Which drill?

[Kev]

I'm mixed on boats ... for power I like nimble, sail .. it's got to be big.

Early PDC's were a bit too agricultural. The model was upgraded just before they went from orange to green. The PDC is more versatile than the T/C 15/18's, but it doesn't offer the same finesse. The PDC is still a bit clunky in comparison, but this is all relative. I would say the C15 is one of the nicest drivers I've ever used ... it just never comes out as it falls into the grey area between the CXS and PDC most of the time.

The PD20 shares some of the "clunkiness" of the PDC, but I would never call it rough.

 

[SurfNorway]

Frank-Jan stated in another thread that the PDC held up better over time and in heavy use, and looked better after 4+ years on a construction site than the other model did.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/other-tools-accessories/t183-vs-protool-pdcdrc-18-4-vs/msg212079/#msg212079

And this thread more or less concludes that the PDC + CXS is a perfect combination.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/agonising-over-the-drills/msg321219/#msg321219

Anyway, time to go back to the dealer and try them both out once more. I think it's going to be either the T18+3 or the PDC18/4 Quadrill. It's occurred to me that there have actually been times when there hasn't been power available close by, so maybe going with the  LiIon version rather than corded isn't such a bad idea after all.

Based on the latest cordless Festool offerings (circle saw, jigsaw, drills), it could appear that they are moving towards 18v as standard across the range, and with the weight difference between 15v & 18v being negligible, I think having the added power and higher capacity makes sense. Hopefully it will keep things compatible for some time into the future as well.

It appears at any rate that many people get by with the CXS for most tasks, and bring out the heavy duty stuff when needed. Which is pretty much what I was planning.

Thanks again for the comments and suggestions.

About 4 years ago I went along with my nephew to buy him a Festool drill. He really liked my T15 and is a Festool fan so he wanted one also. When we were in the store the salesman persuaded him to get the Protool PDC 18/4 instead.

He gave me the PDC for a while to thoroughly test it, and so I did. I liked the drill mostly because it was so fast. 3800 rpm really speeds up your work when you're drilling or screwing. While it didn't have the control the T15 has, it was a very smooth drill anyway.

Now I'm painting a house of my nephew and he has his tools there so I am using the PDC 18/4 again. I can't believe how crap it is now, like an old rustbucket. The motor sounds and feels like a rusty landmower, the switches on top are very hard to move, and taking the battery on and off needs some serious effort.   

In contrast, my T15, which is 4 years older and probably used a lot more, is still in the same condition as when it was new.

Not sure if my nephew seriously mistreated the PDC or if it's the build quality. It doesn't look bad on the outside, you can just feel it's bad on the inside.

Hm,interesting!

I'm looking for a new drill now (for heavy duty) to add to my CXS (light duty), and my choice is between T18 and PDC18.

Looks like PDC can't withstand a heavy/rough work?

To bad.

How is T18 compared?

P.S. May be this stuff is more heavy duty? Who knows... -

 

[SurfNorway]

Problem solved.

Visited my local dealer today, checked out both the PDC/DRC and T18+.

T18+ is incredibly smooth, torquey, powerful. Very nice and even trigger action, and it really feels at home in your hand. 2 speeds, LED light under the chuck. I know, we all can see this on the Festool website tech specs. Still, holding on in your hand and trying it out is something completely different. It's truly a thing of beauty. The T18 is the Rolls Royce of cabinetry drills. But you wouldn't want to use it to mix tile grout, or use it on dirty/heavy jobs normally, even though it will do those too, without so much as a whimper.

The PDC is almost the same size, same weight, and feels a *little* bit rougher and cruder than the T18, but only slightly. With 4 gears you can go incredibly fast, but at the expense of torque - in 4th gear the drill has basically no torque at all. This can be a good thing, f.x. when drilling metal and the bit seizes, you *want* the drill to stop to avoid tearing off your arm or breaking the bit. Gears 1, 2 & 3 are pretty similar to the T18 as far as power/torque and speed go. The LED light is mounted at the base, and can be turned on and left on (handy when working in dark/dim spaces). The motor is the same as the T18, brushless DC, same control system, the torque settings adjust the speed of the drill just as with the T18 (lower torque settings reduce the overall speed of the drill at max trigger so you don't end up overshooting your mark). It doesn't have the same smoothness or very fine trigger control as the T18, but it's still pretty good, and since you have 4 gears you don't need as fine control on the trigger as with the T18 anyway.

After trying both out and discussing it with the sales rep, it seems that the PDC/DRC are the best "all around" drills from Festool and can tackle just about anything, and are designed to be as versatile as possible. The T18/C18 is more of a cabinetry/furniture makers drill, at home in the shop working primarily with wood. As many have pointed out previously, the PRC/DRC come originally from the ProTool line of products and were aimed more at the construction/builder market. Apparently Festool has made a few minor adjustments/tweaks (beyond changing the color from orange to green  [tongue]) before adding them to their product line.

So for my needs, a compliment to the CXS that can tackle a wide range of varying jobs, both drilling and screwing, the PDC/DRC appear to be a much better choice than the T18+. As always, YMMV.

Thanks to all the fine folks here for contributing their views and opinions. I'm looking forward to picking up a PDC and putting it to use!

 

[leakyroof]

Frank-Jan stated in another thread that the PDC held up better over time and in heavy use, and looked better after 4+ years on a construction site than the other model did.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/other-tools-accessories/t183-vs-protool-pdcdrc-18-4-vs/msg212079/#msg212079

And this thread more or less concludes that the PDC + CXS is a perfect combination.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/agonising-over-the-drills/msg321219/#msg321219

Anyway, time to go back to the dealer and try them both out once more. I think it's going to be either the T18+3 or the PDC18/4 Quadrill. It's occurred to me that there have actually been times when there hasn't been power available close by, so maybe going with the  LiIon version rather than corded isn't such a bad idea after all.

