Makita DTD154 impact drill

My first tool and it’s a Makita. I also bought 2 other tools, cordless grinder and drill.  Yeah!  I’m a newbie and learning house building. Thank you in advance. 

1. Do I have to charge the 18v battery at least 12hrs before initial use?

2.  Why is there a scratch on the model plate?  See pic.  I called dealer and she said it came from manufacturer.  Some said it’s probably a show model and some said it’s a refurbished. 

3.  I was recommended to go with a 1/2 impact drill just in case I work on changing my car tires.  But would I need to convert down to 1/4 to use thr bits I have around the house?  Also, would 1/4 be enough for taking tires off my seden and Toyota Tacoma?

Hello and nice to have you on the forum.  Always nice having people who want to learn the trades and about tools.

1. . Do I have to charge the 18v battery at least 12hrs before initial use? – No, if you have a battery that is low, it will take about an hour to charge depending upon the amp. No need to charge that far in advance.  Now it’s always good practice to put your batteries on the charger over night if you have been using them all day so they are ready for the next day and your not waiting around, but that isn’t required.
2. Why is there a scratch on the model plate?  See pic.  I called dealer and she said it came from manufacturer.  Some said it’s probably a show model and some said it’s a refurbished. I am not sure where you bought it from but my guess is it’s a refurb model.  I haven’t seen a new tool have that issue.  But again, anything can happen.  But I think it is a refurb model.  Hopefully the company you bought it from wasn’t advertising it as a new model. 
3. I was recommended to go with a 1/2 impact drill just in case I work on changing my car tires.  But would I need to convert down to 1/4 to use thr bits I have around the house?  Also, would 1/4 be enough for taking tires off my seden and Toyota Tacoma? The model you have is an impact driver which is a 1/4″ chuck and is really designed for fasteners such as screws and lag screws.  For changing wheels you would really want to go with an Impact Wrench which has a different head and is designed for sockets and high torque applications.  Yes, you can get an adapter for an Impact Driver but for automotive use, an impact wrench is a batter tool.

I hope this helps and if you have more questions or need more clarification, let us know.

For jobs it’s sensible to charge batteries at the end of the day so people aren’t sitting around with nothing to do while batteries are getting charged in the morning. But that’s entirely a matter of work pragmatics, technically the best practice for lithium batteries is to use them as soon as they’re charged.

The “least-happy” states for lithium batteries are at the extreme ends of being charged or discharged so from a longevity/reliability standpoint it’s better to avoid leaving them fully charged very long. Personally I don’t feel leaving them charged overnight is terribly harmful, but I definitely avoid leaving them that way for weeks or months. Optimal storage is generally considered roughly half-charged if you expect to leave your batteries alone for those lengths of time.
 

Point is there’s no performance benefit to leaving a charged battery alone 12 hours before use.

Also with respect to 2 and 3…

I myself don’t tend to be at all worried about a small scratch out of the box if there are no other indications the tool has been (ab)used at all. Although I wouldn’t waste much time checking that it works normally is all, just to make sure it isn’t a returned purchase that was defective or screwed up by a previous buyer, shipping, etc.

Impact wrenches outputting much more torque than impact drivers are a bad idea to connect 1/4” hex adapters to…they’re just going to weigh more, break bits, and can often be less efficient for driving small screws anyway as they generally spin slower. Just get the tool most appropriate for the job while you’re learning. You can “break rules” with tools after you have spent the time to develop a good handle on how they work. A lot of time.

Oh and finally…I think…

That impact driver is almost certainly powerful enough to change the tires on your sedan, can’t be as certain on the Tacoma. On paper Tacoma wheel lugs don’t get torqued any tighter than a passenger car but many models of trucks get torqued tighter and not everyone looks up or follows specs all that closely. If changing tires is something you expect will be a frequent thing for you, yes you should look into getting an impact wrench making 200+ ftlbs. If you think more involved work on your vehicles is in your future, you may want to even consider Makita’s 1000ftlb+ impact wrench, or wait for their upcoming 500ftlb “mid-torque” model due probably later this year.

Thankyou all much.  The merchant told me to take it back.  Definitely I will take it back.

Update.  Yes the merchant now admitted that it was a store display!  Wow I will never buy from them again.

That’s crazy they would send that out and advertise it as new.