Just wondering if anyone has had their ETS EC 125 or 150 sanders fail? I'm a hobbyist, and my 4 to 5 year old 125 has had light use with it always plugged into my CT Midi. The other day, all was fine when suddenly a huge spark flew out of the housing and I got the burned electrical odor, and of course, the sander quit working. I knew something fried inside. Sent it in to Festool, and they promptly diagnosed it with both electrical boards failed. In total, repairs cost $269, and they didn't even charge me for one of the two electrical boards ($158 each). While I appreciate Festool's quick diagnosis and repair, I'm troubled that the sander failed at all - as I bought it new, and it's never been wet or otherwise abused. I have no idea why it failed - ideas?? - perhaps a stray voltage spike? From my research, these sanders seem to be reliable. Thanks in advance.
ETS EC125 Sander Failure; Electronics Fried with Light Use
- Thread starter Jim E.
- Start date
luvmytoolz
Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2021
- Messages
- 1,786
I think no matter the tool or brand there will always be "that one occasion" something fries or dies unexpectedly for no apparent reason.
After having a multitude of cheaper tools die, I've built up a fairly large Festool collection, and in over 40+ years of owning them I've only ever had one tool fail, which was the controller on my RS2E sander some 30+ years back, which I suspect was due to the erratic mains supply we used to have, but I'll never know for sure.
I have been using it ever since without issue, so I take it with a grain of salt that these things can and do happen. But with Festool, for me it's noticeably rare.
After having a multitude of cheaper tools die, I've built up a fairly large Festool collection, and in over 40+ years of owning them I've only ever had one tool fail, which was the controller on my RS2E sander some 30+ years back, which I suspect was due to the erratic mains supply we used to have, but I'll never know for sure.
I have been using it ever since without issue, so I take it with a grain of salt that these things can and do happen. But with Festool, for me it's noticeably rare.
leakyroof
Member
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2011
- Messages
- 2,499
It's worth checking your power supply where the Vac and Sander run. Voltage Spike can be sneaky, and often takes out a board.
I lost the circuit board on my Small Dust Collection unit that hangs from my Shop Ceiling. Company sent me a new board and recommended a surge protector type device be installed upstream of the unit to prevent another board failure. I did that and have never lost another board on that unit.
For Festool Vacs and Sanders, I haven't seen much board failure other than some people running into Static electricity taking out electronics. For them, it was often a question of if anti-static hoses were being used or some other hose that wasn't AS rated. Or did they have a 3rd party dust cyclone in between the Vac and the Sander that wasn't grounded for Static that well... [scratch chin]
I lost the circuit board on my Small Dust Collection unit that hangs from my Shop Ceiling. Company sent me a new board and recommended a surge protector type device be installed upstream of the unit to prevent another board failure. I did that and have never lost another board on that unit.
For Festool Vacs and Sanders, I haven't seen much board failure other than some people running into Static electricity taking out electronics. For them, it was often a question of if anti-static hoses were being used or some other hose that wasn't AS rated. Or did they have a 3rd party dust cyclone in between the Vac and the Sander that wasn't grounded for Static that well... [scratch chin]