A few thoughts on the RO90

[Wood_Junkie]

I wuv this wittle sander.  

1) I haven't used a Deltex, but I have a Fein MM.  The delta head on the RO90 is much more effective/aggressive.  Super!

2) It's not loud (and the CT26 is so quiet!).  I was sanding with it in my shop, with the CT going, and felt no compunction about not having earmuffs on.  And I'm generally a very strict ear-protection guy (tinnitus, compliments of the military).

3) The dust collection is superb with the round pad.  I was using 60g Granat and I don't think two specks got away.  I had the CT on full suction and in Rotex mode.

4) I am not loving the T-loc.  But this is because I keep the herd in a large cabinet with sliding drawers.  I can leave the Classics unlocked and close the drawers.

5) The dust port connector is a FAR superior design now, compared to "current" designs, and especially the older oval designs.  It is a lot easier to get the hose on without having to mash it on there.  And it holds very snugly.
I attribute it to the extended "nipple" shown here.  I hope this is a design change we'll see on future machines.  A retro-fit type part would be awesome (for the Domino in particular).

[attachthumb=#]

6) It is small enough my daughters can contol it, especially in RO mode.  And with the good dust collection they're not getting a face full of lung cancer.

PS to Shane, the RO90 is not on the Festoolusa main page "products" section, or the Rotex pages.

 

[Brice Burrell]

+1 here although, I think it's loud enough to warrant hearing protection.  To each his own. 

 

[Wood_Junkie]

+1 here although, I think it's loud enough to warrant hearing protection.  To each his own. 

Ha!  It's probably cuz my hearing is already damaged.  Anyway, I won't make it a habit.  [embarassed]

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

What?

I just make sure to turn the radio up.

 

[NVA_WW]

WJ, think about how much you are saving in ear protection!  You can buy more accessories for the RO90 ;D

This little monster seems to be quieter than my other Festool sanders, but I still needed to wear ear protection.  I gave it a spin today and like everyone else here, I love it!  I've been working on some rocking horses for the girls and I was tired of hand sanding.  The rep at the show pitched me the 30 day return policy and I brought it home.  Within an hour of using this sander, I knew it was never going to leave my hands.

 

[fritter63]

Just chiming in here with a +1 on the RO 90.

Picked mine up at noon and give it a quick try on a project I've been ignoring due to the sanding. it exceeded all my expectations.

Hope to post a video of it tomorrow doing something rather amazing.

 

[awdriven]

I was cleaning up dome fuzzy poplar on Friday using my RO90. I could clean off the fuzz in rotex mode and then make a finishing pass in fine mode. This was with 120 grit Granat. Very fast! The two modes saved me a lot of time and was like two abrasives in one.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I was cleaning up dome fuzzy poplar on Friday using my RO90. I could clean off the fuzz in rotex mode and then make a finishing pass in fine mode. This was with 120 grit Granat. Very fast! The two modes saved me a lot of time and was like two abrasives in one.

You should have seen what I cleaned up with my RO90 earlier this week.  A friend has rental units and one them was turning over, he needed to be in and out to get the next tenant in by this weekend.  I was called in to give him a hand installing a new entry door to the apartment.  What he found when was looking the place over was shocking.  He hadn't been in the place since the old tenant moved in, turns out the these people didn't like cleaning.  The kitchen was a mess but the bathroom! [scared]  I've never seen anything like it before.  The bathtub and walls must have never been cleaned.  There was a very thick brown/black mass of soap scum that you wouldn't believe.  The kid he has that does most of the work on his units tried in vain to scrub the crap off by hand, no luck!  I got my RO125 with 80 grit Vlies, that coupled with cleanser did the job with an hour of work.  The RO125 couldn't get in the bottom rounded parts of the tug or in the corners, enter the RO90.  While the kid worked on the shower doors outside I jumped on the rest of the tub/walls.  I took the interface pad and Vlies from the 125 and out it on the 90 and it got the tub done, then changed out the pads and delta head got the corners.  This isn't what I had in mind when I bought the RO90 but hey it worked and I got a paycheck. 

 

[Jesus Aleman]

I will tell the boss that I'm getting here a new powered shower cleaner that I will sometimes borrow. Hopefully she won't use it on the toilets.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I will tell the boss that I'm getting here a new powered shower cleaner that I will sometimes borrow. Hopefully she won't use it on the toilets.

Hey, if it works... [big grin]

 

[AlexThePalex]

So, to anybody who knows both sanders, how does the Delta action of the RO90 compare to the Deltex?

 

[Brice Burrell]

So, to anybody who knows both sanders, how does the Delta action of the RO90 compare to the Deltex?

I'm someone else can give you an answer base on more experience, I think they are very similar.  The Deltex has a smaller/lower profile head so you'll be able to get into tighter spaces, maybe slightly better dust collection too, maybe.  That is my take from my limited time with the RO90.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Another thing... The RO 90 has a 400 watt motor, the Deltex has a 150 watt motor if I remember the specs correctly. So, it's more powerful.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Another thing... The RO 90 has a 400 watt motor, the Deltex has a 150 watt motor if I remember the specs correctly. So, it's more powerful.

In theory yes, but is all that power directly transported to the pad? That's why I'm hoping somebody who actually used both can compare them for me.

 

[PaulMarcel]

The kitchen was a mess but the bathroom! [scared]  I've never seen anything like it before.  The bathtub and walls must have never been cleaned.  There was a very thick brown/black mass of soap scum that you wouldn't believe. 

That sounds like an apartment I rented once.  Everything looked fine then the bathroom had black goop on the walls.  I was friends with the girl in the office so had her look at it "oh, that... that's just because they smoked in the bathroom; steam from the shower does that".  Not sure if that was the case for you, but sounded plausible.  Was better than my first assumption: bad Chinese buffet.

 

[Brice Burrell]

The kitchen was a mess but the bathroom! [scared]  I've never seen anything like it before.  The bathtub and walls must have never been cleaned.  There was a very thick brown/black mass of soap scum that you wouldn't believe. 

That sounds like an apartment I rented once.  Everything looked fine then the bathroom had black goop on the walls.  I was friends with the girl in the office so had her look at it "oh, that... that's just because they smoked in the bathroom; steam from the shower does that".  Not sure if that was the case for you, but sounded plausible.  Was better than my first assumption: bad Chinese buffet.

No Paul, it was clear these people never cleaned the tub or shower walls in the 18 months they lived there.  It was built-up soap scum with some mildew thrown in for fun, I'm not kidding, you couldn't scrub the stuff by hand.  I'm glad they didn't seem to like the Chinese buffet. [big grin] 

 

[Brice Burrell]

Oh, you don't have to worry Paul, I got the new baby home safe and she's all Armor All'ed up good as new. [tongue]

 

[Brice Burrell]

Another thing... The RO 90 has a 400 watt motor, the Deltex has a 150 watt motor if I remember the specs correctly. So, it's more powerful.

In theory yes, but is all that power directly transported to the pad? That's why I'm hoping somebody who actually used both can compare them for me.

Apparently I'm not somebody.....someone yes, somebody no...... [big grin]

 

[fritter63]

Brice ,

So when doing "wet" sanding like that , you just leave the DC hoss off? Any problems with grounding/ shocks?

 

[Brice Burrell]

Brice ,

So when doing "wet" sanding like that , you just leave the DC hoss off? Any problems with grounding/ shocks?

No vac hose and we used a liquid cleaner, you know the stuff that's fairly thick.  I didn't add much water at all so there wasn't any issue with shock.