Festool AGC 18-125 Li vs its brother Fein CCG 18-125 BLPD

[grobkuschelig]

Hi,

This is my “unboxing” of the two grinders, since I have not used either of them for anything besides comparing form and function.

I did not own an angle grinder up to now, since I am almost exclusively working with wood.
But in the past couple of years the odd jobs started to come up, where an angle grinder would be useful.

I thought about just getting a cheap corded Bosch or similar, but when I need it, I need it mobile.

The only other batteries I own are Fein (from the SuperCut) and a couple of low Ah DeWalt. So I looked at what these two had to offer...

Since Fein is supplying parts for the Vecturo, I was hoping that they would also be the ones to bring their cordless angle grinders to Festool, which was confirmed some months later with the AGC.

I checked specs and came to the conclusion that I wanted the ability to adjust RPM, so DeWalt was out.

When I worked in metal fabrication in my youth (during school holidays) I witnessed some accidents with the “on/off” type of power switches.
Since then, I have always preferred “dead man” switches from a safety point of view.
Initially I had some hope that Festool would carry over both versions of power switch from Fein, but unfortunately they stuck to On/Off only.

With the battery promotion in its last legs (for both Fein & Festool), I was pushing myself to make a decision.
I was unable to find a dealer nearby that carried both and so I ordered both online.

Here we are.

Differences:
- Length
- Circumference
- Battery-Orientation
- Standard orientation
- Power Switch
- RPM Range
- Handle
- LED (Fein)
- Color

Shared parts:
- Housing
- Handle Mounting Points
- Arbor & Lock
- RPM Adjuster
- Guards

Guards are interchangeable.

So the differences are really only in handle, switch and battery orientation/connection.

The Fein is noticeably thinner in circumference and fits my hands a lot better.
In general the feel of the Tools in terms of balance is almost identical from the first couple of minutes handling them.

 

[grobkuschelig]

Guards switched:

 

[ScotF]

Cool pics. Curious - why two cordless? Did you find one has an advantage over the other?

 

[grobkuschelig]

Cool pics. Curious - why two cordless? Did you find one has an advantage over the other?

Hi Scot,

Two, since I could not decide on specs alone and wanted to have both in hands side by side to compare.

One will be sent back.[emoji16]
Currently it looks like the Festool will be returned [emoji33][emoji6].

I just thought I would share the comparison, in case anyone had a similar choice to make.
Since it looks like motor and tool attachments are the same, but ergonomics are different...

 

[grobkuschelig]

Grip Differences:

As shown in the pictures above, the Fein is a little slimmer on the main body around both, the motor housing and the grip portion.

Otherwise the general body design is roughly the same.
The slimmer grip portion is located in the same distance from the head on both grinders.

2nd Grip:
The optional 2nd grip is also thinner on the Fein.
The Fein is hard plastic, with a vibration damping insert around the screw.

The Festool “Vibrastop” is completely made from a soft/squishy material with only a solid core around the screw.

Main Dimensions:
The Fein is longer overall, but this is really only down to the area around the battery port.

Weight:
Fein:
- incl. 5.2 Ah “HighPower” Battery: 2560 grams
- Bare Tool: 1815 grams

Festool:
- incl. 5.2 Ah “HighPower” Battery: 2490 grams
- Bare Tool: 1780 grams

I would attribute the roughly 70 grams difference to the added plastics and the “work light” on the Fein.

Trigger:
The Festool trigger is easy to operate and clicks satisfyingly into place. It also is deactivated fast, with the brush of a finger.

The main interest in the Fein came from the “dead man switch” and I am also happy here with the balance of “spring load” vs ease of activation on the trigger.

 

[grobkuschelig]

For my decision, it looks like the Fein will be the one to keep.
Advantages over the AGC:
- dead man switch
- wider RPM with Feins 2500-8500 vs 4500-8500 on the Festool
- easier and thus safer to grip and handle (for me at least) on both, the body and the screw-in-handle
- Arbor-Washer (?!) is higher quality with O-ring

Additional plus points that make it easy to choose the Fein:
- LED light.
- Fits into the AGC-Systainer insert
- Fein T-Loc Systainers available
- Festool parts fit, so it should be possible to build a Fein-Based CCG-AGC FH (with the Festool cutting wheel and the dust hood)

 

[Cheese]

Nice review...I'd probably also choose the Fein except for...

What is the rubber o-ring on the arbor washer used for and if it gets lost (which it will) will using the grinder without the o-ring be an issue?

Because of all the metal work I've done over the years, I've owned/used many RA grinders for over 50 years. The thing is you're always switching between grinding wheels, cut-off wheels, blending discs, sanding discs and wire wheels. Each has its own attachment method so the arbor washer is an important part of this puzzle.

For this reason to minimize all the switcheroo, I have 2 RA grinders, one set-up as a cut-off tool and one set-up as a grinder, and actually having a third grinder would be even better.  [smile]

 

[ScotF]

Does the Fein switch have a lock-on?

 

[grobkuschelig]

Does the Fein switch have a lock-on?

No.
Since it is a dead-man switch, it is intended to shut the tool off, as soon as you let go...

But Fein also do a version with a normal power switch, like the Festool.

