Makita publishes outdoor tool decibel ratings in its European instruction manuals, served from its EU manual site; on makitatools.com, only the blowers carry a figure. Each EU manual has a Noise section naming the standard it was declared under.
For the DLM532 mower, the section reads "The typical A-weighted noise level determined according to EN IEC 62841-4-3", followed by a table: measured sound power of 92 dB(A), guaranteed sound power of 95 and a sound pressure level, LpA, of 81 with an uncertainty K of 3. Blower manuals repeat a block like that for each nozzle.
An LpA is what reaches the person holding the tool. An LWA is the total acoustic output, which is why it always reads higher, and a guaranteed LWA is a legal ceiling under the EU outdoor noise directive rather than a test result. For why a mower can show 81 and 95 at once without contradiction, read sound power vs sound pressure.
Makita USA gives the GBU01Z, XBU02Z and XBU04Z a "Sound pressure rating of 61 dB(A); measured per ANSI B 175.2 standard", and the XBU03Z and GBU04Z 60 dB(A). That standard measures at 50 feet, so it describes a bystander. We print it beside the EU figures and never rank one against the other.
Makita's European and US model numbers rarely match, so each pairing rests on specs both sites print: deck width and blade speed for mowers, air volume for blowers, blade length and strokes for hedge trimmers, and chain speed for saws.
The mowers line up most tightly. The US XML08Z is 67-1/2 inches long and the EU DLM532 1,715 mm at full extension, the same length, and the XML06Z's 66-1/2 inches equals the DLM462's 1,690 mm. Quiet mode speeds agree as well: 2,300 rpm on the 21 inch decks and 2,500 on the 18 inch one.
Blowers needed more care. The single battery DUB184 lists 13.0 m3/min, which is 459 CFM, and an 825 mm length, so it pairs with the XBU03Z rather than the twin battery XBU02Z. The XBU02Z pairs with the DUB362 at 13.4 m3/min, or 473 CFM, and a 930 mm maximum length, its 36-5/8 inches.
When two European tools fit one US model equally, both stay off the lists. The XHU07Z hedge trimmer, for example, matches the DUH601 and the DUH602 on 600 mm, 4,400 strokes and 1,121 mm, and Makita declares those two at 83 and 79 dB(A) at the operator.
How loud is a Makita lawn mower?
Makita's 21 inch LXT lawn mowers declare 81 dB(A) at the operator, K 3, with a guaranteed 95 dB(A); the 18 inch XML06Z declares 83 and 96. All four figures come from EU manuals under EN IEC 62841-4-3. At the operator:
- XML07Z, 21 inch push (EU DLM530): 81 dB(A), K 3
- XML08Z, 21 inch self-propelled (EU DLM532): 81 dB(A), K 3
- XML09Z, 21 inch self-propelled (EU DLM533): 81 dB(A), K 3
- XML06Z, 18 inch self-propelled (EU DLM462): 83 dB(A), K 3
Guaranteed sound power runs in the same order: 95 dB(A) for the three 21 inch mowers and 96 for the XML06Z, with measured values of 92 and 93. The 18 inch deck spins faster, 3,300 rpm against 2,800, which may be why the smaller mower is the louder one; Makita gives no reason.
Two other Makita mowers fall outside the list. The brushed XML11Z has no EU twin we could match, and the 18 inch XML03Z push mower is marked discontinued on makitatools.com. Other makers' figures sit on the battery lawn mowers page.
What does quiet mode do on a Makita lawn mower?
Quiet mode on a Makita lawn mower holds the blade at a constant 2,300 rpm on the 21 inch XML07Z, XML08Z and XML09Z, and at 2,500 rpm on the 18 inch XML06Z, below top speeds of 2,800 and 3,300.
Makita US says the setting "reduces noise by providing constant speed control" and stops there, with no decibel figure. Its EU manuals list the same quiet speeds as a "No load speed" beside a higher "Maximum speed", then declare one set of noise figures per mower without naming the speed tested.
So the 81 and 83 dB(A) figures cannot be pinned to either setting, and the quieter of the two modes has no declaration of its own. On the self-propelled models, the 1.5 to 3 MPH drive speed is a separate control that Makita does not link to noise.
How many decibels is a Makita leaf blower?
A Makita leaf blower rates 60 or 61 dB(A) on its US page under ANSI B175.2, a reading taken 50 feet away. Makita's EU manuals declare 79.4 to 85.7 dB(A) at the operator with each blower's standard nozzle:
- GBU01Z, 565 CFM, 40V (EU UB001G, end nozzle): 79.4 dB(A), K 3
- XBU02Z, 473 CFM, 18V X2 (EU DUB362, long nozzle): 84.4 dB(A), K 3
- XBU04Z, 473 CFM, 18V X2 (EU DUB363, end nozzle): 84.7 dB(A), K 3
- XBU03Z, 459 CFM, 18V (EU DUB184, front nozzle): 85.7 dB(A), K 3
Guaranteed sound power with those nozzles is 91 dB(A) for the GBU01Z, 97 for the XBU02Z and 98 for the XBU04Z and XBU03Z. The 40V blower leads by five decibels at the operator and six in its ceiling.
Makita's ANSI ratings put the XBU03Z lowest, at 60 dB(A), and the GBU01Z at 61, the reverse of the European order. One figure is taken at the handle and the other at 50 feet, so both orders can be right, and the leaf blowers page compares other brands on each.
Nozzles move the numbers almost as much as models do. The UB001G declares 79.4 dB(A) with its end nozzle and 87.7 with the gutter nozzle, guaranteed 91 and 99. The DUB362 runs from 81.8 with its flat nozzle to 89.5 with the gutter kit.
The compact XBU05Z matches the EU DUB185 on 113 CFM and 219 MPH, but the DUB185 is a dust blower declared under EN62841-1 at 86 dB(A), a different test from the garden blower standard, so it stays out of the list.
How loud is a Makita hedge trimmer?
The 18V XHU09Z is the quietest Makita hedge trimmer we could map, at 82 dB(A) for the operator, K 3, and a guaranteed 92 dB(A) under EN62841-4-2. The 40V GHU01Z declares 84 and 94. At the operator:
- XHU09Z, 24 inch, 18V LXT (EU DUH606): 82 dB(A), K 3
- GHU01Z, 24 inch rough cut, 40V (EU UH006G): 84 dB(A), K 3
Measured sound power is 90 dB(A) for the XHU09Z and 92 for the GHU01Z. Four more Makita hedge trimmers fit two European tools each. The XHU07Z could be the DUH601 at 83 dB(A) or the DUH602 at 79, and the 30 inch XHU08Z the DUH751 at 84 or the DUH752 at 80.
The 40V GHU02Z and GHU03Z split the same way, between the UH004G at 88 dB(A) and UH008G at 85, and between the UH005G at 89 and UH009G at 86. Until Makita says which version came to the US, those four stay unranked. More brands are on the hedge trimmers page.
How loud is a Makita chainsaw?
Makita's chainsaws declare 89 to 95 dB(A) at the operator under EN62841-4-1, and the 14 inch 18V XCU11Z is lowest, at 89 with a sound power of 97 dB(A). At the operator:
- XCU11Z, 14 inch, 18V LXT (EU DUC357): 89 dB(A), K 3
- XCU04Z, 16 inch, 18V X2 (EU DUC405): 92 dB(A), K 3
- GCU05Z, 16 inch, 40V (EU UC016G): 94 dB(A), K 3
- UC4051A, 16 inch corded (same number): 95 dB(A), K 3
Sound power runs 97, 100, 102 and 103 dB(A) in the same order, each printed as a single LWA with K 3 rather than a measured and guaranteed pair. None of the four saw manuals gives a guaranteed value in its noise section, and the DUC357 and DUC405 manuals show the directive's guaranteed symbol with no number beside it, so saw LWA figures stay apart from the ceilings above.
Chain speed made the matches. The XCU11Z's 1,520 feet a minute is the DUC357's 7.7 m/s, and the XCU04Z's 3,940 is the DUC405's 20 m/s. The saw with the slowest chain is also the quietest one, and other brands' saws are on the chainsaws page.
None of Makita's US string trimmers lines up cleanly with a European declaration, which leaves this page without a trimmer list.
The 18V XRU23Z runs two speeds, 4,500 and 6,000 rpm, with a 13 inch swath, while the nearest EU tools, the DUR190 and DUR191 family, run three speeds with a 300 mm head. The manuals for the DUR368A and UR002G, the likely twins of the XRU15Z and GRU01Z, would not finish downloading from Makita's EU server.
The XRU16Z brush cutter shares the DUR369A's three blade speeds, 4,600 to 7,000 rpm, and nearly its 1,846 mm length, but Makita US lists 14 lbs without battery against Europe's 5.2 kg. That gap is too wide for us to carry the DUR369A's 79.8 dB(A) nylon head figure over. Other makers' trimmers are on the cordless string trimmers page.
