BL1850B 18V LXT® Lithium-Ion 5.0Ah Battery

I have nothing but nice things to say about this battery. It is almost identical in dimensions and weight to the BL1830's, but adds an additional 2 amp hours of runtime, the battery capacity gauge, and Star protection. The battery capacity gauge works well. Activating it requires depressing a small push-button switch on the back of the battery. This is a plastic "bubble" style magnetic switch found on devices like kitchen timers. This style of switch is not the most durable, and seems to be the weak link in what is otherwise a very well-made product. So far so good, though, so perhaps this will not be an issue over the life of the battery. Star protection is Makita's name for an internal circuit that will not let you overheat the battery, or run the battery down to such a complete state of discharge that it cannot be recharged, which can be an issue with some lithium battery systems, like Makita's own BL1830 batteries. The best feature of this battery over an 1830 is the warranty: 3 years instead of just one. That makes this a pretty reasonable investment for any regular user. Also note that the additional capacity should mean fewer recharge cycles, and thus longer life. While I have nothing but nice things to say about this battery, I do have some less-nice thing to say about Makita. The Star protection is great, but they sold non-Star tools and batteries for a number of years, leaving a lot of customers such as myself with a significant investment in these products. While Star protection is marketed as a feature of the new generation of tools and batteries, a more honest evaluation would be that Makita sold a tool/battery system with a significant design flaw for quite a while. This battery represents what is essentially a totally different battery system. It looks the same, is still called "LXT," and uses the same chargers, but it is physically not compatible with the old tools without warranty-voiding modification. If you have non-Star tools, you can easily take a chisel to the small tab that prevents this battery from mating with them, and this battery will power them just fine. However, this modification definitely voids the tool warranty, and might void the battery warranty as well-- these batteries do contain a memory chip, and I have not been able to find any definitive information on whether or not they log interfacing with a non-Star tool. It also means that the battery will not be protected by the Star circuitry when using that tool. I am currently "playing it safe" and using this battery only with my Star tools. I'm not quite sure what I'll do if my non-Star tools outlast my dwindling BL1830 fleet. As much as I love my Makita tools, unless Makita offers some kind of trade-up program, I have a feeling that the solution might be yellow and black.

Seems to be genuine. Came in original package. Fits as expected. Charges within the 45mins as stated with the rapid charger. Weight alittle more than a 3amp. Will buy another soon.

Used it with the Makita hedge trimmer and it did the whole job with charge left.

This 5 AH appears to be same size and weight as my old 3AH Makita battery that was starting to show weakness. I popped it in the charger and it was ready in about 45 min. Zero bars charge out of the box - but all topped off now. Gave it a try in the Makita circular saw and works well. Satisfied with my purchase. Haven't tested the power vs the 3AH nor the duration of the charge but I expect it to be excellent. Love the addition of the charge level meter - makes it easy to pick up and see if its ready to go. A little more than a Dewalt OEM 4 AH i got recently but still in the ballpark of what OEM's cost these days at around $80. Pleased with purchase ... I now have to be careful I don't go and justify additional Makita tools to use the battery.

Legit battery comes in factory issued containers

4 starts only because mine was not sealed in original packaging. It was in a ziplock bag like the kind you use in your kitchen. No where in the description does it say this is a open item, returned, or refurbished item. so 4 stars. The price & quality of the battery saved this review. Battery looks new. No scuffs or marks showing use. Battery charged and works as it should. I tested it hard in my weed trimmer and it easily out performed my 4Ah OEM battery. Battery is identical to my expensive OEM Makita batteries. I cant tell any difference in any way. I Will buy more of these. Not sure why it did not come in OEM packaging. Not sure where these come from or if they are refurbished or open returns. They do perform as they should and the price is excellent.

Excellent product. Lasts about 1.5 time the 4.0 Ah.

Did not know what to expect, Stated Used yet Sealed Packaging on what looked like 2 new BL1850B 18V XLT Li-on 5.0 Batteries with the led battery level indicator even. Neither one of the batteries would charge. Alternating red and green lights on charger indicate there is an issue with the batteries. Contacted seller for replacement product, was told there are no more. And what do I want to do? Contacted Makita, can send to Factory Service Center or take into my local service center. Update: Found local service center who was able to charge them for me. Determined off brand charger was issue on these specific batteries. It charged original 2.0 just fine. So bought a new Makita branded charger and problem is solved. Raised my rating from 1* to 5*. Great price, good quality product, honest service. I actually feel bad having given a poor rating when the issue was not them or thier product.