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How long does a Makita battery last on circular saw?

i bought an 18v Makita LXT circular saw (not the brushless one) (DSS611Z)

i have a new 5a battery I got with a driver ki and it’s seemed to work well so far.

i bought a new blade specifically for cutting composite boards - I’m using ekodeck boards that are 23mm thick - building a 9m long deck.

i am finding that when I’m doing a long cut trimming the edges down one length of the deck, I can probably get about 9m of cutting before the battery runs out and the saw stops. This is from an overnight charge!

this seems a ridiculously small amount of time. The saw is struggling to cut these boards and it’s hard going and I’m pushing hard to get it to cut, I’ve gotten a lot longer out of it cutting the frame timber.

should I be running smaller passes over and over, Is the battery faulty, should I have bought a more powerful saw to cut these boards in the first place?

i have a corded ryobi that has more power but it can’t keep as nice and straight a line as the makita.

Any thoughts?

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Comments

Marty_greenshed

G'day @Crakin ,

And welcome to the community!!

I'm not entirely sure if my maths is right but a 5ah battery contains 120watts an hr.. and the DSS611Z uses 200watts an hr.. So that should give you about 30-40minutes runtime of the DSS611Z subject to the cuts. Also, with lithium batteries, you shouldn't charge them overnight but rather charge them until they are full and then take them off charge, I put mine on a timer so it turns off automatically after a couple of hrs.

If you have any concerns about the battery being faulty, feel free to take it back to bunnings for a Team member to check it over and they can send it away for repair.

Cheers

Marty

Crakin

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/28295#Comment_28295

Thanks Marty, this is the first battery cordless bit of kit I’ve used in anger so wasn’t aware of the scale for power/time. That being said, it probably took me 10 - 15 mins max to run the 9 meters.

appreciate the advice on the charging too

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/28295#Comment_28295

A big welcome from me too @Crakin!

I'd agree with @Marty_greenshed that it sounds like you are getting a fairly limited runtime. Remember, though, that you've still cut through around sixty 137x23mm boards. Either there's another variable involved here, or the battery or, potentially the saw is faulty. You weren't cutting into the frame underneath the whole way along, were you? Was the battery reading that it was completely drained, or was it overheated? If overheated, it would start working again when it cooled. The DSS611Z is designed for light trimming work, and cutting a continuous 23mm thick board (despite the gaps in between) over 9m would likely be considered at its upper limits. The battery will become overheated when the tool is overloaded.

Also, could you tell us more about this blade that's specifically for composite boards?

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Crakin

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/76698#Comment_76698

Thanks Mitchell

i bought a blade specifically for composite boards, was the $50 one (not got it handy so can’t remember the one sorry).

The battery was heating up, the indicator read 1 out of the 4 bars and the saw was getting no power.

If I left it to cool down do you think it would work again?

Crakin

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/102364#Comment_102364

I guess the obv answer is have a few batteries, just wanted to make sure that there isn’t any problems in the mix with the hardware I have.

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/118205#Comment_118205

It is not an issue with hardware compatibility @Crakin.

The battery heating up indicates that the tool is being worked reasonably hard. There's no issue in doing so, as the battery has a thermal overload that will cut power if pushed too far. It sounds like the overload might have tripped when you were on the last bar, and there was potentially a bit more juice left in it. If so, it would run again when cooled down.

I've had a chat with the Makita tech team, and we are both in agreeance that there potentially is an issue, though it's more likely that the nine-metre stretch of relatively dense composite decking has just drained the battery. I run mainly Ryobi tools, and if I drained my 5.0ah battery over a nine-metre cut, it wouldn't surprise me at all. Because you've drained the battery over one long cut, it does make it look like it's not cutting much, but if you think of it as you've cut 137 boards on a single charge, that's actually quite a lot and could cover a whole day's work for some people.

We are more than happy to send the battery off to Makita for you so they can run some diagnostic tests on it. If you see our helpful team in-store with your proof of purchase, they will facilitate the warranty assessment.

Mitchell

Noyade

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/127477#Comment_127477

Afternoon @Crakin

"i have a corded ryobi that has more power but it can’t keep as nice and straight a line as the makita."

Just curious - but why would this be the case? Are you using a straight edge - or just freehand?

Crakin

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/133574#Comment_133574

I used a chalk line and clamped a 5.4m comp board. I didn’t buy a new blade for the ryobi and the new one for the makita is not compatible so it could be that, but the ryobi blade tended to move itself off the path. Not the best discription I know, but whether it was the old blade, me pushing too hard, the blades tendency to slightly bend with the toughness of the composite boards or an combination of all the above im not sure.

In retrospect I overestimated the power of the makita and probably should have invested in a decent blade for the ryobi specifically for composite boards. This was the first deck I had built, from tearing down the old one to rebuilding from scratch the new one I felt I had spent more than enough 😉

the makita worked really well with the new blade, just only for minutes. I got there in the end, and as usual, a lot of lessons learned 😉

just the Balustrade to do 😉

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/137344#Comment_137344

Hi @Crakin

Thank you so much for posting your low-level decking project. It looks awesome, the colour you've chosen for your decking boards is very nice and blends in perfectly with your wall colour.

I've run into a similar situation where the saw blade begins to drift out of line. Sometimes you've got to be vigilant to make sure that the cut is straight and true. It definitely helps if you have a premium saw blade on your circular saw. Even an ordinary saw can produce outstanding results with a quality saw blade.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing the balustrade installed.

Eric

Noyade

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/139939#Comment_139939

Morning 😁 @Crakin

"In retrospect I overestimated the power of the makita and probably should have invested in a decent blade for the ryobi specifically for composite boards."

I find this subject and threads like this very interesting, especially since the world is turning to batteries - how battery tools wattage/power-wise compare to corded tools. Many years ago I was talking to the owner of an electric motor repair/rewind shop and he believed from 'experience' it took 1 HP (735 watts) to cut continuously 25mm thick wood and another 735 watts for every 25mm thereafter. Of course this doesn't take into account the type of wood, blade type and size. I'm guessing this is why the average corded hand held circular saw is usually around the 1500 watt (2 HP) mark. So I'm amazed you were able to do what what you did with your Makita, if I understand (I failed Electrical Engineering at Sydney TAFE - true story) it to be rated at 200 watts?

I've always tried to get the biggest "oomph per buck" when it comes to circular saws. The last one was an Ox, heavily discounted (thankfully) due to the influx of battery tools I guess. Magnesium was a commercial ploy for GMC back in the late 90's - dunno if it's actually beneficial, but lasers in my opinion are a dead loss. 1,800 watts with a 184mm blade - 1 watt per 2.8 grams. 😁

Your deck looks fantastic by the way, despite your cutting difficulties. 😁

I would be very interested to know if you do get your saw assessed by Makita - and the outcome.

Cheers.

Graeme.

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