Review of the Festool T15+3 cordless drill.

[Brice Burrell]

Review of the Festool T15+3 cordless drill, by Brice Burrell
Text and Photos by Brice Burrell, copyright 2009

Check out my website for the complete review, Review of the Festool T+3 drill.

Festool has released their new T+3 series lithium ion cordless drills and since one of old cordless drills was on its way out I bought the T15+3 to replace it.

This review is of the Festool T 15+3 Li 2,6 Set USA (product # 564 250), it's the set that includes two 2.6 Ah batteries, three chucks, a Centrotec starter kit and the new Systainer 2 with the storage compartment in the lid (for use and sold in the N. America).

Included in the set: T15+3 cordless drill, two batteries, charger, 1/2" keyless chuck, right angle chuck, eccentric chuck, Centrotec starter kit (Centrotec chuck, 4 mm drill bit, #2 Phillips bit, bit holder and allen key), #25 Torx bit, owner's manual (not pictured above) and Systainer #2 with drill inserts.

In the top insert the drill is stored, under the drill there is a place to store the Centrotec drill bit and bit holder (not pictured above). Under the charger is a place to for the right angle and eccentric chucks (also a place to keep the depth-stop chuck, not included with the set.) The top insert lifts out and there are compartments for bit storage.

This is the first tool to be released with Festool's new Systainer with the storage compartment in the lid. The compartment has a clear plastic lid, the two long dividers are fixed and the small ones a removable (nine removable dividers included). With the storage in the lid and inside there is a fair amount of space to keep bits and/or fasteners with the drill. Grab one Systainer and you're ready for to get to work, nice.

Festool has introduced two new features with the T+3 drills, the EC-TEC motor and lithium ion batteries. These two new additions allow the drills to have the torque of competitors drills in the next voltage class up, hence the T+3 name. The EC-Tec, brushless motor has Festool's MMC technology. This electronically controls the motor output allowing constant RPMs under load, monitors the temperature and the voltage out put to optimize performance and protects the motor from overheating. The brushless motor helps give the motor a longer service life and they operate more efficiently. The new lithium ion batteries are light weight and can be stored a long time without discharge (this is a great benefit to the weekend DYIers and hobbiest woodworkers). Oh, and I don't want to forget, the batteries are now covered by the three year warranty.

The drill is quit small and light weight, it measures 6 1/8" wide without a chuck, 9 1/4" tall and weighs 3 and half pounds. I was very impressed with the torque of the T15+3 for it's size and weight.

I'm currently evaluating and testing the drill's performance so this review is on going, be sure to check back for updates.............

 

[erikfsn]

I made the mistake of looking at one of these the other day when I was returning my Kapex for repairs. Now I want one.

I am resisting for now and probably forever though because:
1. I find I'm reaching for the smallest drill I have the most these days, the Makita 10.8 (great drill, got it with an impact driver for $129)
2. The Festool has no light. I find as I get older I need that little light a lot!
3. The Festool costs $575 ouch!

 

[woodshopdemos]

Brice,
  A nice review with outstanding photos. I am a few days behind you in reviewing and working with this new product. It is hard to get to excited about a drill drive particularly since my C12 and others work so well. But there are a few tings that stand out with this new product. Power, power, power.  It is easy to handle but I think the power is what is impressing me the most. And the top of the Systainer is great. Do I put a complete assortment of screws up there, or the Kregg Jig assortment for pocket holing or 32mm screws for Euro building. Yes! I am going to have to make some choices but this ready storage is a great feature.

 

[justinmcf]

hi, i have'nt bought one of these festool drills yet, but reading all the positive reviews makes me want to rush out and get one!

i have a question for brice and all the other happy owners of these new drills...

what is the coolest feature on the drill?
does it have a belt clip like the makitas?

do you think it would be even better with the L.E.D lights like the makitas have?
i imagine the lights would be great while cabinet making in a dark bathroom or kitchen.
has anybody run the batteries right down in 1 day?

i find with my makita lithium-ion drivers and drills, i am now using 2 batteries per day, compared to last year when 1 battery would last the whole day.

regards, justin.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Justin, is your Makita the black an white one with the 1.5 Ah battery? I looked into those drills about a year agho and through my research I found out they have had problem both the keyless chuck and, an even bigger deal, the batteries. The Makita was very nice in the hand, it was very light weight (slightly less that the T15+3 with its keyless chuck). In the end I decided to wait and see what the Festool lithium drills would be like.

