i use this mower and with 2 x 5.0ah original batteries it struggles (with sharp blade). the solution to this is to start mowing with ur blade up high. have 2 other batteries ready to swap whilst mowing (on charge even). and then ule can mow a second time. this is what i do to stop the struggle. its really comfy to push, damp grass can clug the bag inlet up too fast aswell. not* do not let the mower struggle for prolonged periods of time or ule ruin your batteries. just start off high and manage your time .
I think you've experience such poor performance due to the mismatched batteries and that they are old. If you had two fresh 5.0ah batteries in there, or even better the 6.0ah it would be a night and day difference in performance. if this is running from both batteries, like every thing, it is best ot run in matched pairs instead of mismatched batteries. the batteries themselves have onboard controllers to react to the load on them. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that since you haven't actually tested the mower with two fresh 5.0 or 6.0ah batteries, then it is something worth trying. I am a long time makita user myself of nearly 20 years. I am on the current 18v platform and I have a mixture of 4, 5 and 6.0ah batteries and I can say for certain when I run the 6.0ah batteries in the tools versus the 4 or 5, there is a marked improvement in performance especially in things like my cordless angle grinder and the impact wrench. they definitely have more 'oompf'. I think it would be worth testing for yourself before you write the mower off as being under powered....
Sorry but I do not agree. I used 6ah batteries recently and yes, there is a difference but not good enough to say that this is the reason for initial bad performance. Also, the user manual does not say that there are any limitations regarding performance (except for time) if batteries of lower Ah were used and even that batteries of different Ah were used. Anyway thanks for your comment. P.S. I bought 6Ah otyginal batteries last year and used them mainly for this lawn mower. One of them died after 9 months of very moderate usage.
Nonsense since AH is only battery capacity not power. So how it can be 6AH to be stronger. Both are 18 V which is really the "power" indicator for accumulator tools, so this seems incorrect from physics right ? :) But on video i agree it sucks
@@TheDEDe2 Voltage alone doesn't tell you how much power something is using. Most tools requiring a decent amount of power allow greater draw from larger capacity batteries. You might not notice anything on small tools that don't require much power, but there's a reason something like a circular saw is going to struggle to make any substantial cuts with a 1ah battery, as opposed to a 4 or 5.
@weekendwarrior_ exactly. All my tools are Makita but this one is definitely worse product ever by them.Have no issues with any of the tools apart from this one.😟
@Vixxxx1 same here, I can't think of any other tool from their range that I use that I am not happy with. In fact thinking of buying impact driver now.
Small update guys. I started season few weeks ago and noticed that one of the bolts located near the rear right wheel fell off probably due to vibrations. Problems with not enough power continues, despite sharpening the blade, cleaning the mower and using 6 Ah, original batteries. The grass level indicator located on the grass basket fell off and got lost too. Another observation regarding the basket is that it would be better if it had handle on both sides rather than one to ease getting rid of grass.
My friend, your problem is with the 3.0Ah battery and the fake 5.0 ah battery, replace it for a 2x 5.0Ah or 6.0Ah battery original from makita. they wil do the job! get rid of the fake ass 5.0 aliexpress battery. they don't work under lood, they only work for the show.
Indeed it was the same for me too but it’s just not up to the standards or strength of the petrol mowers. Such a disappointment and shame would have loved to say petrol is history. Come on Mikita!!!!
I just today cut a lawn up to my shins. I had to rerun it cos it was a commercial job that the client let grow till he needs to spend the money. The grass was somewhat damp and so in places I would have to clean the underside of my mower once because of damp Grass buildup above the blades. (This happens in all types of mowers under such conditions; with metal chassis you can kick or bump it free in the mowing but this is bad practice from having to do fast jobs) this can bog the motor and influence the flow of clippings to the bag. I had 2 18v5amp loaded and it worked the ~40 mins the job took. On and off for cleaning the bag. Cleaned up the mower at home and it’s good to go. Maybe have two same batteries and go with the contours as you mow. I have had all types of mowers in past I still like motors but currently the DLM382PT2 I bought as a consequence of having seen your UA-cam and many others is one of the best mowers I’ve had. My mother can use it and it’s quite easy and size for size can do what a metal chassis and motor counterpart can more or less. While you got it I hope you can figure it out 👌🏾
The mower is faulty and needs to be returned or repaired. I have an DLM330 which is Makitas smallest mower with a single battery and it would easily mow this lawn on one battery charge. I never had issues with it mowing tall grass, wet grass etc it always had enough power.
I would have agreed with You if not number of voices from other users that they have the same problem...it is good manufacturer but most likely they outsourced and did not apply the same quality control and expectations as for other Makita's products
What a plonker, expecting to get performance from miss-matched batteries, what did he really expect. put some propper batteries in it and have another go.
