Makita BHP451 LXT 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Hammer Drill/Driver |  | Brand: Makita
Category: Home Improvement
List Price: $558.00
Buy New: $320.00
as of 7/31/2010 19:11 CDT details
You Save: $238.00 (43%)
New (5) Used (1) Refurbished (1) from $230.00
Seller: Glenny Service & Tools
Rating:  reviews
Sales Rank: 31099
Media: Tools & Hardware
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 15
Dimensions (in): 18 x 6 x 15
MPN: BHP451
Model: BHP451
UPC: 088381069199
EAN: 0088381069199
ASIN: B000EDRT66
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | LXT Lithium-Ion battery and optimum charging system produces 280% more lifetime work with 2x more cycles. | | • | 3-speed design produces 25% faster working speed with more efficiency-inch a wider range of applications | | • | Shift Lock Driver System quickly shifts from in hammer drill-inch to in driver-inch mode with one touch | | • | Ergonomic shape fits like a glove with even pressure and easy control | | • | Compact design at only 9-7/8-inch length and weighs only 4.9-pounds for less operator fatigue |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
We've come a long way from sweat and a screwdriver. A hundred years ago, builders would never have envisioned a tool as powerful and efficient as this one. Heck, even 20 years ago. Science has ushered battery technology along, and the LXT Lithium-Ion system that powers this impact driver has a ton of advantages over standard NiMH or NiCad batteries. The Lithium-Ion technology means 1,400 battery life cycles, longer run time, lighter weight, a great reduction in the self-discharge rate and built-in shock-absorbing features to protect your battery. But perhaps the coolest innovation is what Makita calls its 45-minute Optimum Charger. It actually talks to the batteries it charges throughout the cycle, using a built-in memory chip in the battery and, believe it or not, a CPU chip in the charger itself, which analyzes the data stored in the battery chip to decide on the best charging method at that time. The hammer drill/ driver itself is fairly compact and lightweight, yet it's packing a powerful 560 in./lbs. of torque. It's got a super speed range of 0 to 300 rpm in low gear, 0 to 600 in mid-range and 0 to 1,700 rpm in top gear. But look at the numbers in hammer mode: up to 4,500 blows per minute in low gear, to 9,000 in mid-range and an astounding 0 to 25,500 in third gear. Wow. Sometimes, you may encounter a little resistance if you're switching directly from low gear to high; if that happens, running the tool in mid-gear for a couple seconds completely alleviates any snag. Switching from drill to drive mode is done with a simple push of the Shift-Lock™ switch. We really like the integrated worklight, too: It illuminates as soon as you pull the trigger, and it stays on for 10 seconds or so after you release the trigger, too - a handy little feature. Makita's always made ergonomically positive tools that feel good in your hand and take the strain off your body, and this one's no exception. The slightly curved grip is so comfortable, and the auxiliary handle gives you a super-secure hold on this powerful tool. It's an absolute pleasure to use and would be a great choice for a contractor, woodworker or exacting DIY-er. --Kris Jensen-Van Heste What's in the Box
Driver/drill, two LXT Lithium-Ion 3.0Ah batteries, 45-minute optimum charger, screwdriver bits, tool case
Product Description
The Lithium-Ion technology means 1,400 battery life cycles, longer run time, lighter weight, a great reduction in the self-discharge rate and built-in shock-absorbing features to protect your battery. But perhaps the coolest innovation is what Makita calls its 45-minute Optimum Charger. It actually talks to the batteries it charges throughout the cycle, using a built-in memory chip in the battery and, believe it or not, a CPU chip in the charger itself, which analyzes the data stored in the battery chip to decide on the best charging method at that time.The hammer drill/ driver itself is fairly compact and lightweight, yet it's packing a powerful 560 in./lbs. of torque. It's got a super speed range of 0 to 300 rpm in low gear, 0 to 600 in mid-range and 0 to 1,700 rpm in top gear. But look at the numbers in hammer mode: up to 4,500 blows per minute in low gear, to 9,000 in mid-range and an astounding 0 to 25,500 in third gear. Wow. Sometimes, you may encounter a little resistance if you're switching directly from low gear to high; if that happens, running the tool in mid-gear for a couple seconds completely alleviates any snag. Switching from drill to drive mode is done with a simple push of the Shift-Lock switch. We really like the integrated worklight, too: It illuminates as soon as you pull the trigger, and it stays on for 10 seconds or so after you release the trigger, too - a handy little feature. Makita's always made ergonomically positive tools that feel good in your hand and take the strain off your body, and this one's no exception. The slightly curved grip is so comfortable, and the auxiliary handle gives you a super-secure hold on this powerful tool. It's an absolute pleasure to use and would be a great choice for a contractor, woodworker or exacting DIY-er.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Not perfect, merits only 4 to 4.5 stars due to large runout of Jacobs chuck April 10, 2006
StevieQ (Castro Valley, CA United States)
63 out of 70 found this review helpful
This is merely a first impression and as I use more of this tool, I will update my comments. I am not a pro contractor, but only a weekend handyman warrior type who appreciates good tools. I opted to buy Makita instead of the Milwaukee V28 entirely because of Makita's lighter weight. To me ergonomics means almost as much as tool power. Also I've never had any complaints or durability issues with any of my Makita tools and so felt comfortable buying Makita again.
