Flex b here!

[Markymapo1]

I should be receiving my PXE this week. Will test it a bit over the long holiday weekend.

 

[Daviddear30]

Flex is newer to the market of batteries compared to Dewalt etc. The batteries will probably be cheaper down the road.

 

[JWilliams.RadiantDetail]

Flex is newer to the market of batteries compared to Dewalt etc. The batteries will probably be cheaper down the road.

I understand that, but even 2 for $150 would be much better. And it's not like Flex developed some cutting edge battery technology here. If you cracked open one of their $99 18v batteries, it would look almost identical to my Ryobi or Makita batteries. Or basically any 18v power tool battery. They probably even uses the same Samsung cells. What you say sounds wonderful, but Flex is a German company, I don't think they care what competitors charge. And based off their history their prices never go down lol.

 

[theamcguy]

Both the PXE and CBEAST are beautiful, sucks the batteries are so expensive. You can typically get a 2 pack of Dewalt, Makita or Milwuakee batteries @ Home Depot for $99. $99 for a single 2.5ah 12v or the CBEAST battery is hard to swallow. And it's not like Flex developed some cutting edge battery technology here

But Flex did develop some cutting edge battery tech. Take a look at Flex battery vs a battery from DeWalt, Makita and Milwaukee and what you will see is a little screen. This screen is a vent that allows the fan in the tool to draw cooling air through the battery into the tool to help keep the battery cool and keeping the battery cool will help it to last longer. When you push a Flex battery it stays cool to the touch, when you push a battery from DeWalt and the others it gets hot; so hot that sometimes it needs to cool off before it will recharge. That never happens with a Flex battery even in 100° weather.

One other thing to remember with a Flex cordless tool you only need 2 batteries per tool and you can run that tool all day long. One battery is in the tool and the other on the charger. The cooling tech keeps the battery cool and the charger is fast. if you run the battery down to where it has only 20% remaining (one light on the battery charge indicator) it will take about 45-48 minutes to recharge. The battery in the tool will last a lot longer than that. I have 6 18V Flex batteries but have never needed more that 2 for any one tool to keep it operating constantly. If you buy a Flex polisher kit it comes with the tool, charger, and 2 batteries. You are all set for continuous operation just like using a corded tool.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

But Flex did develop some cutting edge battery tech. Take a look at Flex battery vs a battery from DeWalt, Makita and Milwaukee and what you will see is a little screen.

This screen is a vent that allows the fan in the tool to draw cooling air through the battery into the tool to help keep the battery cool and keeping the battery cool will help it to last longer.

When you push a Flex battery it stays cool to the touch, when you push a battery from DeWalt and the others it gets hot; so hot that sometimes it needs to cool off before it will recharge.

That never happens with a Flex battery even in 100° weather.

Good points. FLEX is owned by Chervon and Chervon OWNS their own battery technology. The FLEX battery technology is not outsourced.

I share all the details you point out in this article.

NEW Cordless FLEX Tools at Autogeek Rotary and Orbital Polishers

Built-in Air Cooling
The biggest enemy to cordless batteries is heat. All FLEX Cordless tools have inboard cooling fans to keep the rechargeable batteries cool and there's a wire mesh screen to filter air before it's circulated.

Cooling intake and exhaust vents on the batteries


Fresh air intake vents
Here you can see where the air is blown in

Exhaust vents
Here you can see where the air is blown out

And for anyone curios, I showcase ALL the features of the FLEX cordless tools and battery technology in the actual write-up. The above are just 10 pictures of about 30 in the actual write-up.


NEW Cordless FLEX Tools at Autogeek Rotary and Orbital Polishers
(You never see this kind of write-up in a Facebook Group or anywhere else on the Internet)

One other thing to remember with a Flex cordless tool you only need 2 batteries per tool and you can run that tool all day long. One battery is in the tool and the other on the charger.

The cooling tech keeps the battery cool and the charger is fast. if you run the battery down to where it has only 20% remaining (one light on the battery charge indicator) it will take about 45-48 minutes to recharge. The battery in the tool will last a lot longer than that. I have 6 18V Flex batteries but have never needed more that 2 for any one tool to keep it operating constantly.

If you buy a Flex polisher kit it comes with the tool, charger, and 2 batteries. You are all set for continuous operation just like using a corded tool.

More great point.


For those reading this into the future, I have a list of articles I've written for FLEX cordless tools here,

All my CORDLESS FLEX write-ups in one place - Mike Phillips




The above list includes these 4 dedicated write-ups on just how long the batteries last - the MOST common question I get asked and I see being asked....

How long does the battery last? 40 minutes - Cordless FLEX XC 3401 aka the CBEAST

Battery Time - FLEX Cordless Polishers - Real World Detail by Mike Phillips at Autogeek

CBEAST Battery Life aka the FLEX Cordless 3401 by Mike Phillips

Pre-Order NOW! 40 minutes battery run time for the NEW FLEX PXE 80



If I didn't make a list I'd forget something....

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Why is it such a bad thing for a detailer, or enthusiast, to share their opinion about a brand or product?

It's not a bad thing and I've known Mike for years. From memory, he like the Makita PO5000C and if that's correct, more power to him. Me? I tried the Makita PO5000C, wrote an extensive review for it and after buffing out a few cars with it I found it to be too slow for my personal detailing style, which is - to go as fast as I can.

I feel the same way about the RUPES Mille. It's too slow for my style of detailing, which again, I like to get any paint correction, that is any compounding and polishing and or applying a one-step cleaner/wax done as fast as humanly possible while keeping my results at pro quality level. My guess is if RUPES and Makita had made their tools 8mm instead of 5mm for the orbit stroke length I would be more likely to use one of these tools or use them in addition to the BEAST.

Again - just personal preference.

That is the great thing about having options, different strokes for different folks.

Not only do I agree with the above I can no longer count how many times I've posted the same thing on this forum. I've also used reverse logic for the above and what other people have said. By this I mean, I can't count how many times someone has said,

There's so many tool options it's confusing

To which I would reply,

Would you rather have only a few tool options?

The answer is always 'no'. Having TOO MANY tool options is a great problem to have. I remember when all we had was this,

Mike asks some great questions and I hope the answers I posted explained why the tools have different specs.


I'm not an Engineer and I don't try to play one on this forum. AND at some point, I think it's a good idea to simply trust the brand name and trust the head of the company to have staff in place that know how to do their jobs and then do them. I'm like that. I have a lot of jobs here at Autogeek and for the most part, I don't need anyone telling me how to do them. I've been to FLEX 3 times now and have met with their Engineers and talked shop. I trust they know what they are doing and to the points Mike brought up, if the cordless versions and the new version of the aluminum headed 3401 have different specs, I don't naturally assume it's because the Engineers DON'T know what they are doing. In fact, just the opposite, I assume they do know what they are doing and that's why any of the FLEX tools have the specs they have.


But yeah, it's perfectly fine to share your opinion about a brand or product and when I reply, or anyone replies, as long as it's polite and not breaking any of the forum rules - that's called a discussion.


And the best part about this discussion is now moving into the future, if anyone wants to know why the specs are different for the different tools, the simple answer is because they are different. And this is the kind of info that comes from a great discussion.


:cheers: