Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Makita). This thread is read-only.
Guys!
Can any of you wonderful people give any information on when we will see a Brushless OMT From Makita? I’ve had the brushed model for 3 years and it’s starting to die on me (it’s had a hard life tbf). I’m wondering whether it’s worth paying $220 for a new brushed model or waiting for Brushless?
Change the brushes !?
For $220 you could get a Fein Multimaster with the 350 watt motor. I have all Makita tools, but the fein is by far superior in this category.
PNWtooljunkie wrote:
3 hours ago, PNWtooljunkie said:For $220 you could get a Fein Multimaster with the 350 watt motor. I have all Makita tools, but the fein is by far superior in this category.
Not here in Australia you can’t? $350 for the corded multimaster, $660 for the cordless.
Its the 18v Makita multi tool I have and that’s what I’d be looking to buy again.
You could be right, it could be the brushes.
Makita still have the best performing cordless OMT of the big brands as far as I know (though I’m partial to the Bosch starlock).
@dwain just curious, have you ever tried the Metabo brushed OMT? I’ve never been able to find a review, or seen anyone else that’s even owned one.
I owned one briefly but sold it. It was noticeably heavy and VERY solid feeling but I never actually used it. I sold it after discovering the Dewalt shortly after.
I’d love to see more Metabo reviews, especially seeing they persist with brushed motors. I’m sure they’re not stupid sticking with brushed, so in their own testing they must be seeing similar results to Makita with their brushless-beating-brushed tools.
I remember the Makita brushed planer coming first in one of the OTT reviews (vs brushless competitors).
yeah it used to be that brushless tools were often less powerful than their competitors. that is rarely the case anymore, but i suspect that’s less to do with the BL motor, and more to do with battery tech. Not sure.
No never used the Metabo OMT sorry. We like Metabo gear too. The BL grinder is in our upcoming comparison and seems to be a great unit.
Yeah the Makita planer is a great unit. Only the BL Dewalt rivals it. All the other brands were brushed too.
D W wrote:
[mention=21032]dwain[/mention] just curious, have you ever tried the Metabo brushed OMT? I’ve never been able to find a review, or seen anyone else that’s even owned one.
I owned one briefly but sold it. It was noticeably heavy and VERY solid feeling but I never actually used it. I sold it after discovering the Dewalt shortly after.
I’d love to see more Metabo reviews, especially seeing they persist with brushed motors. I’m sure they’re not stupid sticking with brushed, so in their own testing they must be seeing similar results to Makita with their brushless-beating-brushed tools.
I remember the Makita brushed planer coming first in one of the OTT reviews (vs brushless competitors).
4 Pole brushed motors have shrunk the gap between brushed and brushless tools.
By greatly reducing the losses in the commutator, power and battery efficiency have gone up. Brushless is expensive and relies heavily on electronics. Brushed will outlast a brushless tool and is significantly cheaper to repair.
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so basically ‘brushless’ is just a fad, and soon it will be abandoned
kat wrote:
10 hours ago, kat said:so basically ‘brushless’ is just a fad, and soon it will be abandoned
I used to think the same about LCD TV’s. They did not have as good a picture as plasmas, had poor blacks etc etc.
Somehow the manufacturers convinced the masses they were better and they started outselling plasmas. Eventually plasmas stopped being made because there wasn’t enough of a market to make them economically. But if my kid hadn’t turned it into a paper weight, I’d still be running my late model 64″ plasma.
+1 for plasmas
Plasmas are absolutely better for quality viewing. Their limitation was casual daytime watching and lots of heat production. I actually could understand why the mass market largely went to LCD but it was a damn shame plasma couldn’t keep enough market to stick around. As far as I’m concerned my old plasma screen is gold.
If you can handle the fat grip of the makita the tool is awesome, high power but low noise and vibration.
I am a fan of the Bosch tool. Hiltiwpg is correct. Especially for pure work, the brush motors can take more of a beating and don’t shut down as quickly as a brushless motor.
Bang and olufsen plasma…. nothing will ever beat it for the Best picture….never experienced the dewalt multi tool shutting down under any load…..
kat wrote:
On 6/15/2018 at 11:47 PM, kat said:so basically ‘brushless’ is just a fad, and soon it will be abandoned
Makita started producing brushless in 2004 and the appeal has only grown with every other manufacturer jumping on it too, so doubtful.
