Makita BL1830B 18V LXT Lithium-Ion 3.0Ah Battery, Black

Good batteries, genuine Makita

Makita line of 18v cordless is extremely versatile and durable. I am a professional carpenter of 18 years. I’m not one of those sissy la la kinda guys that polish my tools and keep them hanging all pretty above a work bench. I’m out in the field, tools in and out of my truck, up and down every part of a house. I’ve worn out craftsman, rigid and Dewalt drill sets.... Makita is still ticking. My current company invested in the 18v Makita platform years ago and it is my opinion that is the true testing grounds. Have you ever heard of the saying: “drive it like you stole it”? Well these company owned tools are much like the saying, ask any business owner and they’ll tell you how hard employees are on equipment. I’ve watched the same Makita impact driver tumble down a roof pitch, bounce off scaffold and hit the ground on multiple occasions and the tool and battery are still hard at work with no ill effect. The charge time and duty cycle are superior to any system I’ve used. The array of tools available on the platform is also more numerous than any system I’ve used. Makita is a pioneer in cordless and the 18v platform is testament to a long history of quality performance, durability and longevity. By nature I’m cheap, I could never justify the investment into Makita until I witnessed the tools being subject to day in and day out abuse (at no cost of my own). Having personally worn out other brand tools I realized the benefits. For home owner or periodic use these tools are certain to fall into obsolescence long before the life of the tool would be consumed. Take it from me, a natural skeptic, cheapskate turned Makita convert, these tools are worth every penny and more.

Charged up and worked fine

Great replacement battery.

I was shocked and glad to see that Makita had a store on amazon. I don't know why I never thought to check here first. The majority of the tools I buy are Makita due to the durability and that they never change the type of battery they use. These tools however are not cheap since they are so well made. I was so glad to see the Makita battery at a more reasonable price point than home depot sells. I will be constantly checking to see if the batteries go on sell.

Despite what the seller states, these batteries work with any Makita tool whether or not it is a Star Protection tool. I have an older 1/2" Makita Drill that has neither a star symbol nor yellow plastic battery receiver. I called Makita tech support and asked what batteries to use for my drill as the BL-1830 batteries are no longer available. I was told that the BL-1830B batteries would work fine, just that the charge indicator (AKA, Gas Gauge) would not work on my older drill that lacked a star symbol. I was told that the "B" in BL-1830B batteries stands for "Bridge Battery" indicating that it will bridge between the old and new (Star Protection and Non-Start Protection) tools and will work with any tool or charger that I used with the BL-1830 batteries. The BL-1830B batteries do charge fine on my old charger. The lack of a charge state indicator is not an issue for me as my old BL-1830 batteries didn't have one anyway. These batteries are not cheap but work well. I deducted one star on this review because of the confusing statement on the product description.

Good quality

The 3.0Ah batteries fit and work in the pre-Star System tools, specifically the LXT series just before Star was introduced. I have been challenged for months trying to find the answer regarding old model of 18v batteries that would claim to work in pre-Star tools and nobody could give me a definitive answer. Makita dealers couldn't or wouldn't even give me definitive answers. I'm not 100% certain but I don't believe the higher amperage models like 4.0Ah or 5.0Ah will work but I bought these 3.0Ah units because the ones I finally stumbled on locally with the identical model number BL-1830B-2 did NOT have any reference to the Star System, just LXT like my tools. Those were $219 for a pair at my local Ace Hardware!! I didn't think these in this Amazon ad were labeled for Star so I bought them but after receiving them, I saw they DID have the "Star Only" paper insert packed over the battery in the package. I was afraid to open them for fear of not being able to return them but sucked it up and tried. They fit and function even though my tool does NOT have the yellow plastic receiver or the black one with a Star insignia. It's just an LXT model with a DCRA18 charger. So, needless to say, I'm stoked these work and have now bought a second pack so I'll have 4 batteries for less than what 2 would have cost me locally. To reiterate, I have heard but can't confirm, the 4.0 and 5.0Ah cells may not work in my older tool application so try that at your own risk if you decide to go big. Hopefully this helps somebody going through the same conundrum as I did for so long trying to get answers. I should also throw in the Makita SUCKS for pulling this stunt on people that have run their tools for so many years. They could have taken the time to make this easier for their customers.