Max cordless power tool system to be compatible with either 18V or XGT systems.
Jared
What?! I didn’t see that coming.
Who wants to invest in an 18v line for their cordless tools, 40v for their medium duty and handheld OPE and then 64v for HD OPE? It seems like it would make more sense if Makita stuck with 18v and brought this out as a second line.
None of that takes away from the fact that a 64v line should raise the bar for what Makita can do with cordless tools – it just feels like a mess of options. Makes me wonder if one of these options will end up like Dewalt 40v.
Collin
Is it really that big of a deal?
This outrage over Makita just goes to show how important branding is to Americans.
The difference between Makita and other brands is that Makita doesn’t make a dozen other brands each with their own set of proprietary batteries.
TTI: Ryobi 18v, Ryobi 40v, Ryobi 80v, Ridgid 18v, Milwaukee 12v, Milwaukee 18v, Milwaukee 18×2, Milwaukee MX Fuel, Hoover 20v, etc.
SBD: Craftsman V20, Craftsman V40, Craftsman V60, DeWalt 20v, DeWalt 60v, Porter Cable 20v, etc.
Chervon: Skil 12v, Skil 20v, Skil 20×2 XP, Flex 24v, Kobalt 24v, Masterforce, etc.
Makita: Makita 18v, Makita 18×2, Makita 40v, Makita 40×2, and Makita 64v.
What exactly is Makita guilty of other than not coming up with cute names for each voltage platform?
Cam
Good point!
MM
“Outrage” is a strong word. I don’t think anyone is actually angry about this.
You asked what they’re guilty of. They’re contradicting their own statements. They just got done telling us that their newly introduced 40V XGT was the one system for everything, and now this new 64V platform appears out of nowhere. So I suppose that means 40V XGT isn’t really one system for everything anymore? What exactly is this new platform going to do which 20V LXT and 40V XGT won’t do? As appears to be usual for Makita USA, they won’t offer any clarification. Sure there are a lot of brands which have multiple platforms, but they’re not going around telling the consumer that they can use one platform for everything. Not even Dewalt is making those claims even though their platform has a remarkable amount of cross-compatibility with Flexvolt batteries operating 20V max tools, and any Dewalt batt (including 12, 20, and 60V) being able to be charged with any Dewalt charger.
In addition to that, now Makita is doing the very thing they spent quite a lot of effort talking down at other brands for, which is offering multiple battery platforms. And ironically, they’re actually offering more platforms than their competitors. There’s only three types of batteries for Milwaukee: 12V, 18v, MX. There’s only three for Dewalt: 12V, 20V Max, Flexvolt. Now Makita, who just got done telling us that all we need is one platform, has four: 12V, 18V LXT, 36V XGT, and 64V.
I’m not angry, I’m confused.
Jared
Exactly. I’m not bothered by a new line of tools – it just came out of nowhere when you consider what Makita told us the XGT line was for.
XGT is a strange duck. It doesn’t have compact options and might not be capable of reaching the power extremes of other options already on the market- which begs the question: why?
Makita claimed the answer was that XGT would do-it-all. But, LXT aside, this new 64v line seems to acknowledge that 40v won’t be an HD OPE line… unless they 40v x 2 it. But that seems nuts!
Collin
You must have missed GIE if you think Makita isn’t serious about XGT OPE.
Makita has easily one of the most complete landscaping lines in XGT not to mention LXT.
JD
I held off on buying an 18v Makita mower because I suspected a 40V mower was around the corner. I was ready to jump to the 40V system because it was going to be the new “standard”. Seeing a 64V Makita mower just hurt me 🙂
Travis
Does that mean the new batteries aren’t comfortable with the 18v power tools? I just bought a new Makita chainsaw and leaf blower
Juraj Simic
Unnecessary. There is nothing that the 40V range can do that 18V lxt hasn’t already been doing just fine for years. I’d know, i have over 20 Makita cordless tools and use them daily. Don’t jump on the bandwagon and stick to lxt with it’s huge catalogue of machines
Phil
You have to consider all trades. And working continuously. all manufacturers have noticed a difference in brushless voltage.
