Festool Lithium Cordless on its way!!

Hello,

I can only see two switches, one speed switch (1 or 2) and one to activate the clutch (drill or driver) but I can't see a clutch adjustment switch.

Has anybody a clue where or how you set the clutch?

Festool-Drills.gif
 
Mettes said:
I can only see two switches, one speed switch (1 or 2) and one to activate the clutch (drill or driver) but I can't see a clutch adjustment switch.

Has anybody a clue where or how you set the clutch?
Festool-Drills.gif
Click to expand...

Good question!

The Festool parts catalogue (EKAT) now shows exploded parts diagrams for both drills. Have a look at the diagram of the T 15+3:

Festool_T15-3.jpg


Notice part No 13 - 495198 Thumbwheel

It is located right behind the motor, and I reckon this could well be the adjustment thumbwheel for the torque control. It would be just out of sight in the photos, but Item 12 (Housing Insert) can just be seen in the photos, and is light grey in colour.

The EKAT also lists two batteries for the T 15+3:

491823    Battery pack BPS 15,6 S NiMH 3,0 Ah 15,6V NIMH
494832    Battery pack BPS 15 Li 2,6 Ah

491823 is the standard 3Ah NiMH 15.6V battery currently available for the TDK 15.6 drill, so this confirms that the new T 15+3 drill can also take the old 15.6V NiMH battery.

Forrest

 
Sean said:
will these li-ion be lighter than the festool drill it is replacing?  i have C12, best drill i ever own.  but, for li-ion i use makita lxt, super light and very durable.  from the picture of the newer version festool, it looks the same, but with li-ion technology - so not sure if this be better than my makita, therefore no sense for me to get this one.

also my makita lxt impact driver is very small and compact, hard to beat that combination.  wonder if festool will be releasing a li-ion impact, or just li-ion drill / driver? sean
Click to expand...

it is impossible to beat the makita impactor, the white one.  it is light weight, has a light and works great.  I use it all the time along with the festool drill the one with the handle , as you said great drill.  also the new little 10.4 volts drivers, impactors from bosch, then milwalkee, then makita.  makita and milwalkee are much better than the bosch,.  the bosch batteries do not work below 40 degrees or so.  milwaukee does better, I am going to buy the makita ones shortly.

however bosch is coming out with a 10.4 fein type saw the 1st of october that runs off battery!  it looks great and uses the fein blades. 
 
Well I take issue with that. Makita may be nice, but I have been very happy with the Panasonic's, my 4 year old units and the brand new Panasonic's I have(drill and impact), which to me are every bit as good as my brothers Makitas, I prefer the Panasonic.

To  not have those on your list  is strange to me unless you have never had an opportunity to try one.

The Bosch batteries are no where near the quality or even in the same league as the Panasonic batteries, the Bosch are crap if you are working in Chicago in the winter like I used to, as you alluded to in your post.
 
Yes I totally agree, my older Panasonic  15.6 V with 3.5 ah(amp hour) rating has been a really great drill/driver. I still have the original batteries and the charge is strong and last a long time.

I think Panasonic will break the 3.5ah rating soon(or have they already?) and to me that is the most important statistic for a cordless tool when comparing equal technologies, ie nicad vs nicad, etc.
 
Nick --- I have the 12v with 3.5ah Ni-Mh batteries and I like it very much.  I haven't run into too many things it can't handle --- if I do, I bring out the corded drill.  Anyway, it's a solid drill and batteries seem to be very good.  Some people have complained about the chuck but I see no problems with it.  Panasonic definitely needs to be in any list of quality cordless drill/drivers. 

Justin
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone! I will have to say, going by the photos it does look a bit bulky. any thoughts?
 
Yeah I have that 12 Volt Panasonic too, I think it is the  3.0 ah though, still good!. With the great Makita's and Panasonic's I just can not bring myself to spend so much on the Festool drivers. Who knows my Festool addiction may override my common sense someday.
 
Anybody notice the new switch on the top? Its designed to switch between drllling and driving w/o fiddling with the torque setting. The drill setting is basically max torque while the driving setting is whatever you last set the torque dial for. Pretty cool feature. If you look at the brochure there is a pretty impressive photo of a guy drilling a beam with a 1" diameter x 12" auger... anybody know what the equivalent in makita, bosch, panasonic would be? my c12 is like an 18v. Thanks
 
Ive used the new cordless today.