I do wish the T+3 series had a belt clip (if it was removable) and a LED light. On one battery I drove a couple hundred 3" drywall screws, drilled about ten or so of 5/16" holes in 1/8" thick steel, bored maybe a dozen 1" holes in framing lumber with an auger bit, drove eight 1 1/4" Tapcons and that's what I remember, I'm sure there was more. I'd say the battery lasted almost 3 days with medium duty use, so with hard use expect it to last less and more with light use. 

I have to say the thing I like the best is the size/weight to power/torque ratio the best. The chucks are nice too.

 

[justinmcf]

hi brice, i dont have the black and white ones, i bought the original blue and black colored drills/drivers.

i have never had any issues with the makita batteries until now, i charge batteries once a day now. not a big deal by itself, but i was expecting a longer lifespan than 4 hours with 1 battery.
the makita keyless chucks have been very disappointing for me, i have 2 that have failed.

because of these failures with the chucks/gearbox/clutch, i will never buy makita again. unfortunately i have invested thousands of dollars in the lxt range and i now find 3 years later it is useless to me.

i will be upgrading to protool drills for site work and maybe a festool for cabinet work, i am still researching which setup is best.
i think i will miss the little lights on the makita gear and the stainless steel belt clips are a necessity for me, certainly not a luxury. the protool drills have plastic belt clips, it will be interesting to see how long they last before breaking.

BTW, for anyone wondering why i am rambling on about a brand of tool called protool, this is a sister company of festool.
they specialize in construction tools as opposed to festool which is for general joinery/cabinet making.
does anybody know when protool will become available in the U.S.?

regards, justin.

 

[Tony M]

Justin, This may help you out      http://www.amazon.com/Bigg-Lugg-Power-Tool-Holder/dp/B0000224SD

 

[Brice Burrell]

.......BTW, for anyone wondering why i am rambling on about a brand of tool called protool, this is a sister company of festool.
they specialize in construction tools as opposed to festool which is for general joinery/cabinet making.
does anybody know when protool will become available in the U.S.?

regards, justin.

I don't think the Protool brand will come to the US anytime soon, I'd like to see it happen but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[justinmcf]

sorry to hear that brice, if you are really keen in the future, just let me know, i will be happy to post to you. i have shipped to the uk and receive from the uk and ireland all the time.

btw tony, thanks for the link, i already have the lugg thingy, works great for the drills.

regards, justin.

 

[James Watriss]

I just got the 15+3 last week... I may well put my C12s on eBay.

Coolest feature I've noticed...

When you're in screw mode, and when you have the torque knob set at 10 or below, the knob also slows down the motor as you decrease the torque. (motor slowed more with lesser torque)  That is, for a given, fixed trigger pressure, lower torque settings slow the drill down even more. So for very delicate operations, the drill will go even slower... which is very handy. It's a wonder noone thought of it before. Electronic speed control in tandem with the trigger control... combined with the mechanical switching up front.

My other favorite feature is simply the handle. I always compared holding the C12 to the feeling of holding someone else's d**k. It just didn't feel quite right to me. Too big, too blocky, and the ridge at the top dug in and made the knuckle at the base of my thumb ache after using it for too long. I still like the C12, it's the only drill I can adjust speeds and torque one-handed without putting it down... but it's only comfortable for certain things. As a result, my regular drill at the shop has been my 18V XRP DeWalt. It weighs a ton, and I had to shell out big $$ for new batteries, since the old ones were dying. But it's comfortable, so it's the one I reached for most often. That's changed, too.  If they'd make the C12 handle more comfortable in cross section, I'd be happier with it... but that's pretty unnecessary now.

 

[James Watriss]

In the new systainer, there's a tray that holds the drill and the 3 jaw chuck. The way the plastic is molded, the 3 jaw pretty much snaps into the tray, which holds it very securely. But, because the chuck tapers upwards, it's not as easy to get a grip on it to pull it out of the tray. Essentially, I have to dig a fingernail underneath the spinning ring at the front of the chuck, and pull on that. I think I'm going to have to just start putting the chuck in with the jaws end down, and drill a hole in the bottom to allow the jaws to clear.