I also don't like my makita 2x36 volt mower. I use 5ah batteries and this mower struggles with thick grass, and even worse performance if the grass is wet. I use to cut my grass in the mornings but had to start doing it at night cause the mower couldn't deal with the dew. I'm in the trades and all my tools are makita and this is by far the most disappointing product from makita I have ever purchased.
I bought the same model this week and I can confirm it has poor performance. I was cutting 2cm gras and the motor stops when the gras is ticker (but still 2cm). You can't also push too fast. (was running with 2 x 5.0Ah Original Makita batteries)
Thanks for sharing Bert. I suspected for some time that the main problem is the density of the lawn and not as much how long it is. Your comment reinforced my suspicion.
I’ve just watched this video and have the same problem. One would think that I was trying to mow a jungle. I have Makita original 3ah and a 4ah. I seem to remember that it worked well when it was new, but it’s just like the video, struggles and leaves clumps of grass in its wake. I have ordered 2 original 5ah batteries as a last straw before I dump it. I bought a new blade a while back which didn’t help.
Thanks David for your comment. I got myself 6Ah and there is a difference but not as big to solve the problem and change my opinion about this lawn mower.
@@weekendwarrior_ If it doesn’t improve, I’ll send the batteries back and buy an electric mower. I had a Flymo for about 20 years and never had this sort of problem.
I have the same model since a few years back. Currently using fully loaded 2 *5AH original Makita batteries and the poor performance described in this video is exactly what i am experiencing right now. It does not have anything to do with the batteries.
If this mower displayed is a 380, I believe that has a peak output;650watts whereas the 432 has a peak of;950watts, so maybe a upgrade is required, I know Makita do some mowers that kick out 1600watts peak! I think they get rather expensive though! Best of luck 🤞🏻
Interesting. Was thinking of buying one as I have a lot of Makita 18v. Maybe not! I wonder if 2 5AH batteries would be better? I know in theory it shouldn’t make any difference but in practice the higher capacity batteries suffer less voltage drop under load.
This is the reason why I got it as well. I had 7 batteries laying around. I thought about the reasons why it may perform so badly and have few conclusions: 1. it works better without grass collecting basket 2. I put batteries in pairs 2x 1.5 Ah, 2x 2.0 Ah, 1x 3.0 and 1x 5.0 Ah. The last one seems slightly stronger than the others but barely in my opinion. 3. Performance did not change after sharpening the cutting blade or cleaning properly the undercarriage. The only thing I can say is that it is for much less thick grass than I have.
Weekend Warrior I’ll probably wait a bit longer then. I suppose it is quite a demanding application, maybe a bit ahead of its time. I had an angle grinder at work, one of the very early ones. It was a lifesaver, but easy to stall, even with just 1mm thick cutting discs. Last year I bought a new brushless one with 5AH battery. World of difference! Maybe brushless is more powerful?
Like you, I invested in the Makita platform and wanted to buy a Makita mower for battery compatibility. Sadly 18v or 2x18v Makita mower simply not powerful enough for such a strenuous task. After hours of research, I think I'm going to buy the 82v Victa mower, it performs as well as petrol one but much more pleasant to use. 18v Makita tools are good for most tasks, but when serious power is required, 18v just won't cut it. I'm saying this as a Makita fan!!!
Sorry to hear that you have similar experience. Try replacing/sharpening the blade, clearing old grass from undercarriage, use 6ah batteries and clear gras from the motor cause it gets there easily. Also, actually pulling rather than pushing makes a difference too. All of it should improve situation although will not make it perfect.
You literally have a non-makita 5a battery which is probably old and never had as much draw as an original makita 5a, you then mismatch this with a 3a battery and expect your mower to cut well into thick wet grass at a fast walking speed with an almost full bag? It can hardly turn the blade just sitting there. Have you even sharpened the blades since you got it?
Thanks for the comment however you listed so many assumptions. If you read my comments you will know that I have multiple types and age of batteries. I also say that I do not remember the mower perform better or significantly better. The performance is the same with empty bag and yes I have sharpened the blade recently to rule out the cause of poor performance. Since the movie I also put the mower apart and have to say that design of the motor mount is bad too since it accumulates a lot of grass somehow. After removing it it was visibly better but still not as good as I hoped.
@@weekendwarrior_ I have to make assumptions because you don't mention anything other than poor performance in the video. The problem will be the non-makita 5a battery running along side the 3a. The 5a will be a poor performer and that will have helped to wreck the 3a battery which will now not be performing well. Looking at the price of those Waitley on ebay there's no way they are using good quality 18650 cells which is why you pay a premium for a good makita battery. Buying cheaper "replacement" batteries is a false economy as you end up with a poor performing product as you are experiencing here then blaming the tool. Every other review of the Makita DLM380 on youtube that is in thicker grass has no problems, but they use good batteries. Power is directly related to voltage and ampage, your lack of amps gives you a poor experience and I doubt very much the Waitley is anywhere near 5a, probably nearer 2.5 you cant even buy the 10 required good quality 18650 for the price of the Waitley finished product.
@@samphire sorry but I do not agree, first of I compared running time of both original and replacement batteries on big current drawing tool that angle grinder is and there is no difference what so ever. Yes, there is some quality difference between Makita and replacement batteries but it is not necessarily reflected by worse performance. It is the cost of labour, cost of advertising, cost of plastic shell and maybe some circuit elements. Often replacement batteries use Korean brand cells anyway. Also, I am not saying it is not possible to cut. In fact I mow my lawn regularly but it is too weak for my needs and if I didn't have two chargers (3 bays in total) and 6 batteries, I would not invest in the same model again. Thanks for respectful and constructive discussion though.
Im also not extremely happy with it with the same reason. That's why during work I put it up a little driving forward and put it down driving backwards (on the same line), then it works nice. But I was doing it on high grass - 30cm - so Im not happy that you have such problem on such little grass too. =(
I cut the lawn second time, grass had 5-8 cm and all was fine, zero problems, I did everything fast, on one time, on one charging (before I had to charge bateries 4 times). So the final conclusion is that best is to cut the grass when it's short, not too long, in proper time, and all works fine. 👍 I have also few other equipment of Makita to use the same bateries, what is very comfortable.
I use this with 2 5ah batteries with no problems on a mid setting on wet, fairly long grass however I need to wash underneath with a hosepipe after every use so definitely could be designed a bit better underneath! I have tried with 2 3ah batteries under the same conditions and I seem to get the same results as you do in the video.
Hi David, I get more and more convinced that it may have something to do with the density of a lawn and not its height. This is also what I noticed in my case since I know that there are some patches of lawn that are denser than others and especially there the mower struggles. Another funny thing is that it seems to perform better when pulled than pushed which may have something to do with blade height. And no, I did not install the blade incorrectly;). The last thing I would like to believe is that Makita has problems with quality control and some people were unlucky to receive faulty products.
@@weekendwarrior_ hi, how strange, i have also found that pulling the lawnmower rather than pushing it makes cutting performance better, maybe I need to reverse the handle!! i think it may have something to do with the way grass is ejected into the bag which it does fairly poorly.
@@davidhusband9283 hi, I have had exactly same observations, but didn't want to mention it (I think I did not) since I expected someone to say that I installed the cutting blade incorrectly:D. Anyway thanks for posting.
@@weekendwarrior_ damn it... forgot the before picture. Did the first run today. 20-30cm gras in highest setting without any problems. 1/4 battery power lost after about 240 squere meters.
Hi Ben, I would say that it has always been like that. I do not ever remember thinking that it is powerful enough for my lawn. I thought that it may have something to do with sharpness of the blade but I recently improved it. Then that it is blocked with old grass but I clean it from time to time. I use different batteries so it is not related. What I can say is that bigger capacity batteries are stronger but not significantly. Maybe my lawn is too dense but then I cut it at nearly highest setting. The good thing about it is that the mower is light, it is quiet and has good basket that is easy to empty. Apart from that I cannot say too many good things about it.
Weekend Warrior thanks for your reply mate. I recently brought one of these, it was going out very cheap (new) and I already have the battery and charger kits... so it was a good option for me. I think certain parts are flimsy (as you have pointed out) and I don’t think it lives up the Makita name at all, even for a lower end machine. However I believe I am getting significantly better performance/power than you are. I have attacked some real jungles with it and it takes a lot before it bogs down. Perhaps this model has issues with consistency? Perhaps there are dud units coming from the factory? Anyway, I appreciate your videos and your reply!
@@beninglis8097 hi Ben, so what I am planning to do possibly in next season is to get the 2 original 6Ah batteries. Do the full maintenance with taking the mower apart to clean it properly and sharpening the blade and will do the ultimate test or I should say the test of last hope. I will post the results then. Anyway, thanks for your comments.
@@weekendwarrior_ hey mate. I thought I would come back and let you know how I am going. I have had the mower for about 5 months now and I am beginning to have the same issue as you. During winter (when we spoke last) my lawn grew long very quickly, yet the mower had no trouble cutting through it, even when super long! However now it is summer, the growth has slowed, but the lawn has thickened right up and the mower is now struggling. This might be due to seasonal grasses in my lawn that thicken up during summer (I'm no expert) or it could be because in winter I was mowing every 1-2 weeks, compared to 3-4 weeks in summer. Either way my solution is to run over the lawn at cutting height 5 and then do a second pass at height 3. Anyway, I thought I would let you know that you are not the only one having trouble haha. I will be giving my blade a sharpen in the next couple weeks, hopefully that will help a little too. Cheerio, Ben
@@beninglis8097 hi Ben, it is great to hear from you. Thanks for sharing your experience. You can check one more thing. I have noticed that due to not too good construction there is a lot of grass getting under the blade and between the motor and its bracket. Btw I got myself the new 6Ah Makita batteries and will try them out in summer. If that will not make a difference then nothing will;). Also I received the Makita chainsaw from my lady ...Thanks again for your comment and stay healthy!
