New to Festool - BP18 Li 4.0 vs. Li 5.0

[Rdb_FES]

I just purchased a CSC SYS 50 EBI-Set with the Li 5.0 batteries.  I’m looking at several other 18v tools and they show Li 4.0.  What is the difference (besides storage) and are the 18v interchangeable across the machines - assume I have all new product produced this year. 

Thanks for your help!

 

[semenza]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum!  [smile]

                With the exception of the ERGO batteries (very different shape sander batteries) the 18v are compatible across the system. There used to be an 3 amp 18v in the "standard" shape. And there were some tools that needed more umph than it delivered. But that is discontinued and you won't really need to worry about that one.

            The difference between the 5.0 and 4.0 is the one amp, and different dimensions. But those will both run all the tools with one exception that I know of .................... that being the 5.0  won't physically fit into the Systainer vacuum.

          If you are planning to run the CSC 50 saw a lot you may want to look for the new 8.0 battery supposed to be available this month. The 4.0, 5.0, 8.0 are all in the same general shape and dimension range. See link below. The weights are given but not the dimension.  The 4.0 is not as tall as the 5.0 but is a bit wider and longer. The 8.0 looks like it is a little wider and longer than both of the others.

     
    https://www.festoolusa.com/accessor...battery-and-charging-technology/battery-packs

Seth

 

[mino]

...
There used to be an 3 amp 18v in the "standard" shape. And there were some tools that needed more umph than it delivered. But that is discontinued and you won't really need to worry about that one.
...

Those "weaker" 5-cell packs were actually 3.1 Ah. There was also a Bluetooth version of them which does not have a replacement, unfortunately.

(outside US), There are now "new" 3.0 packs with simpler electronics and no BT version shipping with the CXS/TXS 18 series drills.

Sure, there were the oldie 10-cell 3.0 packs 10+ yrs ago, but that is history by now.

@ OP
What was said above holds - you will want the 8.0 packs and a pair of SCA 16 chargers.

The "issue" *) with the 5.0 packs (and 5.2 before) is that the ones included with tools are the non-Bluetooth version. And you really want Bluetooth ones for the CSC .. EDIT:  *)though that is in Europe, in US the non-BT 5.0 packs do not seem to be a thing.

So getting a drill with one set of 4.0 HP packs to get going and adding a pair of 8.0 packs later is probably best. Being in US, my take would be T18+3 as the go-to bundle to get some packs, a simple charger and a great drill while at it.

---
Here is a summary of the Festool 18V (Li) platform:

Current series:
3.0 Ah - 5-cell, very light at ~400g, (not available in US)
            - for lighter use, will not work with heavy-load tools like TSC/HKC, simple electronics with no Bluetooth option
4.0 Ah HP - 5-cell (21700), relatively light at ~550g
            - works with all tools, slightly weaker than the 10-cell 5.0 packs but lighter, all have Bluetooth
5.0 Ah - 10-cell, standard economy pack at ~700g
            - good for all tools, Bluetooth optional
8.0 Ah HP - 10-cell (21700), heavy at ~1000g
            - highest performance pack for heavy load tools, all have Bluetooth

Special "ERGO" series, only for cordless sanders, uses same chargers:
3.1 Ah ERGO - 5-cell, light at ~400g
            - for sanders only, Bluetooth optional

Recent series discontinued in 2022/2023:
3.1 Ah - 5-cell, for lighter use, very light at ~430g, Bluetooth version was available, will not work with heavy-load tools like TSC/HKC
5.2 Ah - 10-cell, good for all tools, ~720g, Bluetooth version was available
6.2 Ah - 10-cell, good for all tools, ~750g, Bluetooth version was available

Very old original series from 10+ years ago:
3.0 Ah - 10-cell, good for all tools, ~650g
4.2 Ah - 10-cell, good for all tools, ~700g

 

[semenza]

  [member=61254]mino[/member] The 18v TXS / CXS come with the 4.0 in the USA. Festool USA does not list the 3.0 at all.

  [member=82280]Rdb_FES[/member]  It might be good to know what country you are in since product availability varies somewhat.

Seth

 

[luvmytoolz]

This came up in another post funnily enough, but anyway the 8's I have are the same height and width as the 5.2's but are around 20mm longer, and fit the SYS 50 perfectly fine, in fact there's still some room for even longer batteries.

 

[Rdb_FES]

Thanks all!  This is great information.  To answer some questions, I am in the US, Hudson Valley, NY, so US only product and I just started to build my micro-shop (a 12x14 space in the garage).  So, the Festool system seems to be a great choice. 

I’m new to the brand - so far loving all the tools - and restarting a woodworking hobby (along with my day to day home maintenance). 

Thanks again.  Have a great day! 

 

[Chip S.]

Here's a link to the battery compatibility chart on our site in case it's a helpful reference.

 

[mino]

Here's a link to the battery compatibility chart on our site in case it's a helpful reference.

Hello [member=29369]Chip S.[/member], you should be careful with such a reference tool.

As mentioned earlier, the 5-cell light packs - the older 3.1 Ah as well as the newer 3.0 Ah ones - are definitely NOT compatible with all the high-power tools.

These must NOT be placed in the same category/column as the 4.0 HP (High Power) packs that are special precisely in being able to run all tools.

You need at least 4 columns there: 5-cell 18650 packs (3.0, 3.1), 5-cell 21700 (4.0 HP), 10-cell 18650 (4.2, 5.0, 5.2, 6.2) + 10-cell 21700 (8.0), ERGO, possibly the 8.0 should have own column as well.

At a minimum, the 3.0/3.1 packs will straight refuse to work with the TSC, for example. This is logical as that saw would overload/damage the light packs.

ADD:
These are the high-power tools that are electrically not compatible with the smallest 5-cell packs, despite those packs fitting in the tools: TSC 55, KSC 60, CSC SYS 50, SYMC 70, CTC MINI/MIDI
https://www.festool.com/accessory/c...-technology/battery-packs/577658---bp-18-li-3,0-c

 

[Chip S.]

Hi [member=61254]mino[/member] - thanks for the feedback. We'll review the information we have from Festool and the chart.