I bought this drill with Makita's free impact driver offer when the lithium line was first introduced. The case for the drill can accommodate Makita's lithium impact driver side by side with the drill. The same is not true with the smaller impact driver case. At the time I ordered mine, they cost roughtly same, $329 for the drill and $319 for the impact driver. I think the price differential has since increased with the impact driver now only at $279. With the free tool offer and the $75 off promo offer from Amazon at the time, I paid only around $254 for both tools.
Onward to the tool itself. I will structure this review by comparing the Makita drill with my Bosch 18V Brute Tough hammerdrill, model 13618, that I've been using the last couple of years. This Makita 18 lithium hammerdrill is definitely much lighter than the Bosch 18V hammerdrill. Whether the Makita can survive a 2-story drop on concrete as can the Bosch Brute Tough is another matter. The Makita has three speed ranges. The slowest speed range (0-300 rpm) is useful on large spade bits, metal drilling, or hole saws, etc where extra control and extra torque are needed. I tested my Bosch side by side against the Makita using a 3" hole saw on redwood. The Bosch's low range is 0-600 rpm. In the 0-600 rpm range both the Bosch and the Makita were about equal in performance. At 300 rpm, the Makita did not show any advantage compared to drilling at 600 rpm with this particular test. As for torque, the Makita has 560 in-lbs; the Bosch has 475 in-lbs. The supposed extra power of the Makita did not manifest itself during this 3" hole saw test. Perhaps other more demanding tests, such as drilling large holes in metal, might bring out the advantage.
One way I judge a drill driver is how gentle it is in driving delicate screws. Unfortunately, in screw driving mode, this drill has so much torque even at the lowest setting that it will easily strip delicate screws long before the clutch kicks in. I have a feeling this problem is common among the powerful 18v drills.
The auxilliary handle on the Makita works really well, but the metal band mars the finish on the drill body. It kind of hurts to see the drill scratched up the very first day by the aux. handle. It does grip tightly and stays put, unlike the lousy one on the Bosch.
I like the Bosch chuck much better because the carbide teeth on the Bosch's jaws have a better bite and less chance of slipping than the steel teeth on Makita's Jacobs chuck. The Makita Jacobs chuck also has a tendency to unwind and self-loosen its grip on a bit during heavy drilling, something that has never happened on my Bosch drill.
A major shortcoming with the Makita's Jacobs chuck is the large amount of runout it has. Runout is a measure of eccentricity. When I have time I will measure the runout precisely using a dial indicator, but for now I will state that the Makita's Jacobs chuck on this model has roughly twice the runout as that found on my Bosch's chuck. The effect of this large runout is a very pronouced gyration of the drill body when drilling at low to medium speeds, such as when drilling metal or drilling with a hole saw or spade bit. The large gyration is a safety hazard as it can cause the operator to lose balance while standing high on a ladder, for example. It can sometimes be corrected by rechucking the bit after rotating the bit 90 to 180 degrees relative to the chuck. Sometimes this fix works, but sometimes not. I checked this runout on another brand-new Makita lithium hammerdrill and the result was identical. This is a troubling.
The slider switch that lets me instantly switch between drill or driver or hammerdrill mode on the Makita is a plus, but in my opinion is not a big deal. I guess I've gotten too used to turning the clutch/mode setting ring on these cordless drills by now.
The Makita has a built-in LED light. Makita placed the fixed-angle light just above the trigger switch as a one-size-fits-all approach to accommodate all lengths of bits. The drawback is the placement entirely favors long bits at the expense of short and medium length bits because short bits will be hit by a large dark shadow cast by the big chuck. For driving screws and drilling with a short bit, the exact point where you want light is the exact point where the large dark shadow falls! The ideal LED light should be placed lower near where the battery is and have an adjustable angle to accommodate different length bits.
