customer service // tech support

[r cash]

I am a 13 year client / customer of Festool products. In all of those years I have not had a problem to warrant customer service or tech support.
I own every corded sander except ro 90 love them all. I am a professional woodworker of 35 yrs exp.
Last year doing a kitchen remodel I had to sand exposed beams overhead Rotex 150 req off we go. Two days later and 2 plugit cords melted.
A few years ago there were threads here  talking about this problem. So I became vigilant about setting plug its in my sanders.
Doing a much larger job years ago with 6" fein sander never melted anything. So last week I pmed Shane who gave me a guys name to contact at tech
support. I called today and I was told Rotex 150 does not have any problems at all. I was also told I did not know how to use plug it cord. Then given part #
an sent on my way to sales department which I declined. This took all of 10 min .

About 6 months ago a client of mine  was having issues with some drawer slides I installed. I did not say my drawer slides don't have problems .
I went and installed newer and better ones so what if it cost $15 and 1/2 hour .This is how I treat my repeat clients that way they stay clients and tell other people.
Several of my clients have bought Festool after seeing how well they preform for me on the job also other trades people.

I  know that I am only a one man shop and not important.
Hope this is constructive and positive enough I tried to be so

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Mr. Cash,

First, let me apologize for the trouble you had with the Plug-it cords.

The most common, and only reason I know of, that a Plug-it cord would melt is if the cord is not fully connected to the tool and it causes arcing. That's not to say that you don't know how to use a Plug-it cord, only that the connection may not have been fully made. I obviously wasn't on your phone call with our service department, but I know those guys pretty well. I doubt anyone would have said, or even insinuated, that you don't know what you're doing. But, if it was perceived that way, again my apologies.

There's not a rampant issue with damaged Plug-it cords by any means. However, when we have a customer that has this happen, a common thing the service guys will do is offer a hard-wired cable kit. This replaces the Plug-it with a cable that's always attached. I suspect that was the part number you were given.

The reason it took a day for me to respond to your PM was to correspond with our service department manager on the issue. I was told that he would replace the two cords for you and offer the hard-wired kit under the 3-year warranty. I just looked at your sander was purchased in 2008, so I don't know if that was a factor when you called.

Every customer is a priority and of equal importance to us regardless of whether it's a single user or a big company, whether they own one tool or all of them. I think there are plenty of testimonials on this forum and elsewhere to support that claim. I'm sorry if your experience was frustrating or negative in any way.

Rather than posting publicly, I'm not sure why you wouldn't follow up with me via PM.

Shane

 

[dicktill]

I recently sent two of my sanders in for replacement of their on-off switches. The service department noticed some discoloration/arcing on the Plug-It connector part of one of the sanders, which I was totally unaware of, and kindly sent me a new cord when they returned the sanders. They told me not to use the faulty cord (which I hadn't sent in with the sanders). I called back and talked to Lester at length; couldn't have been nicer. He explained (as Shane has said) that not fully tightening the cord could lead to arcing, and that this issue could then compounded/spread onto other tools if the same cord was used for them (which was the case for me). I looked at the cord that I had been using, and it was severely discolored! Thanks Festool Service!

I suspect your problem was just "something lost in the translation", nothing more. I doubt anyone there meant any insult.

Regards, Dick

 

[r cash]

Frist I want to thank Lester for the way he listened to me and my problems. And Rusty for doing a great job on the facelift of my Kapex and its speedy return. [smile]
In last year and half or less I have melted down twice the plug-it on my Rotex 150. After my first post here Shane and I pmed. I said that there is a design problem
with having plug-it on the Rotex 150 and ets 150 though not as bad on the ets. Shane responded he did not there is any problem with the plug-it design and since I had not had any problems in five years of owning the Rotex 150. Shane did not ask me any history just assumed that he's records were correct.
Since my first meltdown I have spoken with 1 retailer  2 reps at local tool sales and tech support recently not Lester.
They all said the same thing operator error not setting plug-it right and arcing. I do not believe  this to be true. I think wire size and heat are the issue.
Since there seems to be more the just me having this problem maybe a Manuel just for Plug-its will reduce operator error.
As for me I am hard wiring my rotes 150 and eta 150/5/ets 150/3 to reduce my down time on my fav sanders.
Heres a photo to prove the level of exp I have with the Plug-it sys.
Thanks again Lester you Rock

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Lester is excellent!

