Festool motor brushes replacing

[mcooley]

How many of you routinely check the motor brushes on your Festool tools? I have noticed some speed oscillations as of late on a couple tools etc.

All of mine are out of warranty and so sending them in doesn't seem reasonable and in our location we no longer have a helpful shop.

For things like the TS 55 it seems simple enough but for the DF 500 or the CT's I am wondering how many of you do these yourself?

Thanks

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have never checked any of mine  [embarassed] but they are all just over 2 years old at most. The originals all turned to ash a few years ago. That DF500 was over 5 years old, but do you really run one hard enough to wear the brushes out?

The only brush issue I have ever had was just a couple of weeks ago, with a Triton router.
It just quit running one afternoon, I pulled it out of the table and pulled one out to inspect it. It was worn, but not excessively? I went over and "borrowed" the brushes out of another one, just to test. This machine is used much less than mine, so they were a little longer. I decided to swap them in to see if it would run. That's when I found the real problem. The one on the other side was totally destroyed, just a crumb on the end of the spring. I ordered a new set for less than $10 and had them in a few days.

 

[guybo]

Hi, loss of rpm is one sign of brush wear,I think most failures are from loss of spring tension,rust, dropped or banged around so the spring does not retract or extend its full length. Also an increase of arcing,i.e more than normal. guy.Give it a go how bad could it be [big grin]

 

[mcooley]

I had one pin on the socket to the DF 500 break and of course they replaced more than that once I sent it in.

I am going to check the TS 55 since that one is very simple.

But I suspect most Festool users are just waiting until the tools stop working which is not a great option if running a small business or in the middle of a project etc.

 

[mcooley]

UPDATE:

One motor brush comes out of the TS 55, while, the other one is stuck.

The one that can be removed looks like it still has some life to it and so for the other one I am assuming part of the issue is it is the "wear pin" etc. It feels almost like that end is attached while the opposite end of the brush is loose and can be pulled but not enough to get it out.

I don't have the replacement brushes here so I left them both in. But not sure I'd be able to yank the stuck one out without feeling like I was breaking something. I also need to use the saw right now which still works. Just has issues underload etc.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I all but (maybe) the smallest commercial shops, I would hope that they have some kind of a back-up, especially if they are pretty dependent on it. If something where to happen to mine, I could get by (at least for the day) by using the TS75. It's way overkill for the things I use the TS55 for, but it would work. If it had to be sent in for repair, I would probably bite the bullet and get a new TS55, cordless just  for the convenience/portability factor.