ITS have gained some insider information on what we believe to be the upcoming DHP481 which is a brushless cordless hammer drill driver.
Please be aware that this blog doesn’t contain any official information, its speculation based on in depth knowledge of the Makita cordless range and teaser photos/videos that we’ve luckily gained access to! This really is an undercover job and the details mentioned below are liable to change!
A few months ago, I took the time to simplify the Makita 18V Li-ion cordless drill range and break the current models down into categories you can read the full article here.
As I noted in that post Makita have been producing ‘brushless’ motors in there light duty and general purpose drills however the heavy duty model the DHP458 doesn’t (at time of writing this) have a brushless equivalent and as I mentioned in the post I suspected it’d only be a matter of time until they designed and built one. Especially seeing as their main competitor DeWalt have recently launched the DCD995 which is a heavy duty brushless combi.
And I take no pleasure in saying this, but it appears I was right!
Makita DHP481 – Smaller but Stronger
Information is pretty hard to come by, but it looks as if the new model that we’ve all been waiting for is the DHP481 (funny that seeing as the last one they released was the DHP480).
So we already know that it’s going to have a Brushless Motor, and a side handle (because the 458 does) but what else can we expect from the DHP481?
Well let’s look at torque: The DHP458 reached a max Nm of torque of 88 which was impressive, but for the upgrade we think that Makita will try and push this bad boy up above 100, in fact the numbers being touted around are 125Nm of torque which is astounding! Especially when you consider that Makita’s 18v impact drivers max out at around 160Nm.
Size; because of its brushless motor Makita will be able to reduce the size of the drill body itself, so we can expect a more compact hammer drill driver, perfect for getting into those awkward positions.
Compatibility; Like all of the newest Makita 18v Li-ion range I guess that the DHP481 is going to be cross compatible with all of the Makita 18v Li-ion batteries from the 1.5Ah to the 4Ah batteries and maybe even the 5Ah BL1850 (Click here to read more about the BL1850) – Although of course runtime and performance will be affected!
New Makita Cordless Drill
We’re really looking forward to seeing if our guesses are anything close to what the DHP481 will be, and can’t wait for Makita’s newest addition to what is already an impressive line-up of cordless drills.
We suspect that the Makita DHP481 will be available in the following packages:
Makita DHP481Z – Tool Body Only!
Makita DHP481RFE – Tool Body, With Carry Case and 2 x 3Ah Li-ion Batteries
Makita DHP481RMJ – Tool Body, With Carry Case and 2 x 4Ah Li-ion Batteries
And who knows maybe by the time we see the 481 Makita will have already released the BL1850 meaning that there will be a model number that caters for the DHP481 with carry case and 2 x 5Ah li-ion batteries and carry case which we suspect will be called the DHP481RTJ!
What do you think we can expect from the DHP481? Let us know your thoughts and if this is going to be added to your wish list but commenting and sharing below!