Based on the latest cordless Festool offerings (circle saw, jigsaw, drills), it could appear that they are moving towards 18v as standard across the range, and with the weight difference between 15v & 18v being negligible, I think having the added power and higher capacity makes sense. Hopefully it will keep things compatible for some time into the future as well.

It appears at any rate that many people get by with the CXS for most tasks, and bring out the heavy duty stuff when needed. Which is pretty much what I was planning.

Thanks again for the comments and suggestions.

About 4 years ago I went along with my nephew to buy him a Festool drill. He really liked my T15 and is a Festool fan so he wanted one also. When we were in the store the salesman persuaded him to get the Protool PDC 18/4 instead.

He gave me the PDC for a while to thoroughly test it, and so I did. I liked the drill mostly because it was so fast. 3800 rpm really speeds up your work when you're drilling or screwing. While it didn't have the control the T15 has, it was a very smooth drill anyway.

Now I'm painting a house of my nephew and he has his tools there so I am using the PDC 18/4 again. I can't believe how crap it is now, like an old rustbucket. The motor sounds and feels like a rusty landmower, the switches on top are very hard to move, and taking the battery on and off needs some serious effort.   

In contrast, my T15, which is 4 years older and probably used a lot more, is still in the same condition as when it was new.

Not sure if my nephew seriously mistreated the PDC or if it's the build quality. It doesn't look bad on the outside, you can just feel it's bad on the inside.

Hm,interesting!

I'm looking for a new drill now (for heavy duty) to add to my CXS (light duty), and my choice is between T18 and PDC18.

Looks like PDC can't withstand a heavy/rough work?

To bad.

How is T18 compared?

P.S. May be this stuff is more heavy duty? Who knows... -

  Although you only mention drilling out Broken or rusted bolts on a vehicle in passing, for that task alone, my sole choice has always been Air powered drills if I'm near a decent, large enough compressor.  Either a 3/8" regular drill or a Right Angle Pneumatic drill will fit into tighter spots than many other types of drills, corded or not.
No danger of spark, the drill can get wet from something dripping on it, or even with Water being a real problem like you're out in the rain, under a car.... [embarassed]
At any rate, I'm like you with the batteries becoming obsolete on Cordless tools. Meanwhile, your old corded 'whatever' tool just keeps going.... [mad]
But, I now own way more cordless tools in the form of Festool than I would have ever thought I would just 10 years ago.
The latest batteries helped me forget about my older, now gone, Ni-Cad tools... [big grin]

 

[DB10]

It's good to see you've made your decision, I don't think you'll regret it.

 

[Frank-Jan]

Sorry I didn't chime in earlier, just wanted to give an update about the protool pdc not being durable.
My 2008 pdc is still going strong,
allthough the old systainer is quite worn now (I have a 5 drawer systainer attached to the bottom of it, and I'm on my 4th minilatch for the atticklid) the latches are having trouble keeping closed. (I wanted to get a T-loc systainer for it when they got introduced, but when I heard the attick inserts of the old one wouldn't fit, and there weren't any for the new one at the time, I just forgot about it.

The batteries are still doing well (one got replaced within warranty, the other one soon after the warranty expired, but both are still working today). It doesn't sound different than it did before and the batteries still slide on and off easy. (But I do clean them off when necessary, and I did have to spray the batteries of my C12 with dry silicone lube once to keep them sliding properly).

The drill still gets used daily, I was considering getting a new one when they were offering old stock of the 4.2Ah version without the angle chuck at a very good price, but I hesitated too long and missed that offer.

 

[SurfNorway]

Got the PDC 18/4 SET XL version and am very pleased. It's the perfect compliment to the CXS and seems at home in any situation.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions!

 

[Darren1972]

Quad drill 5 in one and it can run at 400 to 4000 rpm for all drilling needs  steel wood plastic anything only weighs 1.8 kg and rhe lead is 7.5 meters long centro tec chuck converts it to a driver in seconds and it will last for years forget the rest buy this drill and never regret it ps you will still be using this in ten year time

 

[Darren1972]

Rated input: 705 W
Max. speed (idle): Gear 0-4000/4 min-1
No-load speed 1st gear: 0-400 min-1
No-load speed 2nd gear: 0-850 min-1
No-load speed 3rd gear: 0-1900 min-1
No-load speed 4th gear: 0-4000 min-1
Torque (hard/soft): 50/30 Nm
Drilling dia.(wood/steel/stone): 50/18/20 mm
Weight without powe

 

[Darren1972]

FESTOOL 769202 QUADRILL PD 20/4 E FFP-PLUS GB PERCUSSION DRILL 240V

Five machines in one thanks to the FastFix interface: drill, impact screwdriver, angle drill, angle screwdriver and screwdriver
Universal application with 4-speed transmission and speed levels from 400 to 4000 rpm
No run-down: The machine brakes immediately after the accelerator trigger is released
Extremely manageable weighing only 1.8 kg and up to 10 cm shorter than traditional machines
EC-motor with maximum efficiency delivers more power per watt
7.5 m cable for maximum action radius
Drilling in masonry at up to 79,000 impacts per minutes
Screwing in screws up to 8 mm in dia
Optimal speeds for common drilling applications
Drilling small diameters, e.g. in steel
Screwdriving in drywall or façade structures with depth stop

 

[CumminsDiesel]

I also got my Festool PDC 18/4 and this drill is absolutely amazing!

Torque and Speed and perfectly balanced!