With so many cordless tools on the market, it’s easy to forget about lights. Even so, plenty of major brands have some sort of lighting solution. In the last month or so, we’ve covered several releases from names such as Ryobi and Ridgid. In this article, I’m diving into two new Makita Underhood Work Lights, the 18V DML818 and the 40V ML012G.
Let’s check out the performance and design features to see if this is the model for you.
Makita DML818 18V Underhood Work Light Output
The Makita DML818 runs on any 18V LXT battery. A 4.0Ah battery charges in just 45 minutes and provides up to 31 hours of lighting on low (400 lumens) and 6 hours on high (1700 lumens). You can also split the difference with a medium mode which emits 800 lumens.
The system also lets you engage the upper bar, lower bar, or both bars. This gives you several additional options for exactly how you illuminate a vehicle’s undercarriage or engine compartment.
Makita 18V Underhood Work Light Design
The Makita DML818 offers you several options for controlling the positioning of the underhood light. Specifically, you have seven illumination angles: -90°, -45°, 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°. This range should provide you with ample lighting access to easy and hard-to-reach spots.
Using the telescopic hook, you can attach the light bar to just about any lift gate or hood.
Compared to halogen alternatives, this light offers a considerable advantage when it comes to runtime, heat, and portability. Unlike halogen, you can pack up this light immediately when you’re done and put it up for the day.
Specs
- Model: Makita DML818
- Battery: 18V LXT
- Brightness settings: 3
- Lumens: 1,700 (High); 800 (Medium); 400 (Low)
- Runtime (hours): 5 (High); 11 (Medium); 23 (Low)
- Weight (battery, battery + hook): 3.8 lbs, 7.1 lbs.
Makita DML818 Price
The Makita 18V Underhood Work Light retails as a bare tool for $209.
Makita ML012G 40V Underhood Work Light
As is the case with many of Makita’s new tools, the 40V model mirrors most of the specs and features of its 18V counterpart. The Makita ML012G does, of course, have an advantage with some additional runtime due to the larger capacity batteries and lower voltage requirements. It runs on any 40V XGT battery and provides up to 65 hours of lighting on low (400 lumens) and 13 hours on high (1700 lumens) with a 4Ah pack. Like the 18V DML818, it can also operate at 800 lumens.
As you can see below, this is the exact same light, so Makita simply offers it to those on either battery platform. It’s unfortunate that Makita didn’t make their 40V XGT batteries backward compatible with their 18V LXT tools. That would have seemingly saved a lot of redundancy!
Specs
- Model: Makita ML012G
- Battery: 40V XGT
- Brightness settings: 3
- Lumens: 1,700 (High); 800 (Medium); 400 (Low)
- Runtime (hours): 8.5 (High); 19 (Medium); 40 (Low)
- Weight (battery, battery + hook): 4.4 lbs, 7.6 lbs.
Makita ML012G Price
The Makita ML012G 40V Underhood Work Light retails as a bare tool for $219.