Je viens de me procurer cette tondeuse parce que ma grosse tondeuse Honda motorisée qui a le poid d’un char d’assaut refuse de démarrer. J’ai 4 pelouses à faire (2 moyennes et 2 petites) et il me fallait une tondeuse qui fonctionne. Je suis déjà bien équipé en produit Makita. Plusieurs batteries en ma possession. Cette tondeuse est rès légère. Elle fonctionne très bien. Sa puissance m’a surpris. Dans les endroits où il y a beaucoup de découpage, c’est l’outil idéal. Conclusion, aussi efficace que ma Honda sur de petits/moyens terrains malgré son couteau de 17’’ tout en étant 2.5 fois plus légère qu’une Honda. Le poid d’un jouet… J’ai remarqué que le couteau neuf n’était pas aiguisé. J’ai fait 2 petites pelouses et une moyenne pelouse en déchiquetage avec un kit de (2xBL1850 neuves). Éric M.
Actually this is a fairly accurate, representation of this mowers problems. I have fairly thick grass that I dont really let get too long, and this mower will struggle and you need to do several passes at different lengths. Its a shame as I really wanted to love this product, but its pretty gutless using the supplied makita 5A batteries, it also leaves a fair amount of grass behind. I did get the smallest model as I have a relativly small yard, so maybe a bigger model might have a bit more guts, but the DLM382 is only for trimming, anything deeper will cause it to struggle.
I have the same mower with similar experiences. I changed my blade and it ran a million times better and batteries lasted longer. I believe it needs to be changed yearly and was only $30
@@jesshothersall hi Jess, thanks for your question. Yes, although they get damaged badly quickly so there is no point in my opinion considering cost of new one.
I bought the 380 model yesterday, came with the 5.0ah batteries, as I have Makita 18v power tools anyway, I thought I’d try it with a couple of fully charged 3.0 ah first, grass wasn’t that long, and it had dried-out by the time I cut it, on a mid -cut setting, it handled it very well, early days yet I know, but I’m impressed, especially as I did contract maintenance landscaping many years ago using petrol driven mowers ( Honda) I’d recommend this mower for garden work any day of the week.
i use this mower and with 2 x 5.0ah original batteries it struggles (with sharp blade). the solution to this is to start mowing with ur blade up high. have 2 other batteries ready to swap whilst mowing (on charge even). and then ule can mow a second time. this is what i do to stop the struggle. its really comfy to push, damp grass can clug the bag inlet up too fast aswell. not* do not let the mower struggle for prolonged periods of time or ule ruin your batteries. just start off high and manage your time .
The newer 36 volt model with brushless motors perform well, better still is the 64 volt range that has recently been released.
Thanks for the info strummer...my next lawn mower will be robotic though
I think you've experience such poor performance due to the mismatched batteries and that they are old. If you had two fresh 5.0ah batteries in there, or even better the 6.0ah it would be a night and day difference in performance. if this is running from both batteries, like every thing, it is best ot run in matched pairs instead of mismatched batteries. the batteries themselves have onboard controllers to react to the load on them. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that since you haven't actually tested the mower with two fresh 5.0 or 6.0ah batteries, then it is something worth trying. I am a long time makita user myself of nearly 20 years. I am on the current 18v platform and I have a mixture of 4, 5 and 6.0ah batteries and I can say for certain when I run the 6.0ah batteries in the tools versus the 4 or 5, there is a marked improvement in performance especially in things like my cordless angle grinder and the impact wrench. they definitely have more 'oompf'. I think it would be worth testing for yourself before you write the mower off as being under powered....
Good point.
It is underpowered. You want the dlm460 minimum. That's a great mower! Had both so I know.
Sorry but I do not agree. I used 6ah batteries recently and yes, there is a difference but not good enough to say that this is the reason for initial bad performance. Also, the user manual does not say that there are any limitations regarding performance (except for time) if batteries of lower Ah were used and even that batteries of different Ah were used. Anyway thanks for your comment. P.S. I bought 6Ah otyginal batteries last year and used them mainly for this lawn mower. One of them died after 9 months of very moderate usage.
