Festool CT 48 E AutoClean HEPA (BROKEN) SHIPPED BACK TO ME DAMAGED!!!!

[JonnyBBravo]

So I bought this brand new from a FESTOOL dealer. Small amount of use mainly sanding and a few runs with a track saw. Today I go to use it in manual mode (works as it should) and clean off my MFT, turn it off and setup for sanding operation of something I’m working on. I notice a burning smell. Then I get everything setup and I turn the knob from off to auto. An I begin to sand. I notice very quickly that the vacuum isn’t running but my sander is getting power. The smell of burning is more present. So I unplugged and began looking for anything that tripped a reset or something on the unit. Nothing. My Bluetooth module will not light or anything. I say this to say as someone who’s buying quality products that are German engineered and specs. How often does this happen with FESTOOL products!?!?

I thought this was a farce. But I’m truly upset with my
Heavy investment into a product that seen light use and is mint condition sitting under a moving blanket when not in use.

I had someone I know mention a similar story with a TS75 they had bought and literally when they went to use it in front of a class it kicked large amounts of smoke and obviously they had similar feelings. I thought this was just a long shot chance of luck.

But after personally experiencing this I shared the situation to this person and they were besides themselves to be polite. So I assume this is an issue going around. An the plug I used was professionally installed by a licensed electrician and permitted work. Which passed all rough and final inspections. So I know this isn’t my electrical. For those who may think this.

All I’m gonna say is my experiences with people from FESTOOL is a mixed bag even during a personal conversation with Lars at AWFS…. Starting to question this all…. Yeah I understand I have warranty. But this seems to be more of a manufacturing issue and the costs associated no one should have to experience this with any tool. Clearly I’m still upset but this has been my personal experiences with this company and the plethora of FESTOOL Products I have I was really floored at this occurring to such a lightly used and semi new tool.

I will update this accordingly to my experience but clearly they don’t want statements or experiences shared like this.

 

[Coen]

Well, all electronics is full of smoke, once you let the smoke out, it's game over.

But these things happen. You  have warranty, so no problem. And if out of warranty; Festool sells parts. Guaranteed for 10 years.

 

[afish]

Yea, that sucks for sure.  Sounds like you got the short straw on that one.  But considering how many units Festool is turning out and the fact I dont see a bunch more posts like this Im guessing its a pretty small percentage of defective units.  I know there is a a bunch of old Festool DE's out there still chuggin along.  So,  while I understand your frustrations I also know and understand no one or company is perfect no matter what they charge.  The stuff that irks me is when there are a bunch of complaints and its dismissed or denied to be an issue at first.  For myself its less about the problem happening and more about how a person or company handles the problem. However I have had a couple ill timed breakdowns that can really be problematic.  In the end we are all human and make mistakes.   

 

[JonnyBBravo]

I understand that we are all human and electronics fail. But for a company that prides themselves on innovation, German engineering, and Quality Products. Well let’s just say this is a quack. Yeah I understand I have warranty. I’ve also have timelines and things I’ve gotta get done. So when something breaks all of a sudden in the middle of something like this it creates problems. Now if I mistreated my own equipment or something like that then that’s on me. But this is far from the case. Further evaluation lead me to find this. I called FESTOOL and what kinda irks me is that if they valued there number 1# there customers even in small gestures of sorry this happend to youit shows a little empathy. But this didn’t happen either. Just being told well you have warranty or we’ll fix it under warranty isn’t really a way of saying anything more then than thanks for your money.

I followed up with my friend who had the issue with the TS75 I mentioned above and they stated this happened to them on the very first use of a tool brand new out of the box. All I’m gonna say to anyone looking at festool products is read my story and experience and gauge for yourself how you would feel as the consumer of high end tool to have these kind of issues occur. Especially when the tool has less than 24 hours of total use since purchasing the item in all. This just kinda sours your expectation on a company who prides themselves on being a superior tool products and clearly fails. Thank goodness this wasn’t a piece of medical equipment…. But if this kind of things happend to you share your story because it’s important for the consumer of a products to share there experiences good or bad to help others from making purchases that will negatively affect them as this.

 

[JonnyBBravo]

[member=8955]Coen[/member] the tool smoked on its own from simply being plugged in. An as I said the tool has less than 24 hours of total run time. So given this experience. I’m starting to think the hype behind there brand is well a lot of smoke. An I have quite a bit of festool tools and accessories of all kinds. But as you do your own ebon flow of woodworking you learn what works well for you and well what blows a lot of smoke up your  [eek]. That being said I’m not sure what I wanna do not sure the fanboy in me is really a fan any longer given this kinda experience.

 

[JonnyBBravo]

[member=73094]afish[/member] Yeah it’s pretty disappointing especially since I just mailed it out yesterday and I can promise I won’t have it back until the end of next week. As I shipped it out via the warranty through UPS yesterday and so far it’s just in CO today. By the time Festool’s get it until Friday according to UPS tracking, at the earliest Thursday….. An then we’ll it’s the weekend so I won’t get this back till next Friday given my experiences with UPS experiences. So how good of a repair service is it when the logistics of relying on a dust extractor failing impedes your entire operation. Especially when your living relays on your tools…..

 

[afish]

[member=73094]afish[/member] Yeah it’s pretty disappointing especially since I just mailed it out yesterday and I can promise I won’t have it back until the end of next week. As I shipped it out via the warranty through UPS yesterday and so far it’s just in CO today. By the time Festool’s get it until Friday according to UPS tracking, at the earliest Thursday….. An then we’ll it’s the weekend so I won’t get this back till next Friday given my experiences with UPS experiences. So how good of a repair service is it when the logistics of relying on a dust extractor failing impedes your entire operation. Especially when your living relays on your tools…..

Sorry, I thought you knew your supposed to have a min or 2 CT's.  Just Joking, probably a little to soon but... I get it, I wouldnt be happy either but most have really good luck with their CT's as far as I can tell so hoping its just bad luck on your part.  I have a CT36AC and since buying it I have tried to use it exclusively.  Truthfully today I was just thinking about trying to find a place to store it for the rare occasion I need to travel with it and go back to using my ridgid shop vac that everybody loves to hate.  Luckily I hard piped mine in and its in a shed and piped to my garage with 2" pvc so the db's aren't an issue. I use a RF outlet remote from HD to turn it on/off and usually prefer that to tool triggered.  The tool triggered is nice but I find a lot of the time Im cycling the motor more than what I would say is optimal.  SCMS is bad for this as just about the time the CT is winding down the next part is ready to cut.  Found the same situation when sanding and flipping parts.  Set the sander down and flip the part is just about the time the Ct has shut down, then needs to fire right back up again.  However if doing something in a finished environment is needed then the CT beats the $99 special all day long.  If you have the space or ability to locate the shop vac near by but not in the same space as you and run some 2" pvc its well worth it and those shop vacs just dont die. 

 

[Coen]

[member=73094]afish[/member] Yeah it’s pretty disappointing especially since I just mailed it out yesterday and I can promise I won’t have it back until the end of next week. As I shipped it out via the warranty through UPS yesterday and so far it’s just in CO today. By the time Festool’s get it until Friday according to UPS tracking, at the earliest Thursday….. An then we’ll it’s the weekend so I won’t get this back till next Friday given my experiences with UPS experiences. So how good of a repair service is it when the logistics of relying on a dust extractor failing impedes your entire operation. Especially when your living relays on your tools…..

My 'living' doesn't depend on my CT, but I do have three. Plus an 18V Bosch.

The circuitry is probably made by another company anyway, very likely a company that sells the same thing to other vac makers too. So euh... you drew a bad number, happens to all of us once in a while.

 

[JonnyBBravo]

[member=73094]afish[/member] Yeah it’s pretty disappointing especially since I just mailed it out yesterday and I can promise I won’t have it back until the end of next week. As I shipped it out via the warranty through UPS yesterday and so far it’s just in CO today. By the time Festool’s get it until Friday according to UPS tracking, at the earliest Thursday….. An then we’ll it’s the weekend so I won’t get this back till next Friday given my experiences with UPS experiences. So how good of a repair service is it when the logistics of relying on a dust extractor failing impedes your entire operation. Especially when your living relays on your tools…..

Sorry, I thought you knew your supposed to have a min or 2 CT's.  Just Joking, probably a little to soon but... I get it, I wouldnt be happy either but most have really good luck with their CT's as far as I can tell so hoping its just bad luck on your part.  I have a CT36AC and since buying it I have tried to use it exclusively.  Truthfully today I was just thinking about trying to find a place to store it for the rare occasion I need to travel with it and go back to using my ridgid shop vac that everybody loves to hate.  Luckily I hard piped mine in and its in a shed and piped to my garage with 2" pvc so the db's aren't an issue. I use a RF outlet remote from HD to turn it on/off and usually prefer that to tool triggered.  The tool triggered is nice but I find a lot of the time Im cycling the motor more than what I would say is optimal.  SCMS is bad for this as just about the time the CT is winding down the next part is ready to cut.  Found the same situation when sanding and flipping parts.  Set the sander down and flip the part is just about the time the Ct has shut down, then needs to fire right back up again.  However if doing something in a finished environment is needed then the CT beats the $99 special all day long.  If you have the space or ability to locate the shop vac near by but not in the same space as you and run some 2" pvc its well worth it and those shop vacs just dont die.