MM
Wow, I didn’t see that coming. The batteries are pretty big though, I agree this doesn’t make sense for most handheld tools. I’d think they must be looking to make some pretty heavy-duty things in the future, like Stuart mentioned things like powered wheelbarrows or carts would make sense. Bigger mowers (ride-ons), snowblower, tiller, big chainsaw, stationary type power tools, compressors, etc. We’ve seen that it’s possible to make a good cordless replacement for a walk-behind mower with 20v max batteries so it seems a bit silly to roll out this new platform for such a task.
Stuart
The way I see it, there are 2 big questions:
What could – and will – Makita power with this cordless tech?
Will we ever see those tools *here*?
Ct451
What every safecracker has been waiting for: Battery plasma cutter.
Cs
How many batteries would it run on… 5…10….
Ct451
A good 3-phase one with build-in air runs on about 10kw. So 4 of these will let you cut 3/4 inch steel for 6 minutes or so. You can probably get 25 minutes out of just 2 batteries if you’re only cutting into safes with thin walls.
Ray
How about a short cord from two 64MAXs to a tool with a 110 plug. What’s old is new again.
TomD
I wouldn’t have been sad to see a MX MAX version of the lawnmower – the dual 12s just live in it or the charger anyway.
At this size it’s starting to be not entirely clear if the batteries get removed much; I wonder if a plug in charger without taking them out would start being viable.
Nathan
I bet it’s OPE only or OPE and industrial like a 9 inch concrete saw or such.
wow though. suitcase battery form factor.
still makes me like flexvolt the best. If only they would kick in a backpack model . . . . .
Collin
Ryobi already came out with a suitcase battery form factory and it’s for powering their 0 turn ride on mowers.
Star
I think ryobi seems to have so many different tools and attachments and seems to have a tool for everything and thought about getting it but is it reliable? I bought the lawnmower but returned the next day. I guess I just thought it couldn’t handle the job Wish I would have gave it a chance
Mateo
They already have a 14” concrete saw on xgt.
aaron+s
How many pins can the 64v Max pin nailer shot in a single charge?
Tim
This is why I can’t do Makita cordless anymore.
At one point we had:
9.6v, 12v, 14.4v, 18v pod style.
12v, 14.4v and 24v MakStar
12v pod style lithium
18v LXT
All on our trucks. All as new tools being sold as current systems.
Pepperidge Farms remembers.
Rog
The people: We want new and better batteries please
Makita: So you’re saying you want another battery platform
P: No, just updated 18vs
M: *Releases YET ANOTHER battery line* YOURE WELCOME
P: Again, not what we meant…
Doresoom
😂
Kingsley
I have Dewalt’s slim 20v 3ah batteries for light duties 5/8ah for bigger tasks and I have their 9/12ah(20v) 20/60v Flexvolts for things like my concrete cutter.
Knowing that I can use the Flexvolts in smaller 20v tools is very handy.
One charger charges them all.
Whoever thought of it at Dewalt was pretty smart.
I guess they’ve patented the idea, leaving everyone else on multiple systems.
I like some of Makita’s more quirky “tools” like their coffee machine and kettle.
Maybe with this 64v line they’ll bring out a microwave oven!
MM
The other thing that I think is really cool about Dewalt’s lineup is that their chargers even work on their 12V tools. It’s just one charger for everything from a 12V sub-compact tool up to a big Flexvolt one. Ironically I don’t really take advantage of that as I use Milwaukee M12 instead, but I do think that it’s great how you can charge any Dewalt batt on any of their chargers.
Jared
Dewalt seems like they have the best arrangement right now – though they seem to have stumbled into rather than have been forward thinking visionaries.
They got a least a charger compatibility across all lines, then backwards compatibility with 60v and 20v – and by lucky coincidence, they were able to engineer some tabs onto the 60v batteries to make them stretch into heavier duty applications.
If it weren’t for the 40v hiccup, they would look pretty clever.
Franco
Agreed
TonyT
It seems to me that Dewalt has been ignoring 60V tools lately (when was the last major 60V tool introduced?) While emphasizing 20V FlexVolt Advantage.
Franco
This is true. But Dewalt seems to have a different approach than others.
