Charger for Makita® 18v batteries

01 · IT SAYS LXT ON THE BATTERY

The only check that counts

Makita has several 18 V families and they are not all interchangeable. The one this unit charges is LXT, and it is written on the battery itself.

If yours does not carry it, this charger is no use to it however well the voltage matches. It is the commonest mix-up and the one that sends a charger back.

02 · WHY IT TAKES WHAT IT TAKES

Amp-hours, not volts

Charging time is set by the battery's capacity, not its voltage: a 3 Ah takes roughly twice as long as a 1.5 Ah in the same charger.

This is a standard charger, not a fast one. It charges more slowly and therefore runs cooler — and heat is what ages a lithium battery. What you lose in minutes you get back in cycles.

03 · TWO BATTERIES, ONE ROTATION

How the day gets organised

The routine that keeps the work moving: one battery at the apiary and one on charge. With a sublimator, a driver or an electric barrow, that alternation is the difference between finishing the apiary and going back for it.

It runs on 230 V mains, so it also works in the van off an inverter.

04 · WHERE TO CHARGE

Not in the sun, not in the van in August

The place matters more than it seems: charging inside a closed van in summer puts battery and charger at temperatures neither appreciates.

In the shade, in the store, with room around it so the charger can breathe.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

This is the charger on its own: