My Festool collection for use in my shop is 120 v., 60 Hz. I am thinking of purchasing one or more tools for use in a Caribbean country with European power characteristics, namely 50 Hz. Where can I purchase European Festool products from here in the US?
European Festool Products
- Thread starter Phoenix
- Start date
There are a few places around the world where they have 240V 60 Hz or 110V 50 Hz. What we have in Europe is 230V 50 Hz, with such margins that neither the mainland countries (220V) or the UK (240V) really had to change anything...
But no-load outlet voltage where I live tends to be something like 232V
Yes, you can order them from Europe, but most webshops aren't build for outside-europe shipping, so you most likely need to contact them in advance.
Make sure they deduct their VAT; if you have it shipped outside the European customs zone, it counts as export and it can be VAT-free. Pretty much every country has a different VAT rate, but for Germany it's 19%, Netherlands 21%.
And oh; cross-Atlantic shipping is ridiculously expensive. [wink]
And just so you know; the usual payment method here is to pay in advance using (some sort of semi-automated) wire transfer. They charge extra if you want to use credit card. If they don't charge extra, they usually offer 2% off when you do pay in advance. If you do pay using wire transfer, count on $10-20 bank costs when doing international payment from a US account and make sure you click the "OUR" thing regarding bank costs otherwise the european bank will deduct a few bucks from the payment.
Germans mostly read and write English just fine, and all decent shops have easy to find contact info.
But warranty-wise, can't you source them from a US dealer that uses the normal supply chain?
But no-load outlet voltage where I live tends to be something like 232V
Yes, you can order them from Europe, but most webshops aren't build for outside-europe shipping, so you most likely need to contact them in advance.
Make sure they deduct their VAT; if you have it shipped outside the European customs zone, it counts as export and it can be VAT-free. Pretty much every country has a different VAT rate, but for Germany it's 19%, Netherlands 21%.
And oh; cross-Atlantic shipping is ridiculously expensive. [wink]
And just so you know; the usual payment method here is to pay in advance using (some sort of semi-automated) wire transfer. They charge extra if you want to use credit card. If they don't charge extra, they usually offer 2% off when you do pay in advance. If you do pay using wire transfer, count on $10-20 bank costs when doing international payment from a US account and make sure you click the "OUR" thing regarding bank costs otherwise the european bank will deduct a few bucks from the payment.
Germans mostly read and write English just fine, and all decent shops have easy to find contact info.
But warranty-wise, can't you source them from a US dealer that uses the normal supply chain?
This is starting to sound too complicated to bother. The location I plan to use it (probably an orbital sander) is Bonaire. It's a Dutch island, with 125 (-ish) volts and 50 cycles. Stores stock compatible items, but not Festool. The major home improvement center there stocks Bosch, Makita, Milwaukee and the like, so I'll probably get one of those. I'm planning some refinishing, and I won't have dust extraction. So I think Festool is out.
AlexThePalex
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If they have 125 volts in Bonaire, you should be able to use your American tools without problem. European tools are 220v, they don't run on 125. The motors can take the difference between 50 and 60 hertz.
Correct.
And we have that here too in the big cities in buildings that have commercial elevators . And we use our 110v festools, and boschs and milwaukees in them every day.
Are you trying to tell us that have no ground on that 125v receptacle down there ???
And we have that here too in the big cities in buildings that have commercial elevators . And we use our 110v festools, and boschs and milwaukees in them every day.
Are you trying to tell us that have no ground on that 125v receptacle down there ???
Yes, the actual measurement is 208V in those buildings. We sometimes see issues with ovens and cooktops that weren't designed with 208v in mind.
Some of the highline brands have settings that adjust for 208v, while others must be ordered for 208v.
I really wasn't trying to start an engineering discussion, merely saying that if there's 100-130v electricity down there, then American tools should work no problem.
Some of the highline brands have settings that adjust for 208v, while others must be ordered for 208v.
I really wasn't trying to start an engineering discussion, merely saying that if there's 100-130v electricity down there, then American tools should work no problem.
thudchkr said:
No, it's different here. Single phase is 230V, so between the phases is 400V (3^0.5 * 230). This allows for 11 kW induction cooktops on a single 5-prong plug (3 phases, neutral, ground) with a block of 16A fuses. How, if even possible, do you connect such a cooktop in the US?
But I can't make sense from what the wiki says about North American three phase;
[huh]