Example, Milwaukee has 80%-90% of their M18 tools also in M12. This being probably for anyone who wants compactness, either for weight or getting into tighter spaces. About the only tools that do not make it to M12 are tools that need the extra power from M18.
Makita has also, at least so far, has been replicating many of their LXT into their newer XGT, even small tools like impacts.
Dewalt has not. There are a few in both 20v and 60v, but there are dozens of 20v tools that they have not made into 60v. In a way, this kind of of makes sense. Why make an impact driver that runs on 60v when the battery would dwarf the size of the tool. Instead, with a couple of 20v [slim] batteries, and a bunch of 6.0 and higher Flexvolt batteries, you meet everyone’s need. In fact if you are building a deck and need to drive a couple of 1000 screws, you can throw a Flexvolt battery on your impact, if you so desire.
So, they have made a variety of 60v tools, but many of them are more for contractors than homeowner. Not many homeowners needing a pipe threader or cut off saw.
Anything that will be coming out in future for 60v tools, will be most likely the same, contractor/professional tools. The few homeowner type tools that can be 60v, have already come out…circular saws, miter & table saw, recip saw, grinder…basically any tool that in the 18v/20v world is considered a battery hog, they made into 60v.
At least, this is my guess on why we haven’t seen a lot of 60v new tools.
Ron
64v is new and will offer some benefit. However, people should understand what’s going on here and why much of the different voltages mentioned by manufacturers, are simply marketing spin.
For a start, voltage is not power! How powerful a tool is, is defined by how many watts it puts out, not what voltage it is. You could have a 12v battery which puts out 10A and therefore 120 watts, which is more powerful than an 18v system which only managed 5A, i.e. 80 watts. So people should stop immediately concluding that higher voltage is better: That is not necessarily the case.
Now, having got that basic physics lesson out of the way, let’s consider what’s inside these batteries. All the 18v, 20v, 36v and 40v batteries from Bosch, DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee etc – all of them – have the same battery cells inside. These are called 18650’s, because they are 18mm in diameter and 65mm long. They can be made by Panasonic, Samsung, Santo or LG, or a variety of smaller manufacturers. However, all 18650’s are basically the same. They are lithium-ion batteries with the same basic chemistry.
So what, I hear you ask. Well, these batteries can be charged to a maximum of 4.2v. They are fully charged when they reach 4.2v. But when full, and used for a few seconds only, their voltage drops quickly back down to their normal operating voltage of 3.7v. From there they spend all of their operating life, with the voltage gradually falling with use, until about 3.4v at which point it is flat and needs recharging.
So what does all this mean and why is it relevant to power tools? Well it’s immediately obvious that 4.2v or 3.7v is not 18v! So in fact an 18v battery is usually made up of ten 18650s. 5 of them in series and another 5 in series and both of these series, wired in parallel. So two lots of 5 x 3.7 = 18.5v which is nominally 18v for most of the batteries operating range. That is why most manufacturers call theirs 18v batteries. But 5x 4.2v is 21v. So you could choose to call your battery a 20v battery if you wanted to. It sounds more powerful, right? But it’s not, it’s just marketing spin. It’s the same 10x 18650 batteries.
So what about 36v or 40v? They are the same 10x 18650s as well. (There is no difference between 36v systems or 40v systems, for the same reason as above. ) But in these battery types, the 18650s are all arranged in series, to produce 10x 3.7v = 37v max or 36v nominal operating voltage.
So why have they done this? Why the change from old 18v to the newer 36v? Surely 36v is better? It’s the same 10x 18650 batteries but just arranged differently, so on the face of it, not very exciting. In fact all batteries have a maximum current they can output, and in the case of 18650s, that’s usually around 20A depending on the batteries capacity. So here’s where marketing spin and con number 2 comes in! An 18v battery pack with its 2 parallel banks of 5 series 18650s can in theory output 2 lots of 20A continuously, i.e. 2 x 20A x 18v = 720w. Whereas the 36v version with its single bank of 10 18650s can output 1x 20A x 36v = 720w. Yes, the nominal maximum power output is exactly the same! So there is not a fat lot of difference between any of these systems: 18v, 20v, 36v, 40v – they are all basically the same thing just arranged differently and there is not much difference between them.