Festool have excelled once again! I did not expect a big improvement - WAS I WRONG!!

You guys have got the main details here but here are few that the brochure does not say.

This Festool cordless reinvents torque settings - Festool has made them electronic. The tool stops and "beeps" rater than clutching and driving screws in further.

The tool is smaler than the old "T" tools, a similar size to the C12.

The new T15 motor gives the same power as competitors 18v tools. This tool is amazing for its size.

Forget the fact that the voltage on the T12 Li-ion  is 10.8v and the voltage on the T15 Li-ion is 14.4v. This has been totally replaced in this tool with unbelievable power!
 
What is the amp hour(ah) ratings on those new batteries? Voltage doesn't mean much, as you stated.
 
For some English-language information on these new drills, here is the advert for the new T-range as it appears in the printed catalogue of the Axminster Tool Centre which is one of the UK's leading tool dealers. Axminster have released details and pricing ahead of Festool UK who are still in the middle of a "T-Time" teaser campaign on their website.

Axminster_T12_drill_advert.jpg


Note the brushless EC-TEC motor, like the C12 has. I have included the advert for the latter drill as it gives a good comparison for price. The current exchange rate is 1.79 US dollars to the pound. Note also the warning "Festool Prices may change 1st January". Historically, I don't think Festool prices change at the same time in the UK and USA, but UK customers should be on their guard!

Forrest

 
Dan Clermont said:
Matt Antonucci said:
There are several advantages to Li-Ion batteries.  The biggest probably being the energy density.  Simply put, one can get more run-time from a given size/weight battery.  Another advantage is that they do not suffer from nearly as much loss-of-charge while sitting on a shelf...  One other advantage is that they do not suffer from the "memory" affects that Nicad batteries were famous for...

Matt
Click to expand...

Hi Matt

I agree with everything you say and the current Nicads are memory prone. However, the C12 is already the lightest drill on the market from what I know and Festool tests all batteries for performance before installing them in battery packs.

The Festool batteries also should not lose charge whilst sitting on a shelf. My old dewalt drill did that but my Festool C12 doesn't

Look forward to seeing the new drill and any other improvements Festool may have come up with

Dan Clermont
Click to expand...

Dan,

Greetings!!  It's been a long time since Henderson!  And congratulations on becoming a dealer.

Regarding lifespan and shelf life of Festool's NiCad batteries, I am a pleasantly surprised by your testimony.  My concerns over those two issues are the key reasons I have not purchased a C12 drill.  I love the chucks, but am skeptical of NiCad and even NiMH batteries based on my experience with B&D (parent of DeWalt) and Makita products.  In contrast, I have never had a problem with the LiON batteries in any of my laptop PCs, some of which are 4 years old.

Recently, some Panasonic drills/impact drivers were demonstrated to me.  For ~US$369 Panasonic offered a drill and an driver, each with brushless motor technology and two ~3 or 3.5 AH rated LiIon batteries, a charger and a coupon for a free extra battery.  Panasonic's parent company is a prime manufacturer of batteries including those supplied to power Toyotals Prius automobile, so they know a thing or two about batteries and motors to go with them.  Their drills and drivers also have LED lights and are very compact, too.  I'm still waiting for Festool to update their product line, but if don't soon ... my next drill or driver will likely be Panasonic brand.

Dave R.

 
bruegf said:
Matt Antonucci said:
one thing that I would really like to see on the new drills is a little LED light on the end of the drill
Click to expand...

I'd also like to see them make a separate light like Craftsman and others provide w/ their drills.   I use the light for more often than the drill.

Fred
Click to expand...

You have stated why I bought a Makita (NiMH) battery operated drill and flashlight set about 6 years ago.  The batteries are getting weak, but the drill is still going strong, and the flashlight is the most frequently used tool in the house.  And the presence of that little LED light caused me to choose another brand of jigsaw, too, because I expected to be doing a lot of work in areas not having much natural light or electric lamps, e.g. under decks and in attics.

Dave R.
 
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