KAL II Battery

[Birdhunter]

My KAL II light needs a new battery. I wasted 15 minutes looking on the Festool site with no luck. How do I order one?

 

[Cheese]

You may want to rethink your options. Ekat price is $76.

 

[onocoffee]

You may want to rethink your options. Ekat price is $76.

Oh yeah, the newer KAL-C is like $63

 

[Cheese]

Oh yeah, the newer KAL-C is like $63

And I like the KAL-C 2-3 times better than the older KAL I & KAL II. It’s brighter and is a lot more flexible for lighting difficult areas.

 

[Birdhunter]

I’ve had two of there lights die. I’ll look at other brands. Festool seem to have problems with their batteries.

 

[onocoffee]

I also have the Icon 2100 light and that puts out a lot of light and is pretty cheap when caught on sale.

 

[Coen]

That should be Festool 500795

Or really just any 2S1P 18650 pack. Seems the one Festool uses is from BMZ with 2.75A Max charge current and 3.5A Max discharge current.
Do get one with the 3-wire connector.

 

[Birdhunter]

I have soured on the Festool lights had 2 and batteries on both failed.

 

[Coen]

Yeah, batteries wear out and die. It's a fact of life. How old are your lights? In what state did you keep the batteries when stored?

 

[onocoffee]

I have soured on the Festool lights had 2 and batteries on both failed.

The nice thing about the newer KAL-C is that they use the 18v tool batteries - so theoretically, you’re switching them out regularly.

 

[guybo]

kal 2 works with any festool battery pack from 12v to 18v plus the old cigar lighters , only a tad bulky

 

[Cheese]

I have the 1st model, the KAL 100 & the follow-up model the KAL II, I like them both and still use them with just the internal battery and also with the external Festool batteries. I've used them for years...and then recently the KAL C came along...suddenly it's game over.
It's a huge difference in user practicality. The KAL 100 & KAL II have a very limited illuminating angle because they depend upon which side/end they are set on to deliver their lighting angle. The KAL C is completely different and is not hindered in that regard. It's also brighter than the previous KAL units and has more staying power than either of them. If one of the earlier KAL units were to crap out...I'd just chuck it.