Higher-voltage 36V cordless power tools, especially rotary hammers, are much better suited for extreme-heavy-duty applications than even the best 18V models, but juggling multiple battery platforms can be a hassle not to mention costly. Makita’s engineers have come up with a very clever solution that allows users to power 36V tools using 18V battery packs.*
Full details have not yet been announced, but it looks like Makita is bringing to market a simple 36V battery pack adapter that accepts two LXT high-capacity lithium-ion 18V battery packs. Pop in your 18V packs, attach the 18VX2 adapter to your 36V tool, and you’re good to go.
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The resulting solution looks large and bulky, but it allows Makita 18V users to put 36V tools to work without the need for separate 36V battery packs and chargers. There’s no word as to how much the adapter will cost or when it will be available. It’s also a moot point unless Makita makes their 36V rotary hammers available as bare-tools instead of kits.
*Technically the idea of an 18V to 36V adapter cannot be credited to Makita. Reader KenZ discussed such a concept about three years ago in a comment when describing how he hacked together an adapter to use two Makita batteries to power his 36V Bosch tools.
Jeff Tieman
This is a great idea. No new batteries to buy (except for an adapter). Nice!
Jerry
Great idea. Now if only we could get some sort of cross-comparability of batteries, fro brand to brand. What would be wrong with a more or less universal fit battery system. So many companies are coming out with 20v ‘max’ setups, why not make the 20v ‘max’ batteries universal????
Stuart
Some brands put more electronics in their tools, others put them in the batteries. Too many potential issues, not to mention potential losses if they were to agree to any type of cross-platform compatibility.
“20V Max” is just BS marketing to appeal to American’s senses of 20 being better than 18.
Jerry
Still, wouldn’t it be great, if you liked one brand of drill, and another brand of saw, and could use the same battery, charger, etc.
Right now, I am more or less stuck buying only one particular brand, because of the mix of tools I need, or have multiple batteries. Not that this is all bad, but there are some tools of other brands I may prefer.
PHILIP JOHN
It’s because 18 v and 20v lines are different lines. When talking dewalt.
KenZ
When I did my dual conversion to run my Bosch 36V saw from two 18V makita batteries, I also did converters to run Ryobi One+, Hitachi, Dewalt, and Black and Decker 18V stuff.
Back then, Ryobi didn’t have a decent Li-Ion battery line, and B&D didn’t have Li-Ion at all for their home and garden (yes, that made me the first guy with a Li-Ion 18V chainsaw, which only partially sucked instead of fully sucking). But man, that weed whacker would go!
I did the Ryobi convert because sometimes I just don’t want top of the line tools for stuff I don’t use that often, where I wouldn’t want to pay the makita premium for something I use once/year.
I did the Makita-Dewalt adapter because I had a few spare Dewalt tools around, but again didn’t want to invest in their batteries.
So it can be done…. it’s USUALLY the batteries that have the smarts, and the tools are relatively “dumb.” Not always the case though; the Bosch 36V tools look for something in their battery pack, so I had to use the 36V board for the Bosch along with the Makita parts for the adapter.
DIY_MIKE
Ken,
Have you adapted 20v dewalt batteries to use on their 36v line of tools? Any ideas or guidance you could give on how to proceed with doing that? I have a great set of 36v dewalt tools and several dead batteries that cost well over$400 each for third party rebuilds.
Ross
Looks like a pretty cool system. Rather simple yet effective. I never thought about using two batteries for a 36v system with an adapter, but I had pondered the idea of tools that were designed to use two batteries. Specifically, I was thinking of a miter saw. Have any companies tried anything like a cordless miter saw?
Stuart
There are a couple of cordless miter saws on the market, but not many. Makita came out with a new 18V model about a year and a half ago.
Ross
Wow, guess I’m behind on things. Have you tested any of these? I’m into Dewalt cordless tools and have always preferred the Dewalt miter saws – are they coming out with any thing of the sort?
Stuart
I have not tested the cordless miter saw, but might look into it one day.