- CCG 18-125 BLPD (dead man)
- CCG 18-125 BL (normal)

 

[Maestronus]

Nice comparison! Do you happen to know if the wired AG 125 is a Fein derivation as well? If so, which model and do you expect hoods/DC accessories to be intercompatible?

 

[grobkuschelig]

What is the rubber o-ring on the arbor washer used for and if it gets lost (which it will) will using the grinder without the o-ring be an issue?

Since the o-ring is on the „consumable“ side of the arbor, I guess it is intended to make a better fit of what ever disk you use on the grinder.

The Festool disk would fit fine, so I see no issue at all with not having the o-ring.

My general observation was that this part is much nicer machined and a higher quality part on the Fein, when compared to the Festool.

For sure, if you regularly use angle grinders, multiple are best.
Since my use will boil down to a maximum of a couple of times per month, I will be all set with just the one for now.
...if the need arises, I can always add the Festool back into the arsenal.

 

[grobkuschelig]

Nice comparison! Do you happen to know if the wired AG 125 is a Fein derivation as well? If so, which model and do you expect hoods/DC accessories to be intercompatible?

Unfortunately I have not looked into that, so I can’t help you there.

The only thing I know is that Festool changed the parts/hoods etc. from corded to cordless.
So the old corded accessories will not for the new cordless.

Best of luck finding the old make. If you do, please share it here, if someone else is also searching for it...

 

[ScotF]

Thank you! I have a couple of Bosch corded grinders. I am welding and sanding a metal fence and I can see the appeal of a cordless for this application without getting cords tangled and in the way. Thanks for the pics and comparison.

 

[yetihunter]

Thank you for the detailed overview.  Either the Fein or the Festool will end up with me sooner than later. 

EDIT for added commentary: 

I’ve got a grinder with an o-ring built into the spindle for the same intended purpose as the Fein: retention so that it doesn’t fall off.  What it actually does is frustrate the heck out of me when I’m changing between wire brush cups and cut off wheels. It’s always in one of two states: won’t come off or won’t seat properly.  The good news is that it’s already melting away because of obvious reasons, so, soon I can say farewell to that gimmick.

 

[yetihunter]

I have questions.  In the US there are no Festool made dust attachments for diamond wheel cutting and crack chasing? The naina DSC shroud, does it fit to this grinder? Conversely can the DSC-AGC take a regular grinding shroud? It does appear that Festool wants people to buy two of the same grinder because the industrial designer absolutely had to turn the Fein body sideways.  I can see that the head is facing right on one and left on the other.  I’ve seen Metabo starting to do this when they moved the switch from the center to the side and then they want you to buy their diamond cutting package with included shroud and a super special grinder with the switch on the right so that it faces up in use.  But...Fein originally kept the switch in the middle on their cordless grinder.....

[attachimg=1]

It was ambidextrous.  The switch was close to your thumb no matter which way you used it.

Is this a cash grab like the ets-ec 125/150? Is this all so that the battery is facing a certain way or so that it fits in a systainer? I’m using my cordless makita for both metal and concrete/masonry/tile.  No problem.  Dust collection and everything.  It just has a mounting system from the dark ages.

The Fein motor is encapsulated.  They intend on you kicking up dust into the housing.  Scratching my head.

rabble rabble. 

 

[grobkuschelig]

Usually, you can rotate the heads of angle grinders by just unscrewing the 4 bolts holding the head to the body.
This gives you 4 positions in 90° steps.

As you can see in the Festool EKAT on the parts list and as the kind guys at Festool Australia have shown in this video, the Festool grinders can be „swapped“ for use.


So I see no reason why the diamond cutting shroud should not fit the Fein.
I will for sure test this, but it might be a couple of months or longer until I will purchase the parts...

The Festool uses the same, encapsulated motor, in my opinion.

 

[AlexThePalex]

 

[yetihunter]

Thanks you two, you’re my new sweethearts.  Shamefully, I don’t access to the spring lever part in the US (can order the dust shroud from rule breaking retailers).

Oh, they have the conversion kits for sale in Australia.  $349 AUD ($240 USD).  Hmmm.

 

[grobkuschelig]

Just if anyone wants to do this themselves, I fit the Fein CCG into a Systainer.

Since Fein did a special Version of their Multitools in 2017 in Systainers, they are still available.
- SYS2 for Angle grinder
Festool insert 718290 for the AGC plus the Foam for the lid.
Added some heat in the back left corner and pressed the Fein 18V/5ah Battery in to make it fit
In addition to the machine, the charger fits nicely in the Festool-Charger space.
In addition, I can fit a 12V battery and the ALED LED light, plus the handle, and other stuff Festool allows you to put in.

I like to have a 12V battery there as well, since the Fein Machine is „Multivolt“ capable and you can run it from the 12V (like the SuperCut). This gives you a really small and light machine for limited cuts...

- SYS1 for accessories
Festool insert 700848 for 125mm sanding disks.

I am very happy with the solution and it fits my Systainer collection much better than the original Fein case.

 

[yetihunter]

That’s gorgeous.  We have empty Fein Systainers available to us in the states, too.  Been thinking about throwing my Vecturo into one.