In reality, the 36v systems *can* be a little more powerful because it’s easier for an 18650 to sustain say 10 amps than 20 amps. Also less energy is lost inside the batteries themselves when operating at lower current levels. Similarly 36v motors can be more efficient than 18v ones, with thinner wiring and less energy loss through heat. But then other factors come in like whose 18650s are being used? Panasonic or Samsung etc. And what capacity are they?
So 36v or 40v systems are not necessarily any better than 18v ones. The change is more for marketing reasons than anything else. (And interesting that Makita decided to go the whole hug and start calling their system 40v not 36v, when previously it was 18v not 20v !) But it’s a mistake to imagine that 40v is necessarily better than 36v and 36v is better than 20v etc. It’s down to the tool itself, the specific battery pack being used and how the manufacturer has built it.
Stuart
In my opinion, Makita had painted themselves into a corner with 18V. Nearly every other cordless power tool brand started offering higher capacity next-generation batteries with larger form factor 21700 cells years ago. Makita has never answered questions about why they couldn’t do the same, but it has become clear their 18V reached a power and performance limit.
There are benefits to higher voltage battery packs, but to me it seems like XGT was a way to have a fresh start, to design modern tools around a new battery that allowed room to grow.
Another 18V or 20V Max system would have been a hard sell to newcomommers and especially existing 18V users, and so they bumped things up to 36V. The same 10 cells in their standard 3Ah to 5Ah 18V battery packs could be connected differently in identically-sized 36V battery packs.
With respect to 18650 batteries delivering lower current more effectively than higher current, that’s practically moot here.
If 10 cells in 18V configuration (5S2P) are tasked with delivering 10A each, the result is an 18V 20A output. Or, 360W.
If 10 cells in a 36V configuration (10S) are tasked with delivering 10A each, the result is a 36V 10A output. 360W, again.
18V and 20A or 36V and 10A is going to do the same work. Each cell in both battery packs will be delivering 10A. Outside the battery, the electrical power is going to be a little different – 18V and 20A, or 36V and 10A, which requires slightly different design parameters when it comes to wiring and cooling. But ultimately, conductor differences are small enough to where you have to dissipate comparable levels of heat waste in either case.
64V Max packs in more energy, and looks to have an interface that’s better suited for more powerful equipment than either 18V or XGT battery formats.
Jhonny
I have used both back to back, the 36v – 40v tolls are much, much more powerful.
Ron
Only because the tool is designed differently. There’s no intrinsic reason why a tool powered by an 18v battery containing the 10x 18650s is any less powerful than the 36v equivalent with the same 10 cells (which in fact they do have).
But the tool needs to be designed for it, and they’ve (obviously) made the 36v tools more powerful.
However, there are exceptions. Makita’s latest high torque 18v combi drill is pretty much identical in performance to the 36v version… Which kind of proves the point.
Donal
Hi, The idea of this battery system is for homeowners who do not have any other battery platforms. They can use this battery and lawn mower to cut a large lawn with one battery. It must work out cheaper to design one large battery this way. Once this is launched, you will see it at a competitive price point to order battery powered lawn mowers. And if you are on the LXT or XGT platform. You have an option to buy one of them lawn mowers as well. It is not about. Are you platform? It is about giving everyone an option. People who are not on any of the Makita platforms this will appeal to if they want just a cordless lawn mower.
Chris
I think you hit the nail on the head with your take.
MM
They didn’t need a whole new platform for a homeowner mower or OPE. The 40V XGT 8ah pack that Stuart posted is just as powerful as this new pack, so they could have released a single battery mower without any need for a new battery. The only way this platform makes any sense at all is if this is only the start, and that future batteries will be larger and the platform aimed at larger tools.
Donal
It’s going to be cheaper than the XGT platform and more basic. It is just one big battery with a load of the cheap cells in it. Just what a homeowner needs who does not have. LXT t or XGT batteries.
Collin
No. It’s cheaper to make a higher voltage tool than a lower voltage tool with equivalent power. That’s why all the cheap off brands of OPE are running at super high voltages. Like Kobalt 80v, Greenworks 80v, Ryobi 80v etc. High voltage means you can build the motor with fewer copper windings. Lower voltage means more copper for equivalent power.
