Festool T 15+3 tutorial posted

[Jerry Work]

Hi all,

After a bunch of travel lately I finally did get around to posting a tutorial on the T 15+3 drill.  The title probably says it all in terms of my response to this new drill, "There is a new sheriff in town...".  I find it to be better even than my previous favorite, the C-12, and way better than the CDD or TDK predecessors.  The tutorial is available for free download from the tutorials section on my web site, http://jerrywork.com.  I hope you find it an enjoyable read.

Jerry

Fine furniture designed and hand crafted in the 1907 Masonic Temple building in historic Kerby, OR.  Visitors always welcome!  glwork@mac.com

 

[JJ Wavra]

Jerry,

Great review!  I just wanted to add one thing that is not obvious about the t15.  When I first got it I thought why didn't they make the battery even smaller to save even more weight.  Well what I have come to realize is that you can sit the drill on that battery, I have had a 1.25" forstner bit in the chuck, and it will not tip over.  I am always forgetting to not rest drills on their battery and inevitably the smaller bits break and I am of course out of that size.

Also, are sure that that the T15 won't take the c12 batteries I seem to remember reading that they will.

JJ

 

[bonesbr549]

Thanks what a great indepth article.  the T15 was the first festool drill I have owend so it was interesting to see the ancestors.  I love the electronic clutch and was a key feature for me.

 

[festooltim]

As someone who works in all kinds of weather could anyone tell me if the batteries will charge when they are in extreme cold.

 

[Brice Burrell]

This is a good question. All batteries have degraded performance in the cold, most seem to agree lithium batteries are a little better in the cold. I'd be surprised if you'd see significant improvement in performance with Festool's T+3 series over other brands and batteries types. I guess we'll see come December. 

 

[festooltim]

I have had problems with other cordless tools when the battery's are below 30 degrees Fahrenheit they would not take a charge until i put them in a warm room.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Most Lithiums I have dealt with suck when it is cold out.

They wont hold a charge through the night.

 

[James Watriss]

One thing I was surprised not to see in there Jerry...

I noticed almost right away that the torque selector also slows the motor down even more below the '10' setting. Smaller torque settings mean even slower motor speeds. Hold the trigger down while you spin the wheel, you'll notice what I'm saying.

It's a nifty feature that should be almost intuitive... anything requiring that low a torque setting is not something you're likely to drive in at full speed. And the smaller they are, the slower one typically needs to go to do the job with care.

Otherwise... amazing write up!

 

[Jerry Work]

Hi JJ,

It is physically possible to slide a C-12 battery onto the T15+3 but I sure would not want to unless Festool said it was OK.  Doing so works the drill outside of the voltage range it was designed for, exposes the upper set of contacts and denies the drill of feedback from the battery.  My suggestion is to stay with the correct factory battery as all those things are important design elements.

Jerry

Jerry,

Great review!  I just wanted to add one thing that is not obvious about the t15.  When I first got it I thought why didn't they make the battery even smaller to save even more weight.  Well what I have come to realize is that you can sit the drill on that battery, I have had a 1.25" forstner bit in the chuck, and it will not tip over.  I am always forgetting to not rest drills on their battery and inevitably the smaller bits break and I am of course out of that size.

Also, are sure that that the T15 won't take the c12 batteries I seem to remember reading that they will.

JJ

 

[tbellemare]

What you say is true for optimum performance, Jerry, however...

The new T +3 Drills and the new charger were designed to be backward compatible with the old NiCd and NiMH batteries used on the C12.

The older drills and older chargers are not compatible with the new Li-Ion batteries.

It's really the Li-Ion batteries that are the trickiest part of the system. They require special monitoring while in use and while being charged, which is why they are not backward compatible.

Tom

 

[Jerry Work]

Hi all,

On the question of using other batteries with the T+3 drills, here is the official word from Festool:

"The new drills are backwards compatible and can use all existing flat pack, slide-type Festool batteries.  The T 15 can take all from 10.8v Li to 15.6 v NiMH."

"T 12 will not accept batteries in excess of the tools rated voltage.  The batteries and drills are keyed to prevent this from happening.  Your T 15 will accept them all, but it will affect rpm and performance with lower voltage batteries."

Hope this helps.

Jerry

 

[JJ Wavra]

Jerry,

Thanks for the clarification.

JJ