Drill Battery Compatability

[fifo28]

I looked over the festool catalog and they have a nice chart with regards to battery compatibility, but I am still a bit confused.  If I have a drill that uses NiMH batteries can I use another battery with that drill (Lithium Ion)?  I know the new chargers will charge everything but not sure about the drills.

Thanks

 

[tbellemare]

You can't use Li-Ion batteries in the old drills. You can, however use the old batteries on the drills designed for use with Li-Ion batteries.

Tom

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Also, the chargers aren't the same.  You can't charge the LiIon batteries on the older chargers.

 

[tbellemare]

Good point, Ken!

Tom

 

[semenza]

So if I had a new Festool C12 LiOn drill, I could also use  Festool 12v NiCd batteries on the new LiOn C12?

I have read some posts on this and they left nothing but confusion.

Seth

 

[tbellemare]

You are correct, Seth!

Tom

EDIT:
Additionally, the new charger will charge them.

 

[semenza]

Well if thats the case being able to have a couple NiCd batteries on hand in addition to the LiOn s takes care of the cold temp operation problems of LiOn for the new Festool drills.

Speaking of that has anyone had a chance to use them in the cold yet?

Seth

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Seth,

As my friend from Makita once told me in the dead of summer, no problem testing the batteries in the cold.  Just stick them in the freezer or refrigerator for a while and pull them out for testing their cold performance.  Either that or grab a coat and hat and find a meat locker.  [wink]

 

[Brice Burrell]

Seth, we've talked about the Festool lithium batteries numerous times already but maybe you were on the throne the last two or three times that has happened. [tongue]  They don't like the cold all that much.  Keeping them in the truck overnight in the cold will likely leave you disappointed in the morning.  They'll warm up fairly quickly on the charger.  Once they're warm again they work fine, just don't let them sit idle in the cold for too long.

Seth,

As my friend from Makita once told me in the dead of summer, no problem testing the batteries in the cold.  Just stick them in the freezer or refrigerator for a while and pull them out for testing their cold performance.  Either that or grab a coat and hat and find a meat locker.  [wink]

I wouldn't put the batteries in the freezer for too long, remember most freezers are set to zero degrees Fahrenheit.  That's unnecessarily cruel to the battery. 

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Well, Brice.  While you stayed inside, toasty warm in your jammies this past winter, some of us had to work in weather conditions that emulated the inside of a freezer.  [tongue]

 

[semenza]

Seth, we've talked about the Festool lithium batteries numerous times already but maybe you were on the throne the last two or three times that has happened. [tongue]  They don't like the cold all that much.  Keeping them in the truck overnight in the cold will likely leave you disappointed in the morning.  They'll warm up fairly quickly on the charger.  Once they're warm again they work fine, just don't let them sit idle in the cold for too long.

Seth,

As my friend from Makita once told me in the dead of summer, no problem testing the batteries in the cold.  Just stick them in the freezer or refrigerator for a while and pull them out for testing their cold performance.  Either that or grab a coat and hat and find a meat locker.  [wink]

I wouldn't put the batteries in the freezer for too long, remember most freezers are set to zero degrees Fahrenheit.  That's unnecessarily cruel to the battery. 

Nope, not on the throne Brice.  [smile] I remember reading the "warm them on the charger" post. But that doesn't make it so you don't have to wait when you just need it for a couple of unexpected uses. Plus I was thinking that perhaps they had some battery improvements on the just released drills.

The main question was the compatibility issue, my searches of the forum resulted in either sketchy info or too much to sort through. Perhaps I just needed better search terms.  :-\

Seth