One thing no lithium-ion power tool maker would like the potential customer to know is that rechargeable lithium-ion batteries permanently lose capacity over time as a function of storage temperature and the state-of-charge. For example at room temperature(25 degrees C), a fully charged (100%) Li-on battery permanantely loses 20% of its rechargeable capacity in just one year. At higher temperatures, the loss is even greater. Please don't misinterpret the above as to mean that you have to leave your tool and battery unused for a whole year for it to suffer from capacity loss. The capacity loss occurs at different rates at the different temperatures and states-of-charge but it's all cumulative, and the deteriotion occurs even when the tool is constantly being used, as well as during short-term storage, and not just during long-term storage. If you have a spare Li-on battery that you don't constantly use, the best way to store it is at a 40% charge. At 40% charge at 25 deg. Celsius, it loses only 4% capacity after one year. At 40% at 40 deg Celsius, it loses 15%. Heat is detrimental, even at a mere 40-degree Celsius. Yes, I said a "mere" 40-degrees, which is "merely" 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Most pros WILL have frequent, perhaps daily, occasions to leave their tools in the trunk or cabin of their truck, where it will easily exceed 104 deg. Fahrenheit in a hurry. Makita is giving these lithium batteries only a 1-year warranty for very good reasons. (Note: The above comments about capacity loss apply only to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with a manganese oxide cathode. This applies to Milwaukee's V28 line, and I have every reason to think it applies to Makita's current Li-on and Bosch's upcoming Li-on batteries as well. I am not sure whether it applies to DeWalt's new lithium batteries which use an aluminum anode coated with nano-particles). The above comments on rechargeable Li-on batteries I learned from reading technical postings and articles on the WEB.
Overall the biggest advantage of the Makita lithium over the Bosch NiCD is really just the lighter weight, and also perhaps the 25% longer battery life (i.e. 3 Ah vs. 2.4 Ah) and a much flatter discharge curve than those of NiCD and NiMH. The Makita is lighter, noticeably lighter when you first pick up the tool, but in actual use when comparing it to the Bosch, the Bosch's greater weight seemed to disappear over time. The Makita feels better in the hand. If you are already happy with your other 18V NiCD or NiMH drill, switching to lithium likely won't give you much better satisfaction. This tool and the lithium technology is a slight improvement over the 18v NiCD or NIMH versions, but it's not a quantum leap in improvement overall, in my humble opinion.
I previously gave this drill 5 stars, but now with the large runout that I noticed, I am more inclined to give it 4 to 4.5 stars instead, but Amazon's software doesn't permit me to update the stars rating.
 almost but not quite February 23, 2010
Peter Mitchell
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Makita BHP451 is the top of the Makita 18 volt lithium-ion powered hand drill lineup and despite its 2 speed gearbox should provide great performance. Overall it is a very good drill but the chuck is not the best (compared to Bosch or DeWalt) and the speed ranges are also less than optimum. It has 0-450 and 0-1700. For most tasks a 0-600, 0-1000, 0-2000 options like the DeWalt DCD970/940 drills works much better. The Makita BHP451 has in effect a low ranges and moderate high range.
The drill chuck has significant runout for a new drill and not nearly as good as those from DeWalt, Milwaukee, or Bosch with Bosch being in a league of its own. The chuck tends to hold drill bits well so long as they are smaller than 3/8" or 10mm. When using larger drill bits or hole saw arbors if there is any vibration the chuck will loosen to the point that the bit or arbor falls out. This is when the DeWalt self-tightening chuck makes a real difference as it never lets go.
The second side handle can be rotated to any position like the DeWalt and Bosch drills and this makes it a lot more valuable when you really do need two hands to control the drill. The 90 degree side mount of the Milwaukee and Ridgid drills provide a lot less support for the drill.
I like the integrated drilling depth stop of the Makita. This is something that should be standard for all hammer drills but is usually omitted entirely -- you cannot even add one later if you want to with the hammer drills from DeWalt and Milwaukee).
The batteries charge in roughly 30 minutes on average and this is in the middle range as far as the other lithium-ion batteries and charger combinations from other manufacturers. A lot is made of how fast a battery recharges which misses the point. If the drill and battery are up to the task the battery will last and not require frequent recharging during the day. Faster charge times are likely to shorten the useful life of the battery so I for one would rather wait 10 more minutes and get an extra year or two of use out of the battery. Makita recommends that their 3 Ah batteries be charged and then left on the charger of another hour to cool them down before reusing them.