The best technology doesn’t always win. Betamax was a better vcr format than VHS but suffered from a slightly shorter run time so the purveyers of VHS played on that. The commercial tape machines used Betamax. My Plasma is going strong. The blacks were better and LCD pixels could never be as fast to replace data, in spite of all kinds of work arounds. The new OLED TVs use the technology from smart phone screens and have very good blacks. Plasmas were heavy and expensive to make. If they can get similar performance out of a 4 pole motor I suspect you will see less brushless. Cheap and simple beats complex and expensive when performance is similar.
dwain wrote:
I used to think the same about LCD TV’s. They did not have as good a picture as plasmas, had poor blacks etc etc.
Somehow the manufacturers convinced the masses they were better and they started outselling plasmas. Eventually plasmas stopped being made because there wasn’t enough of a market to make them economically. But if my kid hadn’t turned it into a paper weight, I’d still be running my late model 64″ plasma.
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Mycrossover wrote:
21 hours ago, Mycrossover said:Cheap and simple beats complex and expensiv
That’s true. But for now those 4 pole brushed motor that have equal power to a top brushless are still quite alot bigger and heavier. Example the biggest Hilti drill. It’s the heaviest, bulkiest and biggest high end drill around.
kornomaniac wrote:
That’s true. But for now those 4 pole brushed motor that have equal power to a top brushless are still quite alot bigger and heavier. Example the biggest Hilti drill. It’s the heaviest, bulkiest and biggest high end drill around.
People are already complaining about the heat generated by the new compact M18 Fuel Hammer Drill/Driver.
Smaller isn’t always better either.
The Hilti is bigger, but not so much that it is unruly. I personally love the side handle and size for drilling big holes. It’s easier to control.
It is designed to work.
It’s not designed to be marketed, that’s for sure!
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HiltiWpg wrote:
2 hours ago, HiltiWpg said:
People are already complaining about the heat generated by the new compact M18 Fuel Hammer Drill/Driver.
My worry is that’s a problem attributed to Milwaukee and the lack of care they take rather than a problem with permanent magnet motors.
SchenzhenSpecial wrote:
My worry is that’s a problem attributed to Milwaukee and the lack of care they take rather than a problem with permanent magnet motors.
Heat kills electronics. Brushless is all electronic controls. In the race to jam more into a smaller housing, you’d best have adequate cooling!
I built a small deck with an M12 Fuel impact and I swore that thing was gonna catch fire!
If you want a tool that can survive the hardest punishment and the toughest conditions, brushed still has advantages. Especially with repair costs.
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4-pole vs brushless will get more interesting as time goes on because brushless still has more ability for computer-controlled modulation. Drivers would probably continue going down the brushless path while larger, obligatory high-output tools like saws, sanders, and planars may be better kept as 4-pole.
ToolBane wrote:
4-pole vs brushless will get more interesting as time goes on because brushless still has more ability for computer-controlled modulation. Drivers would probably continue going down the brushless path while larger, obligatory high-output tools like saws, sanders, and planars may be better kept as 4-pole.
One of the things I love about brushless is the precision that the electronics provide.
You just can’t beat the versatility of a brushless impact with tek mode and variable speed/torque.
As an electrician who does does controls and commercial, I am always using the various torque and speed settings.
I agree 100% about the utilitarian tools being brushed. More cost effective, easier to repair and better for harsh/wet/debris-laden environments.
I would imagine that someone will create a better brushless tool, with some way to better cool and seal the unit from dust/water.
The only issue there is that it would even more expensive. Given the rapid model changes and upgrades, it would be so hard to commit to any brand without fear of missing something better.
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I am a big and long time Makita fan but, without any shadow of a doubt Fein make the best OMT’s and by a fair margin.
I had two early Makita 18v OMT’s, they were made of cheese! I then bought a Fein 18v Supercut, the difference as anybody that owns one will know, is night and day. Trouble is, they were so powerful (equal to mains power) that the batteries used to melt and weld themselves to the body. Mine went back twice, I asked why the tool with a high price tag, didn’t have a shock absorber between the battery and case? Guess what? The lates version does.
Make no mistake, Fein make the best OMT’s trouble is, they’ve sewn up the new expensive blade system. Great tool though.
If you want something cheaper, Ryobi is a good option but it’s not the most comfortable tool compared to Makita, Bosch or other higher end tools