Nonsense since AH is only battery capacity not power. So how it can be 6AH to be stronger. Both are 18 V which is really the "power" indicator for accumulator tools, so this seems incorrect from physics right ? :) But on video i agree it sucks
@@TheDEDe2 Voltage alone doesn't tell you how much power something is using. Most tools requiring a decent amount of power allow greater draw from larger capacity batteries. You might not notice anything on small tools that don't require much power, but there's a reason something like a circular saw is going to struggle to make any substantial cuts with a 1ah battery, as opposed to a 4 or 5.
I have same problem with Makita DLM330Z LXT 18V 330mm Lawn Mower
Utterly useless doesn't pick up grass bearly anything.and grass is dry not wet at all
thanks for Your comment, good manufacturer but bad product
@weekendwarrior_ exactly. All my tools are Makita but this one is definitely worse product ever by them.Have no issues with any of the tools apart from this one.😟
@Vixxxx1 same here, I can't think of any other tool from their range that I use that I am not happy with. In fact thinking of buying impact driver now.
@weekendwarrior_ Have impact and really happy using daily basis and my colleagues no issues .
Small update guys. I started season few weeks ago and noticed that one of the bolts located near the rear right wheel fell off probably due to vibrations. Problems with not enough power continues, despite sharpening the blade, cleaning the mower and using 6 Ah, original batteries. The grass level indicator located on the grass basket fell off and got lost too. Another observation regarding the basket is that it would be better if it had handle on both sides rather than one to ease getting rid of grass.
Are you sure that cutting height is actually at 5 (wheel problem?) A have the same lawn mower and if i set to low cutting it`s doing the same.
@@toncek6365 hi, I usually use setting 3-4.
My friend, your problem is with the 3.0Ah battery and the fake 5.0 ah battery, replace it for a 2x 5.0Ah or 6.0Ah battery original from makita. they wil do the job! get rid of the fake ass 5.0 aliexpress battery. they don't work under lood, they only work for the show.
Hi, later on I also tried with 6ah original batteries and the difference is not that big I'm afraid. Thanks for the comment though.
Mine is only a couple of months old- and is puttering out- I am very disappointed right now. Loved it for the first couple of mows.
Indeed it was the same for me too but it’s just not up to the standards or strength of the petrol mowers. Such a disappointment and shame would have loved to say petrol is history. Come on Mikita!!!!
I just today cut a lawn up to my shins. I had to rerun it cos it was a commercial job that the client let grow till he needs to spend the money.
The grass was somewhat damp and so in places I would have to clean the underside of my mower once because of damp Grass buildup above the blades. (This happens in all types of mowers under such conditions; with metal chassis you can kick or bump it free in the mowing but this is bad practice from having to do fast jobs) this can bog the motor and influence the flow of clippings to the bag.
I had 2 18v5amp loaded and it worked the ~40 mins the job took. On and off for cleaning the bag. Cleaned up the mower at home and it’s good to go.
Maybe have two same batteries and go with the contours as you mow. I have had all types of mowers in past I still like motors but currently the DLM382PT2 I bought as a consequence of having seen your UA-cam and many others is one of the best mowers I’ve had.
My mother can use it and it’s quite easy and size for size can do what a metal chassis and motor counterpart can more or less.
While you got it I hope you can figure it out 👌🏾
The mower is faulty and needs to be returned or repaired.
I have an DLM330 which is Makitas smallest mower with a single battery and it would easily mow this lawn on one battery charge. I never had issues with it mowing tall grass, wet grass etc it always had enough power.
I would have agreed with You if not number of voices from other users that they have the same problem...it is good manufacturer but most likely they outsourced and did not apply the same quality control and expectations as for other Makita's products
What a plonker, expecting to get performance from miss-matched batteries, what did he really expect. put some propper batteries in it and have another go.
I also don't like my makita 2x36 volt mower. I use 5ah batteries and this mower struggles with thick grass, and even worse performance if the grass is wet. I use to cut my grass in the mornings but had to start doing it at night cause the mower couldn't deal with the dew. I'm in the trades and all my tools are makita and this is by far the most disappointing product from makita I have ever purchased.
My feelings exactly. Since I got the mower I got myself few more tools and they are good but this one is pathetic.
I bought the same model this week and I can confirm it has poor performance. I was cutting 2cm gras and the motor stops when the gras is ticker (but still 2cm). You can't also push too fast. (was running with 2 x 5.0Ah Original Makita batteries)
Thanks for sharing Bert. I suspected for some time that the main problem is the density of the lawn and not as much how long it is. Your comment reinforced my suspicion.
Dlm460 will solve all issues
@@joshbaxter5615 i would love to test it for them before they start selling it ;)
Yep hoorendous mower....
