Portable power and Festools

[WestcoastwoodcraftMark]

Can anyone shed some light on why Festool will not run on a 12 volt power inverter, I am installing a 2000watt power inverter wich has no problem running  many other tools of higher watt consumptoin, yet when I plug in my TS55 or my CT SYS Dust Extractor it's a no go, except the DF500 wich works,  [blink]

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi,

I'm tagging [member=191]Rick Christopherson[/member] , I think he might be able to shed some light on this.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Rick Christopherson]

I have a couple of thoughts in mind, but let's try something really simple first. Can you plug a small light bulb into the inverter while trying to run the saw?

If that works, it is because the inverter is not putting out power until it detects a load. But conversely, the Festool electronics won't try to power the saw until they see a power source. So they both sit there waiting for the other to go first.

 

[WestcoastwoodcraftMark]

I plugged a light on still nothing, tryed it with  a small blender running as well still no go.

 

[Rick Christopherson]

OK. Then the bad news is that the output from the inverter is too choppy for the electronics in the saw to work with.

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

The TS has variable speed, and the CT has the auto start electronics, so both of those tools have "fancy" electronic modules. Both tools are also higher in amperage than the DF500. The DF500 doesn't have a variable speed dial, and I'm not sure whether it has the same type of electronics typically found in variable speed tools, like constant speed circuitry. I didn't see it mentioned in the manual, but just quickly checked. I know the electronic modules used in some tool brands can cause problems, or prevent the tools from being on inverters and certain types of generators.

 

[Bob D.]

Manufacturers product page with link to what I believe is the correct manual and a couple snips with warnings and specs.
http://www.powerdriveinverters.com/...power-inverter-4-ac-2-usb-app-with-bluetooth/

 

[WestcoastwoodcraftMark]

Thanks for that BobD. I guess I'm just trying to find out why my dewalt jobsite table saw, my soft start compound miter saw and my variable speed bosch angle grinder seem to function with this portable power source and some Festool do not.
I am not looking to use this on  regular basis however in an off grid or a power failuire situation it might be handy  to have this as an option.

 

[Peter_C]

A nice expensive sine wave inverter should work with no issues. 2,000 watts is not much as that is peak watts. Not many inverters give the real world specs.

 

[Gregor]

Possibly the speed control on them isn't implemented using a sine on- or offcut (like dimmers for lamps) but by switching whole sine halfwaves in the zero-cross (which would be more efficient as of less heat in the power switching element and less need for EMF dampening as no spikes are generated) which would be good enough for a keeping RPM roughly at the set speed. For a setup like this you would want to make sure that the input power frequency is within the range expected, else the assumptions made when designing the speed control (that one half-wave will add ~that amount of RPM/torque) will be off and the circuit might start to oscillate (instead of stabilizing at the intended value).

So the electronics on the non-functioning devices might try (when initializing) to detect the sine wave zero-cross and sync to it but as the inverter delivers a frequency outside the range they expect (as is hinted in the warnings that fans might run at a higher speed) the tools fails to sync and never completes initialisation => dosn't turn on the power driver.

Just a theory though.

 

[antss]

Mark, the reason your Dewalt gear works is because they don't have fancy ECMs controlling the motors like the 55 and the CTsys !

Your domino has just a "dumb" motor like the dewalt gear. 

Just a hunch, but I don't think you'd get a Festool EC sander to work with the inverter either .  [unsure]