Makita 64v is likely for the budget conscious OPE crowd. Higher voltage, less copper. The battery size and the 40v 8ah battery is irrelevant. The point is to save money in the tool.
Franco
I think what you say about production would be cheaper may be true, but I have a hard time seeing the cost savings being more than $10 at best, more like $5 or less, which to the consumer, they won’t see. To the MFR, the savings are nothing compared to the R&D, all new presses, molds and all the other related production costs, for the batteries and all the new tools for the system.
For a 4th system taking off for Makita, that needs to sell, therefore needing consumers to adopt it…for all the possible reasons Makita may have made this decision, I think cost is at the very bottom of the list, if it is on the list at all.
MM
@Franco
Colin is correct that a higher voltage platform means that one can use smaller gauge wires throughout the tool, including the windings in the motor. But like you said I can’t imagine that being a significant expense. Right now copper costs about $3.50 per pound, and I doubt the average cordless tool motor even weighs a pound in total. The windings of the motor are a fraction of its total weight so there’s really not all that much copper to save money on the first place. Now larger equipment like a lawn mower will have a bigger motor compared to the average handheld tool but I still don’t think the copper metal savings is all that significant, especially not compared to the various costs you mentioned. You need to save an awful lot of copper before you pay off all the R&D, tooling, and other costs associated with design changes.
Franco
Yes, I said he was correct, and then went on to say exactly what you said.
Bonnie
Looking at listed prices for this thing it’s not looking any cheaper than the 18×2 equivalent, nor does runtime seem any better for the price/total-watt-hours (though you need to swap batteries more often on the 18×2 since Makita doesn’t make larger capacity LXTs).
The 4ah 64v is the same price as the 8ah 36v.
Harrison
I agree. This seems to be designed entirely for a lawnmower, the form factor with the handle makes very little sense for any other tool. This design has also been leaked for ages- if it was part of a bigger system, I feel like we would have heard about it already.
Makita already has a professional landscaping system: Connect X. It’s a big 1200wh battery that can be used with a mower, or worn as a backpack to power blowers, trimmers, etc. There are wired adaptors for LXT and XGT tools if needed.
XGT is pro-grade for construction, (hence why it is used for the 14” concrete saw, 2” rotary hammers etc) but it’s not intended as a professional landscaping solution. Just like the M18 and Dewalt mowers, it’s for homeowners or building contractors who want to use their tool batteries to power a mower at home and save money.
The only brands with credible cordless commercial landscaping systems are Stihl, Husky, etc, brands who have always had skin in the game. Plus some dedicated newcomers. The only reason Makita makes the cut is they owned Dolmar, and actually sold pro-grade gas equipment.
JoeM
Me: “Quick question, Makita… What makes this 64 Volt Battery truly stand out as unique among all the other high-end super batteries released by Milwaukee, DeWALT, or any other large-scale tool brand?”
Makita: “…have you tried to lift one of those things? There’s no handle! Ours has a handle for easy, safe, and rapid exchange of batteries between charger, and tool.”
Me: “So… You put a handle on it, because it’s heavy?”
Makita: “Yes! Yes we did!”
Me: “So you’ll be bringing out more tools that use this system, such as, I dunno… A Tile Cutter…. Mitre Saw… that lovely snow shovel/blower combo you released for the 18V line? You know, so users can justify the purchase of a whole new battery system for year-round use on heavy duty projects?”
Makita: “We made a Lawn Mower!”
Me: “A Lawn Mower… And?…”
Makita: “IT HAS A HANDLE FOR EASY SWAPPING BATTERIES!!!”
Me: “…Okay… I’m just going to let myself out… I really hope you do the right thing here… Take care, okay?”
Makita: “Tell your friends it has…!”
Me: “A Handle, yes, I got it the first time… Nice work, but… Please release more than just a lawn mower that uses it? If I can see where you should have more released tools that use it at launch, so will other Makita users… They’re going to expect more out of you, seriously…”
Makita: “*Ghasp* Like… TWO Handles???”
Me: “…Okay, I’m out… there’s nothing I can say here…”
(Written for humour, not a critique or commentary. Just something to laugh at. Carry on.)