Battery charge life is greatly influenced by the hole cutter that is used - much more so than most people realize. I did a quick test by first charging the drill to 100% and then cutting a single 2" hole in 1-1/8" plywood and then timed how long it took to get the battery back up to full charge. By the time the hole has been cut, which took about 45 seconds, the wood was smoking. It took more than 20 minutes to get the battery back to a full charge. Using the Makita drill and a Blue Boar TCT hole cutter (my favorite hole saws) I cut a second 2" hole in the same board and it took only 4 seconds and the battery charge was hardly affected at all.
There are what my own experience has shown to be exaggerated claims on available drill torque and battery charge times while at the same time the manufacturers without exception don't appreciate how much the right hole cutter will improve the performance of their drills. They will rate their drills at 2" maximum hole saw size in wood or 1-7/8" with a self feed drill bit while missing entirely that the drills can make 6" holes with a modern big gullet hole saw (like the Blue Boar TCT or Milwaukee Big Hawg or Bosch TCHS) or even 10" diameter holes in TJI or wood with an adjustable hole cutter (like the ones from Hole Pro).
BLUE BOAR 3" (76mm) Super Duty Universal TCT 2-1/4" deep tungsten carbide hole saw cuts more materials faster than any other hole saw. Hard RA 90-91 carbide teeth for faster cutting and longer life, ultra deep side gullets for faster plug removal
Hole Pro X-230 Kit: 1-7/8" to 9" Infinitely Adjustable Twin Blade Hole Saw Cutter 3" 4" 5" 6" 7" 8" 9" Hole Wood Sheetrock Plaster Fiberglass Plastic MDF Cement Board. Use ¼ Torque of Hole Saw to Cut Twice As Fast
Milwaukee 49-56-9050 4-5/8-Inch Big Hawg Hole Cutter
Bosch HTC300 3-Inch 76mm TCHS Hole Saw
Many of the complaints about cordless drill performance are based on real experience but often without the user realizing that they were not using the drill so as to get the most performance possible from the tool. Cordless drills that depend upon a battery for power cannot be used the same way as a corded drill plugged into an outlet and get the same level of performance. The drawbacks of using a cordless drill can be largely overcome by using them with a bit more finesse and using modern hole cutters. I can make a larger hole in inch thick subflooring using an 18 volt cordless drill like the Makita BHP451 than I can using a bi-metal hole saw with a 15 amp corded stud drill.
People should focus less on "what is the best cordless drill" and more on what are best hole cutters to use with a cordless drill. They would save themselves money and time and aggravation. There is no best cordless drill as there are strengths and weaknesses with every manufacturers products and it is really a matter of what features are most important and which flaws you can easily overlook. Fortunately there is intense competition and as a result all the cordless tools keep getting better and better. For light duty use the Milwaukee 2602 (not the 2602CT) is a great drill and for heavy duty use the DeWalt drills cannot be beat but for Makita fans and light to medium jobs the BHP451 is a good performer.
So far everything has worked great. October 25, 2007
G. Cobb (arvada, co United States)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have used it around the house and on small projects and still using the same battery. I used it to mix some mortar in a 3 gallon bucket without any problems. It has great power and a long lasting battery compared to most other cordless drills I have used. It is definitely heavy to carry around for bigger jobs and although I appreciate the attempt of giving me a light I wish they would have adjusted it to point on the tip instead of around it, it actually makes it a little more difficult to see the screw head or hole in low light situations.
I love it! January 13, 2007
E. Smith
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I needed a new drill for a couple of big home renovation projects and bought this based on the review in fine homebuilding. I was also attracted to the fact that lithium-ion batteries are a lot less toxic to manufacture and dispose of. the drill has been fantastic-- even better than i hoped. great power, balance, ease of use, and battery life.
To raise and lower my Pop-Up camper July 22, 2008
William A. Nolan (Willcox, AZ USA)
I bought this for an unusual use. I have a Fleetwood Evolution Pop-Up camper with AC on the roof. The top is raised with a crank from the back. It is somewhat of a pain to raise it, so I contacted the dealer about an electric lift kit. I was told that it required a gear ratio change, and would run about $1000 total installed. The tech at the dealer recommended I get a heavy duty cordless drill instead, for less than 1/3 the cost, so I bought this one.
It works great! Set to the low speed it has no problem at all lifting the top, and lowering it is even easier. As a plus, I can also use it to extend and retract the levelers on the four corners, which the factory electric lift kit does not do. Naturally it will get a lot of more conventional use as well, but it is perfect for my special application.
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