Dewalt has not officially announced a 20V cordless miter saw.
Heff
I’ve tried Dewalt miter saws and don’t get what the big attraction is. I haven’t found anything to like about them. They’re heavy, the rails are nowhere near as smooth as what else is out there. What am I missing?
fred
I guess that I was not even aware that Makita was offering any 36V tools on the US market. While I’ve never been a big fan of Dewalt – we made exceptions for the 36V saws we bought and find to be good performers . We also have an old 3-phase Dewalt 16 inch RAS sitting in the cormer of one shop – but that was made when the Dewalt brand stoodalmost exclusively for US-made lumber-yard and timber-cutting RAS’s.
While we buy our Makita 18V batteries in bulk so as to have plenty of spares – I’m not sure that I could see 2 of them strapped together to a cricular saw of the size of our Dewalts
Stuart
Right now it looks like their 36V line only includes rotary hammers. To be honest, I was also surprised to find this out.
Fred
I know that there are some situations where you just have to get a hole drilled, but I really don’t understand every manufacturer’s fetish with cordless rotary hammers. From a technical perspective, sure it may be the hardest an electric motor would work and/or how hard the batteries would have to work, but in the real world you would only take one of these someplace you absolutely had to, and would use a corded tool whenever possible.
Makita came out with a new cordless sander recently as well, and while they’re not the only one with a current model in multiple systems, it’s really not worth all the fuss. I am sure there is a need someone could think of but really, a corded tool is not just ideal but is the right tool for the job.
Addressing the above comments about cross compatibility of batteries, while there aren’t really great (or particularly safe if you aren’t experienced) ways to accomplish it, you could make additional batteries to fit your cordless tools. It’s barely cheaper and not worth the effort in terms of real world functionality, but the batteries are all basically the same (apples to apples) on the inside. Most companies depend on the sales of the batteries to help with the tool development. While you could buy one big set of tools and everything else in bare tools, for most pros this is impractical. Instead of being concerned about having to buy only specific batteries, choose a tool system that best fits your needs using the same batteries. Or even better, work with someone who uses the brand of saw you like while you buy the one with the best drill, to use your example. You have the best tools that way.
Personally I think any kind of cordless saw shouldn’t be a deciding factor in a purchase anyway because even with the best cordless saw, what kind? Cordless circ saws are a novelty, there may be one or two situations you’re glad you have it but most guys I know won’t buy a second set of blades for it or only use it for one kind (masonry or non-ferrous cuts) so your main circ saw doesn’t get burned up on tougher materials. Cordless recip saws have their uses but again a corded is best for real work whenever possible. Cordless jigsaws aren’t a necessity for most folks but if you do need one, I can see you getting a good one from any of the major brands.
Aellynh
Really gotta disagree with the entire second half that you wrote, I can think of many scenarios where cordless was a huge benefit and time saver. For any kind of renovation or new construction where the availability of outlets is limited, cordless has been a godsend for rotary hammers. Not the kind of rotary hammer that I’d be doing anything larger than 1 inch in diameter, but repeated small holes for mounting equipment. I’ve had great success installing corner mount camera brackets for CCTV using a Hilti TE-2A. Only has a 5/8 inch capacity in concrete, but sometimes that is all you need if the equipment you are working on is relatively small and requires low weight supporting anchors/brackets.
Almost all of the equipment used in the security industry is light duty and can be hung with basic stuff like 2 1/4 inch Tapcons. As much as I like the whole bigger is better when it comes to more power with rotary hammers, I couldn’t really justify getting anything larger for the job I do. Even the TE-2A might be overkill for this application, that little 12v Milwaukee might have just enough capacity, plus the platform is crazy expandable and batteries are reasonably priced. If I wasn’t already invested into the Makita 18v platform for my other cordless, I’d look at the 12v Milwaukee, considering the inexpensive and lightweight rotary hammer they’re making.