I’ve just watched this video and have the same problem. One would think that I was trying to mow a jungle. I have Makita original 3ah and a 4ah. I seem to remember that it worked well when it was new, but it’s just like the video, struggles and leaves clumps of grass in its wake. I have ordered 2 original 5ah batteries as a last straw before I dump it. I bought a new blade a while back which didn’t help.
Thanks David for your comment. I got myself 6Ah and there is a difference but not as big to solve the problem and change my opinion about this lawn mower.
@@weekendwarrior_ If it doesn’t improve, I’ll send the batteries back and buy an electric mower. I had a Flymo for about 20 years and never had this sort of problem.
I have the same model since a few years back. Currently using fully loaded 2 *5AH original Makita batteries and the poor performance described in this video is exactly what i am experiencing right now. It does not have anything to do with the batteries.
I agree. I still use it all these years and even with original 6ah batteries performance is not much better.
If this mower displayed is a 380, I believe that has a peak output;650watts whereas the 432 has a peak of;950watts, so maybe a upgrade is required, I know Makita do some mowers that kick out 1600watts peak! I think they get rather expensive though! Best of luck 🤞🏻
Thanks for the comment Alex, it is definitely too week for my lawn. My next upgrade will be robotic mower though ;).
Interesting. Was thinking of buying one as I have a lot of Makita 18v. Maybe not! I wonder if 2 5AH batteries would be better? I know in theory it shouldn’t make any difference but in practice the higher capacity batteries suffer less voltage drop under load.
This is the reason why I got it as well. I had 7 batteries laying around. I thought about the reasons why it may perform so badly and have few conclusions: 1. it works better without grass collecting basket 2. I put batteries in pairs 2x 1.5 Ah, 2x 2.0 Ah, 1x 3.0 and 1x 5.0 Ah. The last one seems slightly stronger than the others but barely in my opinion. 3. Performance did not change after sharpening the cutting blade or cleaning properly the undercarriage. The only thing I can say is that it is for much less thick grass than I have.
Weekend Warrior I’ll probably wait a bit longer then. I suppose it is quite a demanding application, maybe a bit ahead of its time. I had an angle grinder at work, one of the very early ones. It was a lifesaver, but easy to stall, even with just 1mm thick cutting discs. Last year I bought a new brushless one with 5AH battery. World of difference! Maybe brushless is more powerful?
Like you, I invested in the Makita platform and wanted to buy a Makita mower for battery compatibility. Sadly 18v or 2x18v Makita mower simply not powerful enough for such a strenuous task. After hours of research, I think I'm going to buy the 82v Victa mower, it performs as well as petrol one but much more pleasant to use. 18v Makita tools are good for most tasks, but when serious power is required, 18v just won't cut it. I'm saying this as a Makita fan!!!
Don’t
Our lawn mower will not cut grass at all short grass medium it just won't cut %600and it SUCKS
Sorry to hear that you have similar experience. Try replacing/sharpening the blade, clearing old grass from undercarriage, use 6ah batteries and clear gras from the motor cause it gets there easily. Also, actually pulling rather than pushing makes a difference too. All of it should improve situation although will not make it perfect.
Use same batter and use 5ah or 6ah, don't mix
You literally have a non-makita 5a battery which is probably old and never had as much draw as an original makita 5a, you then mismatch this with a 3a battery and expect your mower to cut well into thick wet grass at a fast walking speed with an almost full bag? It can hardly turn the blade just sitting there. Have you even sharpened the blades since you got it?
Thanks for the comment however you listed so many assumptions. If you read my comments you will know that I have multiple types and age of batteries. I also say that I do not remember the mower perform better or significantly better. The performance is the same with empty bag and yes I have sharpened the blade recently to rule out the cause of poor performance. Since the movie I also put the mower apart and have to say that design of the motor mount is bad too since it accumulates a lot of grass somehow. After removing it it was visibly better but still not as good as I hoped.
@@weekendwarrior_ I have to make assumptions because you don't mention anything other than poor performance in the video. The problem will be the non-makita 5a battery running along side the 3a. The 5a will be a poor performer and that will have helped to wreck the 3a battery which will now not be performing well. Looking at the price of those Waitley on ebay there's no way they are using good quality 18650 cells which is why you pay a premium for a good makita battery. Buying cheaper "replacement" batteries is a false economy as you end up with a poor performing product as you are experiencing here then blaming the tool. Every other review of the Makita DLM380 on youtube that is in thicker grass has no problems, but they use good batteries. Power is directly related to voltage and ampage, your lack of amps gives you a poor experience and I doubt very much the Waitley is anywhere near 5a, probably nearer 2.5 you cant even buy the 10 required good quality 18650 for the price of the Waitley finished product.
