3ah, 4ah or 5ah?

[HappyHippyDad]

Evening all.

My friend has asked me if he should buy 3, 4 or 5 Ah makita batteries. All my batteries are 3Ah so I do not feel equipped to answer him as I have no experience of the others.

I am completely happy with the 3Ah ones, however what do you guys think?

Is it better to have the 5Ah as they last longer? Do they actually have a longer or shorter life expectancy? Do they take much longer to charge? Are they really necessary?

Cheers all.

 

[Taylortwocities]

All you need to know can be found via Google

Makita Battery Comparison - https://www.toolandindustrial.co.nz/shop/custom.aspx/makita-new-4ah-battery/15/

Learn what is on this page, and you can pretend to your friend that you know everything.

If you want to thank me, I can send you my Paypal info

 

[Midwest]

It's pretty simple HHD, 5ah are more expensive, but have a longer run time than 3 & 4. So if your using your cordless tool all day, without access to charging, the higher the AH the better.

 

[Andy78]

Depends on the use too. I will happily use my 3Ah in my combi drill, but would only think of using my 5Ah in my SDS when chiselling for example, as the 3Ah would be bummed in no time.

 

[Jamchiv01]

I can charge a 5aH and drain it in less than a day easy, I find charging multiple 3Ah batteries and swapping them to be good,
cost wise you can get:

2 3Ah batteries for £83
1 5Ah battery for £70

(Prices from amazon and may change by the time someone from the future is reading this)

As stated previously, it all depends on use. My radio can last at least a week on a 5Ah, but my circular saw drains them a lot faster.

Brushless drills / tools save battery life as there are no carbon brushes causing friction on the motors.

5Ah takes around 50 mins give or take depending on how dead it was.
3Ah takes around 25-30 mins depending on how dead it was.

Can't comment for 4Ah as I don't have any.

 

[HandySparks]

Evening all.

My friend has asked me if he should buy 3, 4 or 5 Ah makita batteries. All my batteries are 3Ah so I do not feel equipped to answer him as I have no experience of the others.

I am completely happy with the 3Ah ones, however what do you guys think?

Is it better to have the 5Ah as they last longer? Do they actually have a longer or shorter life expectancy? Do they take much longer to charge? Are they really necessary?

Cheers all.

Why is your friend buying Makita batteries separately anyway? I find that the way to acquire more batteries is to buy an additional Makita tool as a kit, complete with batteries, case and charger. OK, I have a few spare chargers, but it's still cost-effective for me.

 

[Midwest]

Guess some of batteries have given up the ghost, and he just wants some replacements. By the way, I think HHD friend doesn't exist

 

[i=p/u]

Well it's on the label , will last longer in layman terms.

Depends on what u want and what jobs u doing , if doing commercial work I found the grinder and circular saw eats battery power so I got 5ah , now I'm doing domestic maintenance and hardly use them at all

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Many thanks for the replies.

He has decided upon 2 x 3Ah and 1 x 5Ah. I think this is a good choice, at least you can get some first hand experience of how much longer the 5Ah lasts and how long it takes to charge, and more importantly if you find it more (or perhaps less) beneficial compared to the quick charging 3Ah battery.

Happy New year to everyone