Stuart
Cordless has advantages for a lot of people, myself included. I don’t have the same shop space I had a year ago, so messier work has to be done outside. Grabbing a cordless tool saves a lot of time and effort in terms of setup and transport. There are limitations, such as with grinders, saws, sanders, and other tools designed for continuous use, but Li-ion tech and high-capacity batteries have been helping things along.
Cordless rotary hammers are absolutely welcome additions to a jobsite. They’re light and compact, and much easier to deal with whether you need a couple of holes drilled or 50. Corded tools are built for uncompromised power, and as such you don’t often see compact or lightweight options. 36V tools are popular, not as popular as 18V, but they can usually hold their own compared to corded tools.
Lightweight tools, such as Milwaukee’s M12 rotary hammer aren’t just toys or gimmicks, and can really handle many of the lighter and medium-duty tasks a corded tool would be overkill for.
fred
Stuart:
If you had only on choice – corded electric might be it – but thanks to our consumer-oriented society we have lots of other choices too. My first battery powered tools were Porter Cable 12V Magnequench drills – quite a good tool for its day. At that time – I did not think of batteries for anything on the jobsite except those drills – and our flashlights. I agree with you that a compact battery-powered rotohammer is a useful addition to the tool inventory. For small holes – especially when working at elevation (think staging, ladders, roof work) it can be a better alternative to a corded tool. But for breaking pavement – even a corded tool is not up to the job – and we’ll roll an engine-driven compressor and break out the pnematic jackhammers. When there not up to the task – we call for an excavator or backhoe/hoe ram – or the rock drillers and the blasters if we’ve hit some tough shelf.
For crdless saws – I was not convinced at first – but my guys liked the Makita 5-3/8 inch 18V trim saw – but were disappointed with the 6-1/2inch saw that we bought as one of our first bundles. So we bought a few more trim saws (I still like my old corded 4-1/2 inch Rocklwell-Porter Cable – now spoting a Forrest Blade – better) – but switched to buying Dewalt 36V cordless saws that we use on roof jobs.
gman
I wonder if this thing would work in reverse, to charge two 18V batteries on a 36V charger at the same time.
Stanley
This is crazy looking I haven’t seen it come over here yet but I sure hope they do. Also, gman that’s not a bad idea I hadn’t even though of using it like that, I wonder how it would go.
skfarmer
if you really want to get my attention make an adpter that will accept the slide on 20 volt max dewalt battery and then snap in to the industry standard 18 volt dewalt tools. that guy will sell the pants off of that adapter.
Stuart
Not going to happen. 20V platform vs. 18V is more than just a change in form factor. My guess is that adapters would have to be sophisticated enough that they wouldn’t be cost effective.
Moving forward batteries will continue to be available for 18V, but eventually 20V will dominate.
aleks
Not true… 18v IS 20v it’s just a marketing thing… thats why its 20V MAX, Makita, Bosch, Milwaukee are all 20V max tools even though the companies are decent enough to not BS us with marketing crap… Dewalt 20V is in fact 18V. Just like your car 12V battery is actually 14.4V MAX, so when fully charged ANY 18V battery would be 20V or so…
Greg W.
I love this tool. All the power that I want and the batteries are lasting long enough.
Martyn
I’m pretty happy with my makita gear it’s about bloody time they bought out there new range of brush less tho. They have been behind the 8 ball with there predecessors compared to some other brands. But bought the new kit with the 5 amp batteries only to find out that they don’t fit into any of my old kit bar the torch light.. It’s a frigin scam! Not to mention my batteries always seem to shit themselves after the warranty period expires. Why makita? It’s almost as if you design them to fail after a set time. But if any marketing exec is by chance reading these blogs UPDATE your grinder!!! Take the safety cut out out and make them a standard 5 inch to take the more common wheels and blades. But if I were to design my own kit this would be it. Makita drill and driver, Bosch grinder, Milwaukee hammer drill, makita radio, makita blower, makita rip saw. And that’s why I have stayed loyal to them because although there grinder and hammer drill are shit compared to others. There other tools kinda make up for it.