@@samphire sorry but I do not agree, first of I compared running time of both original and replacement batteries on big current drawing tool that angle grinder is and there is no difference what so ever. Yes, there is some quality difference between Makita and replacement batteries but it is not necessarily reflected by worse performance. It is the cost of labour, cost of advertising, cost of plastic shell and maybe some circuit elements. Often replacement batteries use Korean brand cells anyway. Also, I am not saying it is not possible to cut. In fact I mow my lawn regularly but it is too weak for my needs and if I didn't have two chargers (3 bays in total) and 6 batteries, I would not invest in the same model again. Thanks for respectful and constructive discussion though.
@@weekendwarrior_ No worries, maybe you just had a broken mower.
@@weekendwarrior_ Watch mfYjUBVg3_Y and see how thick he cuts with good 5a batteries @ 11:02
Your problem is using two different battery’s!!!!!
Thanks for your comment, but the same issue happens despite using same amperage batteries (also original).
@@weekendwarrior_ I’m surprised! What model is this mower anyway? It looks like the 330 single battery mower but yours has the twin..
@@elchevinit it is dlm380z
@@weekendwarrior_ I see! I’m looking at getting the newer version of that 382z…
Im also not extremely happy with it with the same reason. That's why during work I put it up a little driving forward and put it down driving backwards (on the same line), then it works nice.
But I was doing it on high grass - 30cm - so Im not happy that you have such problem on such little grass too. =(
Thanks for your comment Ian
I cut the lawn second time, grass had 5-8 cm and all was fine, zero problems, I did everything fast, on one time, on one charging (before I had to charge bateries 4 times). So the final conclusion is that best is to cut the grass when it's short, not too long, in proper time, and all works fine. 👍 I have also few other equipment of Makita to use the same bateries, what is very comfortable.
@@eventid22 hi Ian, good to hear that you found way around this. Yes, I also use number of Makita tools so batteries are not wasted;).
I use this with 2 5ah batteries with no problems on a mid setting on wet, fairly long grass however I need to wash underneath with a hosepipe after every use so definitely could be designed a bit better underneath! I have tried with 2 3ah batteries under the same conditions and I seem to get the same results as you do in the video.
Hi David, I get more and more convinced that it may have something to do with the density of a lawn and not its height. This is also what I noticed in my case since I know that there are some patches of lawn that are denser than others and especially there the mower struggles. Another funny thing is that it seems to perform better when pulled than pushed which may have something to do with blade height. And no, I did not install the blade incorrectly;). The last thing I would like to believe is that Makita has problems with quality control and some people were unlucky to receive faulty products.
@@weekendwarrior_ hi, how strange, i have also found that pulling the lawnmower rather than pushing it makes cutting performance better, maybe I need to reverse the handle!! i think it may have something to do with the way grass is ejected into the bag which it does fairly poorly.
@@davidhusband9283 hi, I have had exactly same observations, but didn't want to mention it (I think I did not) since I expected someone to say that I installed the cutting blade incorrectly:D. Anyway thanks for posting.
These mowers are awesome. I think you need to read that mowers manual mate or take better care of it.
I have just ordered the 382 and i have two original 5Ah.
I will try to take a video, as my gras is about 10 to 20cm right now
Thanks, we'll wait for the result of the test.
@@weekendwarrior_ damn it... forgot the before picture. Did the first run today. 20-30cm gras in highest setting without any problems. 1/4 battery power lost after about 240 squere meters.
@@BeOCeKa thanks for sharing...that's not a bad result, please keep us updated also with grass in summer time when more dense
Okay. This thing is crap. Too less power to mow more than 2cm of juicy gras. Hope i can send it back.
@@BeOCeKa sorry that you experienced it as well. I was fighting with mine yesterday despite using 6Ah Makita batteries.
Mines great !! Works perfect
Thanks for your comment
You say you have used this setup for a few years... has it always performed like this? Or has it gradually deteriorated?
Hi Ben, I would say that it has always been like that. I do not ever remember thinking that it is powerful enough for my lawn. I thought that it may have something to do with sharpness of the blade but I recently improved it. Then that it is blocked with old grass but I clean it from time to time. I use different batteries so it is not related. What I can say is that bigger capacity batteries are stronger but not significantly. Maybe my lawn is too dense but then I cut it at nearly highest setting. The good thing about it is that the mower is light, it is quiet and has good basket that is easy to empty. Apart from that I cannot say too many good things about it.
Weekend Warrior thanks for your reply mate. I recently brought one of these, it was going out very cheap (new) and I already have the battery and charger kits... so it was a good option for me.
I think certain parts are flimsy (as you have pointed out) and I don’t think it lives up the Makita name at all, even for a lower end machine. However I believe I am getting significantly better performance/power than you are. I have attacked some real jungles with it and it takes a lot before it bogs down. Perhaps this model has issues with consistency? Perhaps there are dud units coming from the factory?
Anyway, I appreciate your videos and your reply!