Ian
Tools with 64v x 2 woulf include zero turn mower, concrete mixer, wacker packer, big air compressor, big stand up concrete grinder and dust extraction unit.
The list goes on
neandrewthal
It’s still only 230 watt-hours per battery, and around 2HP sustained output. All of those tools would have potentially unusable run times.
Phil
Not a surprise to me. Milwaukee has 80v. Big batteries have a place on equipment… we are already at that stage. Compatible not as much as a issue. It fact it hinders some Milwaukee HO tools.
mauser
Hi Stuart,
This system is for home owners, cost effective solution for OPE. Not intended to compete any high power stuff. Nothing to see here for power tool geeks unfortunately.
Mateo
There’s a strong trend of just bashing Makita here for a while now. A speculation post like this was just room for even more of that.
Mateo
And I don’t mean Stuart’s specific examples of poor communication or comment abuse. Run em into the ground for those things, they and any brand deserve backlash on that stuff.
But this is just a bunch of people that can’t be bothered to even figure out what they’re talking about.
Stuart
Makita launched a 64V Max cordless power tool battery, charger, and 2 mowers; these are real products they’re selling in many overseas markets today.
Claiming it’s a “homeowner” product, without Makita actually saying this (I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere at least) would be speculation. I looked again and can see no mention of any “this is for homeowners or DIYers” claims in any Makita 64V Max marketing materials. If I missed it somehow, please point it out to me.
Franco
I agree, claiming it to be a homeowner product, really does not make sense.
Would Makita, or any company, invest in a 64v system for just 2 lawnmowers; not likely. So if they will be bringing out more tools (or maybe they already exist overseas or in Japan?), then consider what those tools could be. With a battery that size, there are very few power tools that would work well with a battery this size (impact driver!). So you are looking at bigger electric tools or tools that traditionally would be gas powered…like a lot of what the MX Fuel line has.
So if anything, this is anything but a homeowner line platform.
MM
I agree.
I think these batteries seem clearly targeted towards larger equipment. Given the appearance of the batteries with lots of vent holes, lack of any sort of “bumpers” or reinforced edges/corners, and the big handle–I’m guessing that there will be few if any handheld tools using these. They appear to be designed to be used in stationary or self-propelled equipment where they will be enclosed in a compartment with a lid or cover of some kind to keep debris out of the batteries and to keep them protected from impact. I can’t see a battery like that being practical with exposed mounting like we see in most cordless tools. Those batteries appear to me to be designed to live in an enclosure, like the mower with it’s cover, rather than something which will be exposed to the elements directly.
Donal
Ok to backup my comments. It is bing sold in the UK now with a battery and charger£742.95. It costs less than the equivalent LXT+2 36v bare.DLM532Z 18Vx2 LXT Brushless Lawn Mower Bare Unit £757.95. actually lower spec. It is a good bit cheaper than LXT perfect for homeowners who do not have heart tools on the LXT platform or 40 volt Max.
Phil
I can see a whole slew of tools for this line. Similar to mx.. or Similar building on cordless work site for any trade. I can next see a 64v rotary hammer with 2 inch or higher capacity. Milwaukee voltage compatibility on m18 HO tools do not perform good enough.
Kevin
This one is kind of a head-scratcher for me. Why would they opt for yet another battery platform? Just making an educated guess but wouldn’t it be isn’t there an argument to be had that it would be more beneficial to just make an XGT (X2) kind of situation? It meshes with an existing platform, and it would run on a nominal 72V. Isn’t that better than further muddying the already murky waters of battery platforms? This would be their fourth. As an added bonus, not that it really matters, but Milwaukee MX runs at a nominal 72V as well. It would put them more in line to directly compete with it if the situation were to arise in the future. Obviously if I thought of this, Makita obviously considered it. Just seems like an odd avenue to take.
MFC
Yay! The more muddle in the market, the more competition and the better the prices! At least, that’s my opinion.
Franco
Plain and simple, it is a new platform. It can say Makita, Milwaukee or Dewalt, you need to buy into a new platform.
Also, “At the time of XGT’s launch, Makita USA also pointed out competitors, namely Dewalt and Milwaukee, don’t have single-system solutions”
Well partly true, not counting 12v, you can use 1 platform with Dewalt. With 1 charger and 1 battery (60v Flexvolt) you can use any of there 20v & 60v tools. To me, this is a big advantage.