[member=8955]Coen[/member] [member=73094]afish[/member] Yeah I just went and bought 5 Rigid Shopvacs to make one massively strong dust extractor similar to the Onieda Supercell. I just used a lot of Wye Fittings to get them all down to 1 2" pipe probably the best investment I have made. Absolutely no dust! Joking. Yeah man its what it is and not really sure after this experience what i really wanna do. Not sure its truly worth investing as heavily as I have been with my tools into the green kool-aid. I understand the warranty aspect but its also a major draw back when it almost stops your entire operation. Just saying. Appreciate the joke. Have a good one. Cheers.

 

[JonnyBBravo]

Yeah so this week I notice I never get an email saying we scribed your tool. So I call them to see what’s going on and they don’t have any accountability if my tool. I get we shall look and gave them confirmation that UPS did deliver it. Now today (Friday) 2 weeks later I get my tool back an I as I start unpacking it I see it’s wrapped in bubble wrap, an I go to pull the cord out of the storage area at the top to see the housing is cracked and upon further inspection also my housing is cracked.

I crated this inside of a box with cardboard and bubble pillows to avoid damage. I also notice that there’s residue all over the controls which was t there. This is SOME MAJOR FAILURES FESTOOL. HOUSING CRACKED IN MULTIPLE PLACE/  MISSING HARDWARE!!!! An not to say hey your tool arrived to us in a condition so this means that it occurred on it being handled during its time in your facilities. How would you feel to send your tool in excellent condition to get it back missing hardware and damaged!!!!!

 

[JonnyBBravo]

REALLY FAILING TO DELIVER TOP NOTCH SERVICE. An now I gotta tell my customer i gotta figure something out because I don’t have my tool to do the job AGAIN!!! [mad]

 

[JonnyBBravo]

I get my tool back today after waiting 2 Weeks and this is how I get it back. WAY TO GO FESTOOL. Stop lying to your customers and wasting peoples time with this kind of nonsense.

These pictures are literally taken from me taking it out of the box they shipped it in. Missing tech report of repairs. Debris and dirt all over the controls. COMPLETE ARROGANCE FESTOOL!!!!

I shipped to them with a bag over the hepa filter to protect the filter. Put air bag pillows all around with a old FESTOOL box to insulate the inside of the box from damage. Never told or called by a technician. After it taking a week to arrive to them an not getting confirmation email saying tool received. I call them on Monday and told they are overwhelmed and short staffed. Truly this isn’t my problem on your field operations. I paid $1100 with taxes for a brand new CT 48 AC after not even 24 hours of total use the thing goes up because the electronics failed and told when I called it was a known issue due to poor quality management checks by the electronics supplier. So given this experience and thousands of dollars of investment into what’s being marketed as the best with warranty to be treated like this is complete negligence. I don’t know how else to say this. But this is A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE ON REPAIR, TOOL FAILURE Festool. You pride yourselves on quality but I’m not seeing it! Now i gotta wait another 2 weeks for this to be shipped back and forth and deal with not being able to run my business because I’m having to deal with inferior tools by the “best company for woodworking, dust collection” and wait it broke in less than 24 hours total use!

 

[JonnyBBravo]

I dunno how anyone else that is reading this would feel but to be treated like this due to internal failures and such. This is pretty ridiculous. I’ll ensure I take the time to write the HQ directly.

 

[ewils91]

I don't normally reply, but I understand completely and agree with your overwhelming frustration and disappointment. I had a similar experience with Jessem, I know they couldn't care less but I'll never buy a product from them as long as I live.

 

[Bob D.]

"So how good of a repair service is it when the logistics of relying on a dust extractor failing impedes your entire operation. Especially when your living relays on your tools….."

If my whole operation hinged on a particular tool I would have a backup and evaluate the need for a second backup. Yeah, I know, easy for me to say with my CT36 that's been running fine for over 12 years. But It's used in a home shop so if it should fail I'm not losing money, holding up clients, not meeting deadlines, or generally looking stupid because I didn't know how to plan ahead for problems like this.

PPPPP.

