T-15 Drill Stopping

[fifo28]

I just took the plunge and picked up the T-15 drill during the sale.  I used it for the first time this weekend on some remodeling work.  So, a lot of great features and this is the smoothest drill I have ever owned.  My problem is that it stooped working a fair amount of the time.  I am not used to a drill that beeps at me and stops when pushed hard (I know that's one of the key features).  So the torture test was drilling a 4 1/2 inch hole in a very old (and hard) 2x6.  I stopped continually doing this, but I understand why.  The hole saw would bind and the drill would lock up and beep.  I must say it was a bit annoying but I understand the benefit.  It also occasionally stopped when drilling through walls, this I did not expect.  Here there was no binding that I could see or feel and the torque wheel was at its max.

Am I being too picky.  How many times should the drill "warn" me in a normal day?  I am just trying t get a feel for what to expect.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

How many times should the drill "warn" me in a normal day?

I would say rarely. Realize that the electronic clutch is what's beeping and that the clutch is in use any time you have the T 15 in driving mode (the selector on top chooses between drilling and driving modes). Put it in drill mode to override the clutch. I suspect you'll not get the beeping then.

Give that a try and let us know the results.

Edit: If you're actually driving screws and it's beeping, move the clutch setting to a higher number on the back of the drill.

 

[jmbfestool]

I was just about to post the same thing Shane posted!  You just beat me 2 it!  

Any way what shane said!  Have it in drill mode its a lot stronger than having it on max in drive mode.   It still has a limit and will beep at you if you force it to much but it takes ALOT more to stop it.

JMB

 

[TJ Cornish]

As Shane and JMB pointed out, if the switch at the top of the drill is pointed to the screw icon, you are in clutch mode, and the highest clutch setting is still much less than the capability of the drill.  The clutch is designed to stop the drill before you put the head of the screw through what you are using, not as a tool safety feature. 

If you point the switch to the drill icon, the clutch is disabled and you get the full driving power of the drill - much more torque than you can get on the screw setting.  If it beeps in this mode, you have hit the thermal/current/whatever limit of the drill.  A 4 1/2" hole saw may or may not be too big for this drill - it depends on how hard you push.  With moderate force, the T15 will run that hole saw, but if you put your back into it, you won't have any problem stalling the drill.

There are other drills in the world that will out drive the T15, but at what duty cycle?  The T15 is decently powered and will be a lot harder to burn out, due to the brushless design and the protection circuitry.

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Forgive me if I am wrong here, but I suspect the beeping is not the clutch engaging, but the drill protecting itself. You wouldn't experience this with other drills, they will simply let you destroy the motor and/or battery if you push it beyond its capabilities.

All Festool drills with EC-Tec technology will protect themselves from permanent damage no matter how hard the end-user tries to damage them. That may be frustrating when you are really pushing the limits of a cordless tool, but it is a lot better than replacing the tool later. For example, when I fully loaded a DeWalt XRP drill, it made no effort to protect itself, and it literally began smoking from the motor within 30 seconds of full load.

The T-15 drill will make this same beeping if the battery is not fully charged or is getting dangerously overused for the charge that it does have. If the battery is fully charged, then it means you are simply exceeding the working capacity of the drill itself. If this is happening repeatedly for the task you have, it is a sign that you should probably not be using a cordless tool for the operation.

Drilling a 4-1/2" diameter hole, is a huge task for any drill, corded or cordless. This type of task would even give me pause for the safety of my corded Milwaukee Hole Shooter.

 

[TJ Cornish]

Rick - you may be right, but the OP mentions that he is having this happen frequently, which is why we suggest the clutch may be set.  I don't find that I trigger the motor protection frequently - I've only done it a few times total in 9 months of owning the drill.

 

[fifo28]

I checked the drill last night and it was set to drill - not screw.  I also agree that drilling a 4 1/2 inch hole is not easy.  I am sure it was the thermal protection kicking in.  I will keep playing with it to get used to it.

 

[ccmviking]

    The T15 stopping and beeping all the time during the activity would be very normal based on my experience.  Especially with a sharp bit that bites really hard into the material.  When the bit becomes a little dull, of course it takes longer to cut the hole, but it also glides a little easier across the material instead of trying to take such a large chunk out.  That's a tremendous amount of leverage and torque.  If you do that with another drill that doesn't have built in protection to stop the drill automatically, it'll probably just try and turn your arm into a pretzel.    [eek] 

 

[jmbfestool]

     The T15 stopping and beeping all the time during the activity would be very normal based on my experience.  Especially with a sharp bit that bites really hard into the material.  When the bit becomes a little dull, of course it takes longer to cut the hole, but it also glides a little easier across the material instead of trying to take such a large chunk out.  That's a tremendous amount of leverage and torque.  If you do that with another drill that doesn't have built in protection to stop the drill automatically, it'll probably just try and turn your arm into a pretzel.    [eek] 

Not if your me 10men!

 

[fdengel]

I have a NiCad C12 and I don't think the thermal protection has ever kicked in on me (just the low-battery and clutch), but then I've never tried to use it with a 4.5" hole saw either...

 

[Christian A.]

I don't own a T15 but a C12 Li. The electronic protection Festool cordless drills are equipped with is rather "sensitive" in my opinion. This is the impression I got when I tried to compare the C12 Li to the Dewalt DCD710S2.
Anyway, from my experiences, there is a way to prevent the Festool drill(s) from "beeping" due to possible overload: The overload protection is less likely to engage if you don't run the tool at full speed. I tried to drive a large screw with the C12 Li set at "drilling" in the first gear. When I fully depressed the trigger the drill started to "beep" rather soon. But with the trigger only - let's say - 2/3 depressed, the task could be completed.

Christian

 

[atomicmike]

One other thing to consider is the speed setting on the top of the drill. From what Brian told us in class, it's a lot like the gearbox in your car. If you need more torque, you need the lower gear. I've had the drill stop with the error tone a number of times while drilling large holes, but almost always when I forgot to set the speed to "1". Not sure if that's the case here, but it's worth checking...

- Mike

 

[fdengel]

Don't forget that a weak battery can cause this kind of behavior as well...