TCL 6 Duo fits in the TSC 55 KEB systainer

[DynaGlide]

I decided to go cordless on my track saw after having the cord snag for the 100th time on rail/parallel guides/guide rail square/my shirt/a fly. .etc

I had the REB 2.2 kerf so going 1.8mm is another perk.

Anyway for some reason Beaver has the TSC55 KEB basic sans batteries/charger on sale. The Plus version ships with a single battery charger. This is dumb. The saw uses two batteries. With the sale and a separate purchase of the two 5.0ah BT batteries w/ TCL 6 Duo charger I spent about the same as had I bought the Plus version, and I get a second systainer that I can sell off.

And the head scratcher is the TCL 6 Duo fits into the systainer of the saw. It's a bit snug and you'd want some way to pull it out that isn't the cord.

 

[Coen]

Was that originally supposed to be blade storage?

 

[mino]

Was that originally supposed to be blade storage?

No, in the same space fit two TCL 6/SCA 8/SCA16 chargers. The original TSC had the same slot in the insert.

I actually hate the stup. It is what necessitates the SYS V .. I mean, who caries 4 (two on the saw) batteries and two chargers with their saw .. which cannot be used without pulling the saw out. But I may just be a bit grumpy here. [cool]

IMO Festool designed the TCL Duo to fit into the same inserts as the two single-battery chargers. The single-battery chargers are also pretty tight when in those inserts.

That said the Duo is not my favourite ... it is just slow. It cannot cool down the batteries (no Airstream) so with hot packs one can be waiting half hour for it to even start charging. That about doubles the recharge time, even compared to a pair of SCA 8s.

 

[DynaGlide]

Was that originally supposed to be blade storage?

No, in the same space fit two TCL 6/SCA 8/SCA16 chargers. The original TSC had the same slot in the insert.

I actually hate the stup. It is what necessitates the SYS V .. I mean, who caries 4 (two on the saw) batteries and two chargers with their saw .. which cannot be used without pulling the saw out. But I may just be a bit grumpy here. [cool]

IMO Festool designed the TCL Duo to fit into the same inserts as the two single-battery chargers. The single-battery chargers are also pretty tight when in those inserts.

That said the Duo is not my favourite ... it is just slow. It cannot cool down the batteries (no Airstream) so with hot packs one can be waiting half hour for it to even start charging. That about doubles the recharge time, even compared to a pair of SCA 8s.

Thanks. Good to know about the slowness. I just wanted one charger. It's a shame it doesn't have the cooling capabilities. I have a pair of 4ah 18V and I doubt for my needs I'll burn through the 5ah in a setting. And if I do I can swap in the 4ah and let the 5ah charge.

For my use case I'd rather not have to put a battery in, wait, then put another battery in. I prefer to put both in and walk away.

 

[Lincoln]

I decided to go cordless on my track saw after having the cord snag for the 100th time on rail/parallel guides/guide rail square/my shirt/a fly. .etc

I had the REB 2.2 kerf so going 1.8mm is another perk.

As much as I like my TSC, I'd much prefer the 2.2mm blades.

 

[mino]

I decided to go cordless on my track saw after having the cord snag for the 100th time on rail/parallel guides/guide rail square/my shirt/a fly. .etc

I had the REB 2.2 kerf so going 1.8mm is another perk.

As much as I like my TSC, I'd much prefer the 2.2mm blades.

Putting aside any legalese, there is nothing physically preventing 2.2/1.6 blades in the new TSC. I have used 2,8/1,8 blades with my original TSC without issues. Mainly for aluminum and steel, riving knife being a non-concern there.

I would be warry of anything beyond 1.8 mm blade plate thickness (not kerf) from the bearing loads perspective but that is about it.

The newer saw is mechanically same as the original TSC, so definitely built for the "heavier" blades. The new anti-kickback system is blade-agnostic to boot.

 

[Lincoln]

I decided to go cordless on my track saw after having the cord snag for the 100th time on rail/parallel guides/guide rail square/my shirt/a fly. .etc

I had the REB 2.2 kerf so going 1.8mm is another perk.

As much as I like my TSC, I'd much prefer the 2.2mm blades.

Putting aside any legalese, there is nothing physically preventing 2.2/1.6 blades in the new TSC. I have used 2,8/1,8 blades with my original TSC without issues. Mainly for aluminum and steel, riving knife being a non-concern there.

I would be warry of anything beyond 1.8 mm blade plate thickness (not kerf) from the bearing loads perspective but that is about it.

The newer saw is mechanically same as the original TSC, so definitely built for the "heavier" blades. The new anti-kickback system is blade-agnostic to boot.

Yeah, good point. I think I have a 2.2mm blade somewhere, might give it a go.

 

[Willy Eckerslike]

As that will increase the load on the batteries by 22% it would be interesting to see if performance suffers.

 

[Coen]

Was that originally supposed to be blade storage?

No, in the same space fit two TCL 6/SCA 8/SCA16 chargers. The original TSC had the same slot in the insert.

I actually hate the stup. It is what necessitates the SYS V .. I mean, who caries 4 (two on the saw) batteries and two chargers with their saw .. which cannot be used without pulling the saw out. But I may just be a bit grumpy here. [cool]

IMO Festool designed the TCL Duo to fit into the same inserts as the two single-battery chargers. The single-battery chargers are also pretty tight when in those inserts.

That said the Duo is not my favourite ... it is just slow. It cannot cool down the batteries (no Airstream) so with hot packs one can be waiting half hour for it to even start charging. That about doubles the recharge time, even compared to a pair of SCA 8s.

Do you have a teardown / cross section of the newer batteries? Because the 3.1 is definitely not build for optimal heat transfer out of it..

 

[mino]

...
Do you have a teardown / cross section of the newer batteries? Because the 3.1 is definitely not build for optimal heat transfer out of it..

Not really, but took apart one 5.2 pack as wanted to see what cells were in. The Airstream thing are just channels through/inside the plastic case allowing for air cooling + the cooling fan in the charger. I believe most makers have it like this.

3.1 nor the 3.0 are Airstream, same as the 4.2 and older packs. I do not see that as an issue. Not much situations where 3.0/3.1 is a good fit and the tool would be high-current to heat up the pack. For 4.2 it would be useful, but hey, these predate AirStream.

For the uninitiated, "Airstream" are all the packs with vents on sides. If the pack has no venting, the chargers do not try to cool it and behave as a TCL charger does. I believe Festool has profiles defined for all the batteries and the charger "knows" what pack is in it at any point in time. Placing a 3.1 pack on SCA 16 does not mean it would (attempt to) charge at 16A.

My comment is from a practical experience with the TCL 6 and SCA 8 and the 5.2 packs. We were grinding a wall with a diamond disc (from RG 130) and burning through bats like every 15 minutes. Had 6 packs, so was thinking would be fine. Eventually it was as the SCA 8 ones were done in 30 mins or so (we did not discharge completely).

The TCL 6 was completely useless. Hot packs put on the SCA 8 were charged up faster than the TCL 6 would even start charging them. I sold my TCL 6 after that (already had two SCA 8 and a TCL 3).

 

[Coen]

Air is also an insulator. Bosch builds the newer packs "massive". There is maximum contact between cells and pack structure. The sides of the pack even have some kind of thermal tape between it and the cell tops/bottoms.
Result; outside feels warmer, inside stays cooler.