Power Cord Upgrades?

[wow]

One of the great pieces of advice I got when I was new here was to upgrade from the regular rail to the Holy Rail. Someone made the point that most dealers would upgrade you for just the difference in cost.

So if one wanted (for consistency sake) to upgrade the power cord for - say, a sander - from the 18ga cord to the heavier 16ga like is on a TS, would most/some/any dealers do this for the difference in price?

Has any one ever asked this before?

 

[Brice Burrell]

I'd guess a good dealer might do it for you.  But, keep in mind he'd be taking a loss on the plug-It.  The old cord is of little or no value to him since it can't (easily) be resold.  Frankly the cord issue is over blown, keep all you cords with the tools and you'll never have a problem.  Also you can easily leave a heavier gauge cord attached the vac hose all the time, either a new one or one from your existing collection.  So this is how I see it, you'd be asking a dealer to take a loss on the cord so you can solve a non-existent problem.  

 

[duburban]

that 16 vs 18 g is a sore subject!

 

[LostInTheWood]

For the tool itself the supplied cord from the manufacturer is more than adequate.  The tool motor rating/ amp draw and cord are designed to complement each other.  The real problem is not in upgrading the cord for the tool, but rather to make sure you use an adequate extension cord if so used.  Case in point is the vacs.  The vacs have a much heavier cord than necessary for the vac alone, but when you attach your sander, saw, router, etc. to the vac the cord on the vac acts as an extension for the tool as well as supplying power to the vac.  There are also other technical issues like voltage drop and resistance over cord length that we can go on and on with calculations and such.  There are also extension cord charts that are included with most tool use instructions.  The bottom line is that you run a much more substantial extension than the kind of cord that is on your tool. 

 

[Peter Durand]

I cannot for the life of me understand why it would not be more convenient and cheaper in the long run to supply ONE cord that will work with ALL tools. How much more does it cost the manufacturer to supply a 16 V 18 Gage and not have to bother with the supply line for the smaller one?

 

[Brice Burrell]

I cannot for the life of me understand why it would not be more convenient and cheaper in the long run to supply ONE cord that will work with ALL tools. How much more does it cost the manufacturer to supply a 16 V 18 Gage and not have to bother with the supply line for the smaller one?

I'm with you there.

 

[Bikeboy80]

I believe the festool engineers went with the two gauges for the flexibility. The lighter gauge cords are more flexible.

Personally I bought a few extra 16ga cords and ran them directly attached to my extractor hoses, I don't notice the difference and it is much easier not having to change cords.

 

[ccarrolladams]

I cannot for the life of me understand why it would not be more convenient and cheaper in the long run to supply ONE cord that will work with ALL tools. How much more does it cost the manufacturer to supply a 16 V 18 Gage and not have to bother with the supply line for the smaller one?

One valid reason Festool USA supplies both kinds of Plug-It cords is that a significant percentage of owner/users prefer the added flexibility of the 18ga cords with sanders, the MFK700 trim router and the jigsaws.

In my shop this is no problem because the sanders are not used on the same work tables as the TS55s. So the CT hoses for the sanders have the 18ga Plug-It attached and the saws have the 16ga Plug-It with their CT hose. We hardly ever use our OF1400 and the OF2200s have attached power cords. The way we use the OF1010s to drill shelf-pin holes they work fine with the 16ga cords.

 

[promark747]

Flexibility is usually brought up in these discussions, but I personally think any benefit from the slight increase in power cord flexibility is limited or negated by the stiffness of the D27 antistatic hose.

 

[duburban]

I cannot for the life of me understand why it would not be more convenient and cheaper in the long run to supply ONE cord that will work with ALL tools. How much more does it cost the manufacturer to supply a 16 V 18 Gage and not have to bother with the supply line for the smaller one?

One valid reason Festool USA supplies both kinds of Plug-It cords is that a significant percentage of owner/users prefer the added flexibility of the 18ga cords with sanders, the MFK700 trim router and the jigsaws.

In my shop this is no problem because the sanders are not used on the same work tables as the TS55s. So the CT hoses for the sanders have the 18ga Plug-It attached and the saws have the 16ga Plug-It with their CT hose. We hardly ever use our OF1400 and the OF2200s have attached power cords. The way we use the OF1010s to drill shelf-pin holes they work fine with the 16ga cords.

I don't perceive any difference in the cord flexibility. I do feel a big angry difference between them when i end up with an incompatible cord.

 

[Corwin]

Flexibility is usually brought up in these discussions, but I personally think any benefit from the slight increase in power cord flexibility is limited or negated by the stiffness of the D27 antistatic hose.

Excellent point!

 

[MrToolJunkie]

I use the bigger cord and have not noticed any difference with flexibility.  I think it is a non-issue when using it with a CT hose anyway.

Scot

 

[Brice Burrell]

One valid reason Festool USA supplies both kinds of Plug-It cords is that a significant percentage of owner/users prefer the added flexibility of the 18ga cords with sanders, the MFK700 trim router and the jigsaws.

In my shop this is no problem because the sanders are not used on the same work tables as the TS55s. So the CT hoses for the sanders have the 18ga Plug-It attached and the saws have the 16ga Plug-It with their CT hose. We hardly ever use our OF1400 and the OF2200s have attached power cords. The way we use the OF1010s to drill shelf-pin holes they work fine with the 16ga cords.

Ha, I think that seems like a statement of "fact" pulled out of thin air.  I'd guess a significant percentage of owner/users are oblivious to the fact the cords are different gauges, let alone have a strong preference.  Also, a significant percentage of owner/users don't run a production shop multiple work stations with dedicated vac/tool setups-they have only one vac, and a one gauge cord system would be helpful.       

 

[ccarrolladams]

The source of the information I shared is a highly placed engineering executive with Festool in Germany,

It is not now, nor has it ever been, my practice to pull statistics from thin air.

When I discuss my own work habits, I only share my experience and those of talented woodworkers I employ.

Of course the experiences and preferences of others will vary.