New c12/c15 vs old c12

[nyman_666]

Hello!

I'm new on the forum and have some questions about the new c12 and c15. I currently use the old c12 with the 3ah battery on my job and i'm about to buy the new c12 or c15 for private use. I checked them out at the local dealer and they feel pretty light. The new c15 is probably as light as the old c12. The thing I keep wondering about is the batteries. The new machines use Li-ion batteries and the old has the Nimh. The old c12 has 3ah battery and the new only 1,5ah. Does that mean that the old battery runs longer or is the li-ion that much better? The c15 has a 3ah battery.

Does anyone know how long the batteries work?
The machines are pretty expensive but it's hard to use anything else when you get used to working with festool or protool drills. If I buy a new drill for private use I'm probobly going to use the drill much less than the one I use at work. Will the batteries be dead in 2-3 years or will they work longer if I use the drill a little but keep the batteries charged all the time? It would feel kind of stupid to buy a drill for 700€ and use it a couple of times every month and the batteries would need to be changed for new ones after 2 or 3 years.  :-\

 

[RC]

[welcome] to FOG!

Nice to see another countryman joining in on the forum!

 

[nyman_666]

Well thank you!

 

[mastercabman]

I'm also using the old c12 since 2005.And i am planning to replace it with a new drill.I am going with the c15 because it's only $50.00 more than the new c12 and still feels light.
I do hope those new batteries last a long time.

 

[neeleman]

I'am also using a C12 Li with 1,3 Ah battery. I also have a T12 and a T18.
I want to keep the C12 as light as possible thus with the 1,3 Ah battery.
For the heavy work I use the T12 or T18 with 2,6/3 Ah batteries.

Of course the 1,3 Ah battery will be out of power may be twice as soon as the 3 Ah batteries.
But you can always use the 3 Ah NiMh battery from your old C12 in the new C12/15 machines.
And I believe that Festool as one of the only companies give a 3 year warranty on their batteries as well.
But that may depend on the country where you live.

 

[peter halle]

You might also want to take into consideration that the lower amp hour batteries charge quicker thus negating some of the weight vs use time per battery per charge decision.  The lithiul ion batteries perform better until the very end of their charge where they drop off suddenly.  If I am not mistaken, the lithium ions also charge faster.

Peter

 

[nyman_666]

Yeah I believe the 3 year warranty is world wide so thats nice! At work I have the old c12 for screwing and drilling small holes but for larger holes I have the Protool pdc 18-4 quadrive and thats a wonderful machine. But I'm searching for a drill for private use now so I think that maybe the c15 would be a nice compromice so that I wouldn't have to get both machines. Haven't got any experience with the new festool models though so if anyone have used both, whats your opinion on them? Witch one should I get? And how long do the batteries work if I just use the drill nog and then? Is the Li-Ion batteries ageing by huors you use them or just by how old they are if you know what I mean? mastercabman, do you still use your original batteries or have you bought new ones?

 

[neeleman]

From the new C12 I find the light one of the best improvements. And the electronic clutch as well.
Also the Li-ion batteries are lighter then the NiCd and NiMH batteries.

The Protool machine are indeed fantastic machines.
By the way all the Protool drilling battery machines will also be updated this spring with the following:
- a light
- a battery load indicator
- 3,0 Ah batteries
- a few cosmetic changes

 

[nyman_666]

It's really nice to have the opportunity at work to have a boss who only buy festool or protool stuff, because it's so much more fun to work. The only downside is that you just can't go back to use anything else. I had a makita drill on my last work and i really liked it... untill I got the festool. It's like an expensive habit. You really notice how the engineers put down work to try understand the customer what they really want. Of course the batteries don't last forever but the drills probably do. One thing that I also noticed when I looked at the new c12/c15 models is that they started a little bit slower than the old model when you pulled the trigger. Maybe it's just in my head

I work as an electrician so the drilling I do is probably 22mm holes or smaller so the c15 should be powerful enough? The old c12 do drill the holes pretty well if the drill is in good condition, even 25 and 32mm holes without problems with the irwin blue groove drills so the new c15 should be good enough. Just wondering if anyone have experience with the batteries how long their life is. 2 years? 3 years? 5 years?

 

[Paddyfin1]

I have 2 c15s they are fantastic drill hold their charge for ages and even when left for a month in cold weather ( I went to Thailand for some winter sun) they kept their full charge [eek]
I also have the t15impact for stud work etc but the c15 is still my favourite

 

[mastercabman]

mastercabman, do you still use your original batteries or have you bought new ones?

Well,yes and no!  I have 2 c12.the first one i got was the 3.0ah kit.Then a few months later i got another one with the 2.4ah.This was in 2005.
Then i bought 2 new 3.0ah batteries in 2009 to replace the 2.4
The original 3.0ah batteries does not hold a charge very much anymore.I can still use them.The ones i got in 2009 are still going strong.
I have a friend who is going to buy both of my drills with all the batteries,2 chargers and systainers.With that money,i am going to get the c15.

 

[RC]

This might be a bit on the side of the topic, but I've been trying to figure out the minimalistic dream team set of battery operated gear from Festool and up to now my best idea is:

C15 Li Set (14.4V/3Ah) screwdriver for general use, get the basic chucks, batteries & charger
Ti 15 Impact Basic (14.4V/3Ah) for long screws/bolts, body and centrotec adapter piece only since would have gotten the chucks with the C15 Set
Carvex PSC 400 Li 15 (14.4V/2.6Ah)

 

[Kev]

The C15 gives you the option of adding a bare CARVEX to your tools later - not a ad thing  [smile]

C15 is a great all rounder.

 

[Kev]

This might be a bit on the side of the topic, but I've been trying to figure out the minimalistic dream team set of battery operated gear from Festool and up to now my best idea is:

C15 Li Set (14.4V/3Ah) screwdriver for general use, get the basic chucks, batteries & charger
Ti 15 Impact Basic (14.4V/3Ah) for long screws/bolts, body and centrotec adapter piece only since would have gotten the chucks with the C15 Set
Carvex PSC 400 Li 15 (14.4V/2.6Ah)

 

[nyman_666]

Sounds like I have to go and buy the C15 in the near future I'm also going to buy the carvex 400 when I have the money for it but I'm pretty sure in will be the one with cord. I don't have use it often so the one with cord will probobly work forever, no batteries to worry about. And about the flashlight, I use the Protool flashlight, costs probobly halv of what the festool light costs and I think it's bright enough. Does the Festool light come with built in battery? The Protool doesn't but it runs on any Festool or Protool battery. Probably not the cxs but all the 12V and up batteries.