A very minor irritation overall, but one I never had with the C12.

 

[Brice Burrell]

James, my keyless chuck isn't that hard to remove from the insert. I don't think I'd drill a hole in the insert. There is a flat bottom on the top insert that contains the items that can be stored in the lower insert.

On a slightly different subject, I had the latch on the lid storage compartment open inadvertently, when I opened the Systainer the contents spilled out. Luckily there wasn't much in there only a few paddle bits and some screws. The latch on both of my new T15+3 Systainers unlatch fairly easily. this limits the usefulness of this new designed Systainer, imagine dumping a bunch of different sized screws a few times.

 

[Tony M]

What I did to avoid dumping stuff out of the top of the systainer was putting all my tips up there, but in small zipper bags that I saved from small egg weights used for fishing. It worked out perfectly. All the compartments are used for this except for two, and those hold snappy chucks and centrotec bit holders

 

[James Watriss]

Funny Brice... I just dumped a pile of screws that had been destined for a couple of piano hinges out of my lid the other day... right into the client's carpeted floor. I'm now debating the virtues of gluing a bunch of rare earth magnets to the underside of the lid to help hold screws in place... or more likely into the latch to hold it more securely closed. I keep driver bits and centrotec stuff in the spaces under the tray inside the case, so those aren't much of a concern. I'm also going to keep a couple of large magnets in the case to help pull screws out of places like carpets.

I haven't drilled a hole for the chuck yet, I just spin it all the way open. Maybe if my fingers weren't so dry I could grip the chuck better in the opening-up position, but the way the tray grabs it, it really is a pretty snug fit. I'll see if there are other remedies, but really, if this is my only other complaint besides the lid flipping open, I think I should be ok.

 

[tbellemare]

The big difference is that when the C12 is removed, like you would to use the drill, there is a side of the keyless chuck that is exposed.

That isn't the situation when you reach for the same chuck in the new arrangement. I never noticed it until I read this because I just rocked the chuck until I got a good grip and it seemed natural.

I certainly can see the difference now that it was pointed out...

Tom

 

[monkeyswithhammers]

I don't even want to try one of these things, just in case I get obsessed with buying one. 

Normally I don't blink at buying a new tool, even a festool because I earn my living with them, but now I'm doing just sales so these purchases are harder to justify. 

I use an 18 volt ridgid for my heavy duty drilling.  But believe it or not the tool I turn to most of the time is an 18 volt NiCad Ryobi impact driver.  That damn cheap piece of crap just won't quit, and a pair of batteries costs about $40.00.  I started writing the date of purchase on the batteries with a magic marker just to see if they really are a value.  Also helps to calculate the real cost of the tool.  Now if Festool came out with an impact driver, I'll be doing the zombie walk to the tool store with my bank card in hand!

 

[James Watriss]

I did manage to fix the chuck issue... I put a long bit holder in the chuck, put it back into place, and shoved the bit holder around until the tray was wallowed out. Before that, I could put the bit holder int eh chuck and lift the tray... and almost lift the tray with the drill in it.

Re: impact drivers, I still love my Makita 14.4. But this drill has both power and finesse... see my comments about slower speeds at lower torque. And it's comfortable, too, which I like. It's not going to replace the impact driver, there are some things that impacts are great for. But as a day to day user, it's pretty much cleared the shelf that used to hold three tools... the C12, the Makita impact, and my 18V XRP DW drill/hammer drill. Now I use the T15 for pretty much everything.

 

[honeydoman]

Brice,

nice review.  I saw the drill at woodcraft yesterday and really liked it... so it is on my list of soon to buy, even though I do not really need it... but that is why I guess I have approx 45 drills !!!  not kidding.

 

[woodguy7]

45 drills !!!  I doth my cap.  A man after my own heart 

Woodguy

 

[Brice Burrell]

Brice,

nice review.  I saw the drill at woodcraft yesterday and really liked it... so it is on my list of soon to buy, even though I do not really need it... but that is why I guess I have approx 45 drills !!!  not kidding.

Repeat after me, my name is Kreg and I have a tool collecting problem. ;D

I've been busy and I've not had the time to finish my review, hopefully I'll get the time to finish soon.