ETS EC 150/5 tripping AFCI breaker, anyone else have this experience?

[gharel]

I just got the new sander and after a half second of ramping up it pops the breaker. Regular 15A circuits are no issue and I regularly run an OF1400 on this one so I wasn't expecting any issues.

I emailed support and they seemed to say that this is expected behavior. I'm curious if that's the case why I've never heard of it before and if anyone has successfully used the 150/5 on an AFCI-protected circuit.

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[luvmytoolz]

This thread might be some interest:
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-problems/ets-150-arc-fault/

And this other external forum has some interesting comments regarding GFCI vs AFCI breakers:
https://ncwoodworker.net/forums/index.php?threads/afci-breakers-tripping.68516/

cheers, Ian

 

[woodferret]

Try with the OF1400s plugit chord.

 

[gharel]

Try with the OF1400s plugit chord.

First thing I tried! No dice, also tried starting at lower speed and disconnecting the MIDI.

I saw some content online about brushed tools being an issue, but given the EC-TEC innards I'm surprised.

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[woodferret]

Try with the OF1400s plugit chord.

First thing I tried! No dice, also tried starting at lower speed and disconnecting the MIDI.

I saw some content online about brushed tools being an issue, but given the EC-TEC innards I'm surprised.

Good job ruling out the most obvious.  The thing with AFCI is that they detect arcs by monitoring the current for non-periodic spikes/changes.  Cheap gen 1 AFCI breakers are notorious for nuisance tripping and detect the brush arc.  Brushless motors, while not having a physical arc, can have controllers that vary the current.  The EC having a large flywheel/brake is probably contributing to small spikes in the reading.

Potential solutions.

A) Surge protector with filter - might be enough to smooth out the waveform.
B) Update the AFCI breaker to newer, likely more expensive gen - one that's designed with multiple noise gates instead of 'oh vey! 1 mA diff, TRIP!'