In the past year a whole world of non-genuine Li-Ion batteries seems to have come on the market to suit the main power tool manufacturers. These typically sell out of China on eBay for 1/2 the price of a genuine article. They even look like the real deal apart from missing trademarks.
I am well aware you get what you pay for in this world but hey, who knows maybe these are a good thing. So has anyone had any experiences with knock off Li-Ion power tool batteries?
A plasterer I worked with used has used them for years (makita) there not as good as the trademark ones less life experience.
but for the price he seemed to think it was more cost effective. He ran a sheeting crew of 5. He also used to pull the dead ones apart and replace the dud cell.
Bugger!
I threw out 2 Makita batteries just like the ones he fixed
All I needed was a couple different testing meters, a degree in circuit electronics, a few spare parts from eBay, 3 days to f..k around, the patience of a saint and a German accent and I coulda fixed them.
Hitachi or oki Japan sell their tech to most other brands, I'm a busy tradie,
my 18 v set up is going strong after 9 years of abuse, just won't die
Im same as cauncy. Original makita batteries going strong after nearly a decade. I've lost 1 out of 5 over that time. I once ordered cheaper makita batteries from eBay (that turned out to be counterfeits). They weren't delivered for one reason or another and I had to get refund from PayPal
This guy is hilarious. He's got a few videos like this that compare knockoff vs real batteries:
Select to expand quotenebbian said..
This guy is hilarious. He's got a few videos like this that compare knockoff vs real batteries:
Failure to Chooch!
Engage Safety Squint!
Corn-tact!
I've used genuine Mikita since day 1 as a chippy apprentice 27 years ago.
Cant go wrong.
I believe you get what you pay for.
The cheap alternatives are for the weekend tradie (white collar workers who wish deep down they were real men). 
I've been using the Milwaukee m12 knock offs from eBay for over a year now. They aren't as good quality but they exceed for the price. As far as battery life goes they're almost as good, only downside is the quality of the casings. When I drop my genuine m12 battery it doesn't break, when I drop the fake, the plastic case often breaks. But at less than half the price I'll keep using them. I'm a diesel mechanic so I'm using my tools everyday with lots of abuse.
I still have makita 1.5 amp batteries from 2009 & going strong but sadly
The 3.0 amp batteries are dogs and I've gone through 7 since 2011.
when the last die I'm going Milwaukee...why
The Milwaukee seem to last with trade mates.
Ive got about 10 dead 3amp Makita batteries over tbe past 12 years just made me tbink.tbe 1.5 stjll going but ive been tbrough 3 charges as well .
Last charger i bought is dual battery charging it came witb 5amp so ill see how tbat goes I reckon I'll just go 5amp in future as replacements .
Ive just got to many skins to change brands now .
I use Panasonic impact drivers and drills for my guys and have around 20 batteries of which 9 died over time. Luckily a mate showed me how to resurrect a dead battery (some of the time). It turns out that the charger will only charge a battery from 8 volts and if the battery drops below that voltage the charger shows it as dead. Therefore you need to boost the voltage in the battery up high enough for the charger to start charging again. I connected wires from + and - on the dead battery to + and - on a fully charged battery and left it sit for an hour or so. Once the voltage was back over 8 volts I was able to charge them as normal. This worked on 6 out of 9 batteries and they are all still going strong 2 years later. There a a million vids on youtube showing how to do it but all you need is some wire and a multimeter