 

[rljatl]

The plug-it has to be turned enough to go over the "bump" to be properly seated.  Do you feel it go over the bump when you twist it on?

 

[TomGadwa1]

Check on the plug it cord wire jacketing for the wire gauge size. This is normally embossed into the jacket or sometimes silkscreened onto the jacket. The lower the number for the gauge the less resistance and better current flow to your sander. A higher number gauge will present more resistance to the tools motor. Also if the plug it cord is not firmly seated this will add resistance to the circuit. A high resistance connection can produce heat which can be multiplied in negative results by being contained by the plug it own connector. I.E. the heat has no where to dissipate. So try to use the thickest and lowest gauge number plug it cord that you can find and you should not have any further issues. Good luck!

 

[WPeters]

We had this problem yesterday.  RO 150 kept shutting off.  Tried it on another plug-it and after loosing power slightly it took off and worked ok.  We have stopped using the cord we were having issues with, and cleaned out the RO 150 plug it adapter with a brush.  Brad at customer service basically told me the same thing, that we are not plugging them in correctly.  I find that a little hard to believe as we own a lot of festools and have literally plugged the tools in thousands of times.  It appears the system could have been designed to handle heavy use better. (The RO 150 gets used a lot in our shop)  However we will pay extra attention when we plug our tools in from now on.  Brad transferred me to the sales department to order a new cord and RO 150 adapter.  I left a message,  but haven't heard back yet.  Hopefully this doesn't happen with our other tools.  Do any of your cords look like the picture below?

[attachimg=#]

 

[tjbnwi]

To confirm you have the plug-it locked properly there are arrows on the tool end twist connector. There is an alignment boss on the tool. If the solid arrowhead base aligns with the boss you have it properly locked.

I know 2 others that have had problems with there plug-its. Knowing them, I find it hard to believe the cord was not properly locked in place.

Tom

 

[r cash]

"Maybe a manual for plug-it " this was suppose to humorous or at least sarcastic. Maybe I just have some lose screws hehe. [tongue]
Anyway here's a pic of the socket from  my Rotex 150.  This damage was not operator error kinda obvious.

 

[r cash]

Just a few loose screws [tongue]

 

[peter halle]

"Maybe a manual for plug-it " this was suppose to humorous or at least sarcastic. Maybe I just have some lose screws hehe. [tongue]
Anyway here's a pic of the socket from  my Rotex 150.  This damage was not operator error kinda obvious.

If the plug it cord / socket isn't tightened and damage starts the the connection starts arcing and creating heat.  Heat will travel down the wire.  Whether or not it was operator error isn't obvious to me and frankly my opinion ranks lower than whale feces, but that is heat damage caused by something.

Peter

 

[r cash]

[smile]
With all due respect Peter your first sentence is exactly the same as Festool  employees.
The Rotex is a720 watt motor and come with the same connector and cable as rts with a 200 watt never once had a issue with this sander. It can't work as hard as my wonderful Rotex 150.
My Rotex 150 works really hard earns it's keep for sure. My point to this thread is the question of design.
It is poor tool design to have a melting power cord anytime. Cheap tools have cords that the casing cracks in a  year or two.
I have had dewalt and others fail and be replaced these tools are sub $200 and I don't own them now.
In the time that I have owned Rotex 150 with complete melt down of plugit twice and one damage enough not to use it.
At $40 a pop a $120 in 5.5 years seems a lot for a $500 dollar sander that's supposed to be the best quality.
I put the hardwire kit on my sander  really easy to do and if it had came that way in the first place I would not have
a $620 sander. Again with all due respect to all.