Urgent help needed with drill selection.

[bopperontbay]

I am a kitchen installer and have used festool drills for the last ten years and love them,  unfortunately my batteries are struggling holding charge and my charger went bang when I plugged it in this morning so I am on the market for a new drill in the morning.
I definitely want the d grip handle and not the pistol grip as I have got so used to it.
My original drill was the c12 duo with 3.0ah nimh batteries that would work foe a long time without charging.
I want a drill very similar to my previous one.
On look ing thru the festool catalogue I have noticed that the c12 li is only available with 1.5 ah li ion batteries my question is how will these compare to the batteries on my original drill ie. Time between chargers.
Do you think I would be better getting the c15 li instead with the 3.0ah batteries.
Or would ŷou think it would be a better idea to buy the new impact driver instead. ( although only available in pistol grip I think)
Obviously the price increases with the c15 and even more so with the impact driver.

So much choice so expensive I just wanna get it right
Thanks very much guy in advance for you responces
Regards bopper.

 

[Mr Jones]

I have the C12 you are talking about, I've been using it side by side with a CXS for the last few months and the cxs packs enough punch for just about any of my kitchen installs. On the other hand the C12 motor is obviously higher quality. Pretty sure the battery in the new C12 will be equivalent to the old one but have no proof. The cxs is well worth consideration though.

 

[CutsTwice]

I used my C12 for four years installing cabinets full time, and it's still going, but I recently bought a CSX and T18 together (because I wanted some new toys) and I honestly haven't reached for the C12 since. For light duty and the familiar handle shape I grab the CSX, but it's nice to have the power of the T18 when I need it. I could be crazy, but I swear that the T18 with it's lith-ion is lighter than my C12 with the old NMH 3.0 batteries. Another thing is that I had always laughed at drills with lights on them...until I bought these. I still don't expect the light to come on, but when I'm reaching in a dark corner and that light comes on so that I can see I get this warm fuzzy feeling about how well I have spent my money, lol. If you can swing it I think the two make a great pair.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

The new C 12 is 10.8 volts and the older C 12 is 12 volts.  If you're set on getting one of the large 'C' drills, get the C 15.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Get the C15.

Unlike the old C12, the new C12 is not a 12v drill, it's a 10.8v drill. That makes it quite a bit less powerfull than the 14.4v C15. As for weight, there's hardly any difference between the two, only the C15 comes with a bigger battery. But that battery is really nice, it will last you forever. So, for the same money, with the C15 you get a stronger drill with batteries that will last double as long.  

If you want a small 10.8 drill, get the CXS instead of the C12.

I'd advise against the Ti-15 impact for kitchen installs. I don't have it but I've played around with in the store. That thing feels very awkward. Clumsy even. Can't say I like it one bit.  

 

[bopperontbay]

Lol this is not helping now I want the Cxs and the c15 but am a bit skint at the moment.  Will my right angled and offset chucks from my c12 work with the Cxs or would I need the new plastic ones.
If the chucks will work with the Cxs I might just get one of these for the time being then and invest in the c15 when I have more funds available.
Is there any downssides to the Cxs

 

[bopperontbay]

I have just read the Cxs only has a 8mm chuck too which imwould struggle with when needing bigger bits

 

[tbellemare]

Your old right-angle & offset chucks don't work with the CXS but it comes with a right angle chuck.

You can use the keyless, Jacobs-style chuck and Centrotec from your C 12.

Tom

 

[CutsTwice]

The only downsides that I have noticed are:
1. You need a different set of eccentric and right angle chucks for the CSX (they do not interchange with the bigger drills and you can buy the CSX with or without the extra chucks).
2. You need to pack a separate charger for the CSX. The chargers that come with the bigger drills will not interchange with the CSX batteries.
3. The CSX does not have the fancy "stepper?" motor that the bigger drills have, and it seems to have a mechanical clutch instead of an electric one like the bigger drills.

It is one light puppy though. I really like the new belt clips that are attached to the batteries. The drill is light enough to hang from your pocket (wearing shorts) and it doesn't pull your pants down, well not yet anyway.

 

[bopperontbay]

That's a bummer the chucks won't fit I use the right angled chuck quite a lot fitting cornice tight to ceilings and other tasks.
So the normal 13mm chuck from my previous drill will fit then is that correct.
Think I might have to go for the c15 then and  perhaps get the Cxs sometime in the near future.
Does the c15 have larger dimensions than the c12 or are they the same size.
There options are quite annoying thou with the Cxs it's either one battery drill and charger, or 2 batteries extra chuck and drill if I didnt want the extra chuck I would have to get it anyway if I wanted 2 batteries.

 

[CutsTwice]

One correction on my part..the CSX doesn't come with an eccentric chuck and one isn't available to my knowledge. I'm told it doesn't need one because it gets as close to the edge as the eccentric chucks for the bigger drills. All of the Jacobs chucks will switch back and forth. When I put my 13mm Jacobs chuck on the CSX it puts too much weight out on the end of the drill, but it does work.  I played with a C15 and I think it was a little bigger than the C12, but I wouldn't bet any money on it because that was awhile ago. If you get a CSX and want the right angle chuck (which is smaller than the one for the larger drills) buy it in a set with the CSX. I think it's quite a bit cheaper than buying one separately.

 

[builderbob]

I install a lot of kitchens!  My drills on site are always my T-15, T-12 & CXS  .  I usually use my T-15 & CXS. The two combined are great drills. I use the T for all of my drilling/predills & the CXS to drive all the screws. The CXS has a surprising amount of torque but is in my opinion not really a drilling kind of drill...definitely great for screwing!

My recommendation would be to get the C-15 then when you have the funds get the CXS...you won't be disappointed!  I would love to get the C-15, but How many drills can I own!

Bob

 

[mishle]

I use the T for all of my drilling/predills & the CXS to drive all the screws.

Bob

This answer surprised me. I also do a lot of kitchens and love my t-15 and am planing to get the cxs to replace my Milwaukee set.

Bob do you use an impact at all?  I'm finding I like the t-15 over the impact and use the impact less and less.

 

[mishle]

I am a kitchen installer and have used festool drills for the last ten years and love them,  unfortunately my batteries are struggling holding charge and my charger went bang when I plugged it in this morning so I am on the market for a new drill in the morning.
I definitely want the d grip handle and not the pistol grip as I have got so used to it.
My original drill was the c12 duo with 3.0ah nimh batteries that would work foe a long time without charging.
I want a drill very similar to my previous one.
On look ing thru the festool catalogue I have noticed that the c12 li is only available with 1.5 ah li ion batteries my question is how will these compare to the batteries on my original drill ie. Time between chargers.
Do you think I would be better getting the c15 li instead with the 3.0ah batteries.
Or would ŷou think it would be a better idea to buy the new impact driver instead. ( although only available in pistol grip I think)
Obviously the price increases with the c15 and even more so with the impact driver.

So much choice so expensive I just wanna get it right
Thanks very much guy in advance for you responces
Regards bopper.

I think you could get by fine most of the time with only the c-15 for cabinet.

 

[builderbob]

Mishle...I can't stand impact drivers!  Don't get me wrong, they have a place...I use them mostly outdoors when I need to drive deck screws or lags (which is very rare). Most of my work is interior & in higher end (inhabited) homes...in my opinion, impact drivers are totally disruptive and if I can't stand the noise, the homeowner certainly may not.

I prefer being able to control the torque when I'm installing rather than a clutch less driver. I'm not knocking anybody who uses one, but it's never on site with me!

Btw, you can definitely get by with one C or T drill, I realllllly like the weight & balance of the CXS and for that reason, it's my best employee!

Bob