@@beninglis8097 hi Ben, so what I am planning to do possibly in next season is to get the 2 original 6Ah batteries. Do the full maintenance with taking the mower apart to clean it properly and sharpening the blade and will do the ultimate test or I should say the test of last hope. I will post the results then. Anyway, thanks for your comments.
@@weekendwarrior_ hey mate. I thought I would come back and let you know how I am going.
I have had the mower for about 5 months now and I am beginning to have the same issue as you. During winter (when we spoke last) my lawn grew long very quickly, yet the mower had no trouble cutting through it, even when super long! However now it is summer, the growth has slowed, but the lawn has thickened right up and the mower is now struggling.
This might be due to seasonal grasses in my lawn that thicken up during summer (I'm no expert) or it could be because in winter I was mowing every 1-2 weeks, compared to 3-4 weeks in summer. Either way my solution is to run over the lawn at cutting height 5 and then do a second pass at height 3.
Anyway, I thought I would let you know that you are not the only one having trouble haha. I will be giving my blade a sharpen in the next couple weeks, hopefully that will help a little too.
Cheerio,
Ben
@@beninglis8097 hi Ben, it is great to hear from you. Thanks for sharing your experience. You can check one more thing. I have noticed that due to not too good construction there is a lot of grass getting under the blade and between the motor and its bracket. Btw I got myself the new 6Ah Makita batteries and will try them out in summer. If that will not make a difference then nothing will;). Also I received the Makita chainsaw from my lady ...Thanks again for your comment and stay healthy!
Je viens de me procurer cette tondeuse parce que ma grosse tondeuse Honda motorisée qui a le poid d’un char d’assaut refuse de démarrer.
J’ai 4 pelouses à faire (2 moyennes et 2 petites) et il me fallait une tondeuse qui fonctionne. Je suis déjà bien équipé en produit Makita. Plusieurs batteries en ma possession.
Cette tondeuse est rès légère. Elle fonctionne très bien. Sa puissance m’a surpris. Dans les endroits où il y a beaucoup de découpage, c’est l’outil idéal.
Conclusion, aussi efficace que ma Honda sur de petits/moyens terrains malgré son couteau de 17’’ tout en étant 2.5 fois plus légère qu’une Honda. Le poid d’un jouet…
J’ai remarqué que le couteau neuf n’était pas aiguisé. J’ai fait 2 petites pelouses et une moyenne pelouse en déchiquetage avec un kit de (2xBL1850 neuves).
Éric M.
Battery amps only improve life between charges not performance of motor.
It's down to the voltage of motor and it's output wattage.
Thanks. Yes, this is also my understanding so I do not expect a change although I am ready to try anything.
Good video, don’t like the battery set up. You can only replace a battery with a makita battery not a replacement brand
Actually this is a fairly accurate, representation of this mowers problems. I have fairly thick grass that I dont really let get too long, and this mower will struggle and you need to do several passes at different lengths. Its a shame as I really wanted to love this product, but its pretty gutless using the supplied makita 5A batteries, it also leaves a fair amount of grass behind. I did get the smallest model as I have a relativly small yard, so maybe a bigger model might have a bit more guts, but the DLM382 is only for trimming, anything deeper will cause it to struggle.
Thanks for the comment deadlychickenxop. It is good to know that I am not crazy ;).
what is the model of this mower?
Makita dlm380z
Not good idea using 3 amp and 5 amp battery together in my opinion, you are lowering the capacity of batteries, at least the 5 amp one
What's the SKU number?
What is the actual model number for this?
Poor motor and warranty issue
I have the same mower with similar experiences. I changed my blade and it ran a million times better and batteries lasted longer. I believe it needs to be changed yearly and was only $30
Thanks Marcus, I will try that too.
@@weekendwarrior_ You can get blades sharpened rather than just buy new?
@@jesshothersall hi Jess, thanks for your question. Yes, although they get damaged badly quickly so there is no point in my opinion considering cost of new one.
I bought the 380 model yesterday, came with the 5.0ah batteries, as I have Makita 18v power tools anyway, I thought I’d try it with a couple of fully charged 3.0 ah first, grass wasn’t that long, and it had dried-out by the time I cut it, on a mid -cut setting, it handled it very well, early days yet I know, but I’m impressed, especially as I did contract maintenance landscaping many years ago using petrol driven mowers ( Honda) I’d recommend this mower for garden work any day of the week.
I wonder about your opinion in a year of usage when you gather enough experience to assess. Thanks for your comment though.
THank you.
.
blades.
and 5 + 5 amps only.
Poor is an understatement..no power at all. Good to see you on videos again
Thanks Jusb. It is good to see you commenting too;). I got lazy recently so not as passionate about publishing anymore.
What model is this please?
Dlm380z