If you've got work to do now then go buy a second CT and get back to work, or something else if you've lost faith in Festool.

 

[JonnyBBravo]

"So how good of a repair service is it when the logistics of relying on a dust extractor failing impedes your entire operation. Especially when your living relays on your tools….."

If my whole operation hinged on a particular tool I would have a backup and evaluate the need for a second backup. Yeah, I know, easy for me to say with my CT36 that's been running fine for over 12 years. But It's used in a home shop so if it should fail I'm not losing money, holding up clients, not meeting deadlines, or generally looking stupid because I didn't know how to plan ahead for problems like this.

PPPPP.

If you've got work to do now then go buy a second CT and get back to work, or something else if you've lost faith in Festool.

[member=60461]Bob D.[/member] let me enlighten you. FESTOOL is a system that is modular and built to work in its own ecosystem. That being said I will now enlighten you on the issues I’ve had below since you felt inclined to respond as you did. How do I perform detail work inside a finished home? How do I deliver my business services to my customers if my tools that I spend my hard earned money on to perform to do my tasks. An with less than 24 hours of total run time it burns up at a clients home. An triggers there fire alarms. Yeah I know what to do but the point is for $1000 dollars on a hepa FESTOOL system such as the CT 48 AC and to have it fail and then the shenanigan’s that follows when you send the tool in for repair too wait 2 weeks and receive it back worse than when you sent it off. This is complete negligence and failure to live up to there own standards. They didn’t provide me a technician work order remarks. They didn’t notify me of any damage when they received my tool. An failed to inform me they received my tool last week friday. I had to call FESTOOL and inquire about my tools whereabouts given it was delivered Last week Friday. I got FESTOOL service by getting my tool back in worse shape than it went into there shop. I was also told that they are short handed and a few issues are going on with employees at there facility not showing for work. I clearly explain above in the convo how I shipped it to them to ensure no damage. Your inclined to whatever you wanna say but when your at a clients home and all this kind of stuff happens it’s hard to make yourself look professional. But I’m saying this to share with all FESTOOL owners because it matters and affects us all. An if this is happening on a new tool with less than 12 hours of total run time well what does that really show.

But to be told by the service department that they knew about the electronics failing on this model is also frustrating. Because they are not doing a good job at catching the QC issues at the manufacturing level before it comes to the field. It’s an entire mess. An instead of trying to fix the problem or make a service announcement to correct the control boards that are clearly failing due to manufacturering. But oh yeah I’m suppose to be able to leave my competition behind when I use FESTOOL tools with wait for it a FESTOOL Hepa Filtration system called a CT 48 AC.

Bottom line is that no matter who or what company that sales a tool failures and negligence like this show the lack of commitment to standards they are failing to deliver on there promises.

 

[JonnyBBravo]

I don't normally reply, but I understand completely and agree with your overwhelming frustration and disappointment. I had a similar experience with Jessem, I know they couldn't care less but I'll never buy a product from them as long as I live.

[member=3730]ewils91[/member] Yeah it is very. An also you sharing your experience about jessem helps other woodworkers hobbyist, contractor, or professional to be aware of the issues as well.
No company wants bad PR but this is really ridiculous. An this situation is clearly grotesquely pure ignorance.

 

[Cheese]

Well the good thing about the FOG is that it allows the members to vent a bit...that's a good thing.  [smile]

 

[scbucc]

I had the same problem with my CT 48.  The burning plastic smell, and then loss of power.  I didn't notice smoke.  I actually bought the vac used, but it was still under warranty.  Festool covered the whole repair, and I haven't had a problem with the vac since.  That said, I do have two vacs, and I use the CT 48 less than the other.    It may just be an issue with the 48.  Just send it back for repair. I've had nothing but great experiences with Festool warranty/repairs.

 

[squall_line]

Festool's 30-day return policy has often been cited as a de-facto rental system that people are prone to abuse with tools such as the Planex.  If I was using a CT to make money and I had to ship one in for service but had jobs that couldn't wait, I would probably entertain the idea of buying another CT of just about any size and returning it when I received the repair back.

Unfortunately most dealers don't have loaner Festool tools to provide the way some car dealerships have loaner vehicles while a customer's car is in the shop (and I don't know the legality of such with their dealership agreements with FUSA), but it seems like a program that could provide added value in a case like this.

I haven't read through the warranty terms closely enough to know what remedies exist, if any, for violations of the "2-day turnaround" portion of the stated "1-2-3 Warranty", and IANAL, so it might not matter even if I did read them through.