Festool C12 replacement battery ?

[Howmuch!]

Good morning i have an old C12 Festool drill which I must admit hasn't been used in a long time. The 2 batteries I have are dead no life at all. Just wanted to see if any of you could recommend a company over here that referbs old batteries. Or a good replacement battery ? I found drill-battery.co.uk which sounded really good until you read their reviews !!!! shocking . Any advice much appreciated.

 

[mrboult]

Festool still makes an updated version of the 12v battery. Not sure how easily you’ll find it wherever you are. .
It’s still the compact form factor, but 4.2ah now!
https://www.powertool-supplies.co.uk/filter-bag-sc-fis-ct-mini-midi-2-5.html#/product/58774

 

[AlexThePalex]

Make sure the new battery pack is compatible with your drill. C12 drills come in Li-Ion and Ni-Cd/NimH. The older NiCd drills will not accept Li-Ion batteries.

But they are still available from Festool, and various 3rd party vendors.

 

[rj_mccall]

Make sure the new battery pack is compatible with your drill. C12 drills come in Li-Ion and Ni-Cd/NimH. The older NiCd drills will not accept Li-Ion batteries.

But they are still available from Festool, and various 3rd party vendors.

Glad I stumbled across this [member=5277]Alex[/member] . I have an older C12 that takes NiCd, but both batteries are dead and I had given up hope finding replacements. My local vendor said no chance of getting replacements, I was always sceptical of what they said. Have you seen them online? Or figure it’s best to put a call in to Festool?

Thanks

 

[Coen]

If you open them up you will probably find a bunch of NiCD Sub-C cells. Your charger might already take NiMH as well. Sub-C cells and nickel strip can be bought from a variety of vendors. Either solder them ... or (have them) spotwelded (better).

But the whole thing will stay large, heavy and with out of date specs.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Make sure the new battery pack is compatible with your drill. C12 drills come in Li-Ion and Ni-Cd/NimH. The older NiCd drills will not accept Li-Ion batteries.

But they are still available from Festool, and various 3rd party vendors.

Glad I stumbled across this [member=5277]Alex[/member] . I have an older C12 that takes NiCd, but both batteries are dead and I had given up hope finding replacements. My local vendor said no chance of getting replacements, I was always sceptical of what they said. Have you seen them online? Or figure it’s best to put a call in to Festool?

Thanks

I can not say anything about availability in North America. Festool choses to sell you only a sub-set of what's available here.

But a little google search yields plenty of results for replacement batteries.
https://www.google.com/search?q=festool+c12+nimh+battery&sxsrf=ALeKk01YC0OZf3pG6lYI-9BZZTE3Ms75Cw:1613219788870&ei=zMcnYJnoNOPEgweXnaiACg&start=10&sa=N&ved=2ahUKEwiZ_taD8ObuAhVj4uAKHZcOCqAQ8NMDegUIBRDXAg&biw=1803&bih=865

 

[Coen]

For such an old machine I would definitely look 3rd party. Or just sell the machine completely. The newer drills can save you a full kg without loss of torque or rpm.

 

[semenza]

Does anyone have that 12v 4.2 battery?  Will it (a pair) run the TSC55?

Seth

 

[greg mann]

I have a C12 for which I have had the batteries rebuilt several times. I really love the drill. The Batteries Plus store that did the work has closed. If needed I will look for replacement cells
and replace them myself. The tech who repaired them commented it was the easiest battery he ever rebuilt.

I know a née C18 would be just fine too, but I like the idea of not needing to discard a fine drill.

 

[TinyShop]

[member=75156]Howmuch![/member] - are you sure they need to be replaced (as opposed to just shocked)? NiCd chemistry is prone (particularly is no total depleted between charges and/or stored for a long period of time) to crystallization. There are plenty of YouTube vids that describe the simple process of using a higher voltage battery with leads touched to the contacts on a 12V NiCd battery to instantaneously dissolve the crystals and rejuvenate the battery. I've benefited from this technique myself in two instances (an old Porter Cable drill and a NiteRider lighting system for cycling). In both instances, the associated power packs came back to life and work normally now (though the latter was a rebuilt battery that had barely been used then stored for about a decade).Worth trying before you shell out for new batteries.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I know a née C18 would be just fine too, but I like the idea of not needing to discard a fine drill.

A C18 is quite a bit heavier than the old C12.

I have a T15 and a C12 NiCd, and both are getting old now, so I've been looking around for a replacement and tried the C18 and T18. I didn't like them at all, bigger and much heavier.

 

[semenza]

[member=75156]Howmuch![/member]  Is your old C12 a NiCd or LiOn ?

Seth

 

[Coen]

If comparing to new machine, maybe use the compact battery. The NiCd batteries were 12V, 2,4 Ah. Dat is way less than even the small 3,1Ah 18V battery has.

Does anyone have that 12v 4.2 battery?  Will it (a pair) run the TSC55?

Seth

You want to run the TSC on double 12V NiCD? Why?

 

[semenza]

If comparing to new machine, maybe use the compact battery. The NiCd batteries were 12V, 2,4 Ah. Dat is way less than even the small 3,1Ah 18V battery has.

Does anyone have that 12v 4.2 battery?  Will it (a pair) run the TSC55?

Seth

You want to run the TSC on double 12V NiCD? Why?

The 12v 4.2 aH in the post above is LiOn not NiCd. I currently have three LiOn C12 drills which I like very much for the weight. I am using 12v 1.5 aH batteries. Those batteries will not run the saw. If I could get 12v batteries that will run the saw I would only need to have three batteries in my site work kit. And those would run everything.

Seth

 

[Frank-Jan]

I know a née C18 would be just fine too, but I like the idea of not needing to discard a fine drill.

A C18 is quite a bit heavier than the old C12.

I have a T15 and a C12 NiCd, and both are getting old now, so I've been looking around for a replacement and tried the C18 and T18. I didn't like them at all, bigger and much heavier.

Have you tried the new drills with the smaller batteries? I got the pdc/tid set a few months ago, with 1 4.0 and 3 5.2 batteries, I ordered an extra 4.0 because I really didn't like them with the heavier battery, (I haven't had a chance to try the lightest battery, because the 4.0 was a better deal at the time) (I also got a bare tool BHC at the same time, and I don't mind the heavier batteries with that) Earlier I got a fresh 10.8V 3.0 battery for my Li ion C12 that was on clearance sale, and that spruced that machine up aswell, along with my old DWC, no need to get the 18V version of that.

 

[mrboult]

I know a née C18 would be just fine too, but I like the idea of not needing to discard a fine drill.

A C18 is quite a bit heavier than the old C12.

I have a T15 and a C12 NiCd, and both are getting old now, so I've been looking around for a replacement and tried the C18 and T18. I didn't like them at all, bigger and much heavier.

T18 only really nailed it for me when the ‘compact’ options arrived. I never use the drills with the big batteries. It was a lovely drill before, but the compact batteries really made it something else. An absolute joy to use. 
And since the 4.0 packs arrived I’ve swapped out the bigger packs in my jigsaw and circular too. Note I still prefer the 2.6 & 3.0 packs in my drills, the 4.0 are noticeably heavier again, though still better than the big 5.2s. 

 

[Howmuch!]

Tinyshop thank you for your feedback will have to look into your comments on bringing the batteries back to life. I have 4 batteries as i have 2 of these drills. When you put them on charge they work for about 30 seconds and then die. Cheers