**** I am not one to talk as I have M12, M18, Makita LXT (both 18v & 36v (18×2) tools) Fein 18v, Metabo 18v, Ridgid 12v, Metabo HPT, Dewalt 20v & 60v, Ryobi One+ 18v.
At this point in the game, just about everyone has drill & impact driver, and a very high percentage have most common tools like circular saw, recip saw and others.
So buying into a new platform means a new battery & charger…probably on a tool you do not already have at least one of already. This equals a NOT common tool. So when you are not using this non everyday tool, the battery sits.
Metabo HPT I bought into for their rear handle circular saw, and then bought the triple impact driver; both very nice. But I have 4 other circ says and maybe 7 impact drivers. So I have to use them to keep them from sitting and the batteries dying on the shelf.
My M18 Fuel recip saw is a beast, as well as most Fuel tools. And I have a wide variety of M12 tools (probably 2nd after my Makita LXT) and love the size, fit and feel.
If I had to do an overall assessment (test) of all the tools, Milwaukee is usually the most powerful or pretty close (but this I do not care about). Makita, Milwaukee and Dewalt all have a pretty insane assortment of tools. But overall, for ergonomics, reliability, and just the ones I like the most…probably the Makita LXT 18v system.
If I had to start over with zero tools, I would probably go with Dewalt. The big reason is because with about a dozen Flexvolt batteries and maybe 5of the 20v, I could power everything I currently have in all the brands and tools I have. And anything I want to get in OPE or construction tools, Dewalt would have me covered with basically 1 system.
Makita will now have 4 platforms, all incompatible with each other. As much as I love their tools, there business model sucks!
Bonnie
Yeah, I’m not a platform purist. I have cordless tools from DeWalt, Makita, and Ryobi. Incompatibility between different companies I get, they’re competing with each other. But Makita’s recent approach just feels like a lack of planning and system fragmentation leading them to compete against themselves.
I’m not looking to replace my current Makita tools any time soon, but it makes me not trust that any “system” from them will last or be useful outside a one-off.
Luke
A bit off topic, but I’m still mad at Makita for buying Dolmar, then choosing to euthanize it. Cordless has it’s place. Maybe this 64 volt platform will have some great tools, but it can never replace the big gas chainsaws.
Star
I love my makita tools for home use. Husband can’t touch lol but for the job ( carpentry ) it’s gotta be dewalt. Although it would be nice if all brands could find a way to make one battery for all their tools that could have a setting to adjust to any voltage you need. It would be so much better instead of having to have a different battery depending on the tool. I guess when it comes down to it, it really is just about the money for these companies and I get that but half the time, the battery cost more than the tool
M Richardson
This is not new! I saw this over 6 months ago in UK and Makita advertised it over a year ago. Its destined to be for gardening only. The batteries are about the size of a brick, high voltage, with the ampage, give a high watt hours. So that you cut more with your mower.
Franco
I am pretty surprised about Makita having launched this for gardening. It sems like a lot of R&D plus all the rest that goes with a new battery platform, as well as the new tools designed around it, for just a lawnmower? Maybe a couple of different sizes and possibly a riding mower; looks too big for handheld line trimmers, hedge trimmers and other handheld OPE.
Jeff
Great discussion!
My two bits of comments are:
I have over 20, 18v and 18vx2 and love most of them. The batteries are fine. Makita 40v system was just an evolution to keep up with the other big guys and selling more powerful tools on a different platform. I have chosen not to partake in that platform. I even had to buy an Hikoki 18v mini blower (using a battery adapter with my Makita 18v’s) because I wouldn’t buy the Makita 40v and Makita chose not to make an 18v… This is all about marketing…
The new 64v line is again another line of ultra high power equipment and they needed a bigger package to hold all the batteries. This makes sense to me when you have equipment that needs multiple pounds of batteries.
To me the question is, how do they decide which tool stays with the old 18v batteries and which get the 40v ones?
As a loyal Makita user, I hope they continue to support the 18v line for when the battery form factor makes sense. I think the lower cost of copper wire for the higher voltage is not really a factor and it’s all about marketing!