So IMPORTANT NOTE — Makita does NOT make these adapters and would NOT approve of them….NOT that I want or need their approval to use their batteries with my other tools!!!
In short (no pun intended but DO read on), battery adapters are a GREAT tool accessory simply because they let a person convert from their main tool manufacturer of choice (which in my case, and it also sounds like in your case, is the Makita XLT line) to just about ANY other manufacturers tools and THAT is a blessing in its own right!!!
I bought my first battery adapter when Ryobi, whose tools I generally despise (sorry to all the Ryobi fan boys) mostly due to BOTH their cheaper quality, but also their ugly color (LOL), came out with an 18v cordless glue gun which Makita didnt make … and even if they did, they would charge $150 for it instead of the $30 that Ryobi was asking!!!
A friend had told me about battery adapters, and I got a cheap one from eBay (of course theyre also now available on Amazon) and I ended up with a cordless "Makobi" glue gun for some of my, as well as some of my kids fun projects, for less then $50 …take THAT to the bank, Makita !!!
My "Makobi" glue gun is still working great after 6 years of both useful and stupid projects.
In fact, it worked so well, that eventually I bought and made a useful "Makobi" cordless caulking gun for about 1/3 the cost of Makitas really nice one…for an occasional use tool, it gets the job done just fine.
The IMPORTANT thing to realize is that MOST of the battery adapters are cheap and use only small gauge wires to transfer the power, sothey should be uysed ONLY for light duty load applications!!!
For more powerful tools, I have seen the adapter smoke a bit under load … NOT a good sign.
But THEN I heard about this guy on Etsy who 3D prints various battery adapters from quality polymers and uses 12 gauge wire for the HD load win… I'll include the link below, though be aware that his prices are closer to $30 each instead of $15. That said, I get to run a small Rigid portable air compressor off of 2 Makita XLT batteries, as well as a Milwaukee cordless table saw (think trim or deck work ONLY) on a single Makita XLT. I also run a Dewalt DC961 MOAIG (Mother Of All Impact Guns) on an XLT battery as well their tiny but powerful DCF923 impact on MAKITA batteries as well.
The possibilities are ALMOST endless, though of course the adapters do NOT support charging, but then you already have your Makita charger so that really doesn't matter…you get to buy "tool only" tools from other manufactures and do NOT have to support multiple battery makes or chargers.
IMHO, thats an honest win/win!!!
In short, buy the cheaper Amazon adapters for light duty use (like the 50w HK stereo oRyobu glue and caulking guns) but be sure to buy the HD ones for ANY tols that use bigger current loads.
Just my .02
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