I think I'm going to order a C-12, but first a couple of questions.
I notice that aside from the shape of the drill, the only difference between the C-12 and the traditional styled T-12 is with the battery. The C-12 has a 1.5 Ah Lithium battery and the T-12 has a 3 Ah battery. Both have a 70 minute battery charge time, so what is it that the higher rated battery give you? All the torque and power specs are the same it seems. Is it that a higher Ah rating is how long the battery can last?
I also note that the overall weight of the two drills is different. I'm assuming this is largely related to the battery in the T-12 being larger. The drills with battery have a .3 kilo weight difference. I'm leaning towards the C-12 anyways, but I've never used a drill that has that style of body. What should I expect is the difference with the C12 versus the traditionaly shaped T-12 insofar as feel in use? I have noted already that the C-12 body does allow for use in tighter situations, which is of course a plus.
On a related note already being discussed in this thread, is about the Centrotec system and in particular I was looking at getting the Installers set. But every time I was briefly visiting this accessory set in the past, I wondered whether it was worth it insofar as price and whether I was paying for a bunch of stuff I don't really need. Today, I painstakingly took the time to disect what came with it and priced out almost all of the components if bought individually. In doing so, it also allowed me to assess better what I was in fact getting in the kit and whether there in fact was a bunch of stuff that did not likely represent any value to me as I would likely never use.
For example, here in Canada, we have Robertson square drive bits commonly sold in our hardware stores. Phillips are actually rarely found here other than as a drywall screw in common usage. In fact, a few years ago, I went thru all my screws, and tossed out all slotted screws I had on hand, with a few small exceptions, and also tossed out anything Phillips with the exception of drywall screws. Further, since that time, I started to use Torx head screws. Now I'm even shying away from using Robertsons preferring to use the Torx ones instead and is one of the reasons I have been revisiting the Centrotec system and what comes with it.
So while I do use Pozi-drive bits for fastening slides now, most of the Pozi's and Phillips in the kit are really a waste of money along with the few slotted ones that come in it. I'm gonna safely say that there is about $100 worth of what I've mentioned that is in the kit that I have little or no use for. The kit in Canada sells for $410, so initially I thought, this kit probably doesn't make a lot of sense to buy especially also since I don't really need a $50 systainer to hold my bits and such being a DIY guy working 90+ percent of the time in my shop travelling with my drill as far as my backyard at best. But here was the kicker..... I added everything up! Holy poop!!!! $800 is what it would cost roughly to buy what comes in that kit piecemeal, and that was with a plain #1 systainer and not the one that obviously has a Centrotec specific insert for which I have no clue what that would add to the cost. SOLD!!!
And in regards to Festool themselves not making any Robertson or square drive bits. Many here on the forum may recall that Atlas Tools in Toronto (a Festool retailer) started having a third party manufacturer start making Centrotec accepted bits last year. I can get what I need from them for around $70 in those bits, and I'm still ahead of the game in my mind in justyfying this route. Anybody out there who has bought some of those Robertson/square drive bits from Atlas, and is not satisfied with their quality/durability, please speak up.
http://www.atlas-machinery.com/listings/Centrotec-AtMac-Impact-Bits
