RO 150 VS. Metabo 6"

[Evergreen]

Hey All,

I've been considering a RO 150 for a while now and after reading Matthews review am ready for the purchase.  I have a Metabo 6" RO with dual modes, and am curious as to how the RO 150 compares to the Metabo, Bosch or similar 6" RO's.  Night and day difference or similar?  After purchasing the Metabo a few years ago, I noticed it is the identical sander as the Ridgid 6" RO.  I was a bit bummed when I discovered this.  It's been a good sander, but you know how it goes

 

[Bob Marino]

I had that Metabo sander when it was first introduced some years ago. Good sander, built well, but it is a dual orbit sander, not a dual mode sander, like the Rotex. In that sense, it is more comparible to te Festool ETS 150/5 and the ETS 150/3.
The difference in the 2 modes on the Rotex is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more pronounced.
The Ridgid was made by Metabo and was identical to the Metabo and was made in Germany. That was then- now it is made in China I believe.

Bob

 

[Frank_M]

I owned that Metabo sander (dual orbit), the dual mode Bosch sander (similar to Rotex), and now the RO 150.  Bob is right on the money about the Metabo sander.  However, I have to say that I don't think there is much of a difference between the Bosch 1250DEVS and the RO150, very similar level of vibration/comfort and stock removal.  Festool hose fits to the Bosch as well without any adaptors.  Unfortunately, I had sold the Bosch to buy the Festool version thinking it would be a big upgrade, it was not.  If I had kept it, I would very likely have returned the Festool instead, given it costs twice the Bosch version.

 

[Evergreen]

Thanks for the replies!  With the metabo, it's always been difficult to know which mode it's in.  I've never noticed a difference between the two modes anyway.  Your statement about the bosch is a good point, but I find it sooo much more efficient dealing with festools instead of mixing it up.  One plug, one hose and the rest we all know is good stuff.  It annoys me to change out cords on the vac for tools that aren't compatible with the plug-it system.  It's a shame that metabo, bosch and the like are being produced in China.  Especially when the metabo cost bout 50% more than the identical tool that ridgid sells.  The old saying you get what you pay for, should be replaced by, you get the name you pay for, regardless if they're twins.

 

[AndyCorleone]

Here in england was recently introduced a new Metabo dual action sander SXE450 (in a systainer) at the same price range as the Bosch 1250DEVS (We Call it GEX150)

http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/product.php/site/froogle/sn/METSXE450TPRO

I tried this sander for a few minutes side by side with the Bosch and in my opinion this new Metabo sander is as good as the Bosch dual action.

can't coment on the festool because I haven't tried yet, only thing that maybe push me a litle bit is the 8 holes in the Festool rotex  ???  But pay about 50% more money for two extra holes don't know.

BTW here in the UK the Metabo sander is made Germany I think 90% of the metabo tools are made in Germany the I think the bosh was made in Switzerland ( not 100% sure but can cofirm that is a couple of days)

 

[Frans]

No matter how good a tool is, if it's advertised as having a "turbo boost switch", I'm not gonna buy it.

I'm just not into Knight Rider anymore, that's sooooo 80's.

 

[Frank_M]

Looks like you already made your decision.  Just to clarify my Metabo was made in Germany, I believe they still are.  Bosch 1250DEVS was made in Switzerland.  You are right about the plug-it.  Other than that for me there was no difference at all between the Bosch and Festool sanders.  However, one point is that if you already have other 6" Festool sanders, just for the sake of having to keep one set of sanding disks I would say go with the Festool. Have fun with whatever you decide to buy.

Thanks for the replies!  With the metabo, it's always been difficult to know which mode it's in.  I've never noticed a difference between the two modes anyway.  Your statement about the bosch is a good point, but I find it sooo much more efficient dealing with festools instead of mixing it up.  One plug, one hose and the rest we all know is good stuff.  It annoys me to change out cords on the vac for tools that aren't compatible with the plug-it system.  It's a shame that metabo, bosch and the like are being produced in China.  Especially when the metabo cost bout 50% more than the identical tool that ridgid sells.  The old saying you get what you pay for, should be replaced by, you get the name you pay for, regardless if they're twins.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I had that Metabo sander when it was first introduced some years ago. Good sander, built well, but it is a dual orbit sander, not a dual mode sander, like the Rotex. In that sense, it is more comparible to te Festool ETS 150/5 and the ETS 150/3.
The difference in the 2 modes on the Rotex is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more pronounced.
The Ridgid was made by Metabo and was identical to the Metabo and was made in Germany. That was then- now it is made in China I believe.

Bob

I briefly had the Metabo/Ridgid version and I really couldn't tell the difference between the two modes. Both were too scratchy so I took it back. It had a nice power cord though.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I owned that Metabo sander (dual orbit), the dual mode Bosch sander (similar to Rotex), and now the RO 150.  Bob is right on the money about the Metabo sander.  However, I have to say that I don't think there is much of a difference between the Bosch 1250DEVS and the RO150, very similar level of vibration/comfort and stock removal.  Festool hose fits to the Bosch as well without any adaptors.  Unfortunately, I had sold the Bosch to buy the Festool version thinking it would be a big upgrade, it was not.  If I had kept it, I would very likely have returned the Festool instead, given it costs twice the Bosch version.

I have the Bosch and am very happy with it. Today in fact I tried the new Festool RO 150 and it is better balanced than the Bosch but my Bosch will have to die before I switch. I put a Plug-It on the Bosch so it is nearly as convenient to use as a real Festool.

 

[Bob Marino]

I had that Metabo sander when it was first introduced some years ago. Good sander, built well, but it is a dual orbit sander, not a dual mode sander, like the Rotex. In that sense, it is more comparible to te Festool ETS 150/5 and the ETS 150/3.
The difference in the 2 modes on the Rotex is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more pronounced.
The Ridgid was made by Metabo and was identical to the Metabo and was made in Germany. That was then- now it is made in China I believe.

Bob

Mike,

It was hard to discern the difference between the orbits and there was no indication as to which orbit you were using. What I used to do, was draw a dot on the sandpaper and run the sander in the 2 orbits - te orbit wit the larger dot was the larger orbit - not the easiest way to work.

Bob

I briefly had the Metabo/Ridgid version and I really couldn't tell the difference between the two modes. Both were too scratchy so I took it back. It had a nice power cord though.

 

[Jerry Work]

Hi all,

Looks like an apples to oranges comparison here.....

The Metabo "dual mode" is simply changing the size of the orbit where as the Festool RO150 "dual mode" is changing the actual sanding motion itself.  The Metabo motor is 350 watts where the Festool RO150 is 720 watts.  The Metabo runs at 8,400 to 22,000 rpm while the Festool runs at 3300 to 6800 rpm (in random orbit mode) and 320 to 660 rpm in rotary mode.  The Metabo orbits at 2.8 or 6.2 mm while the Festool orbits at 5mm (in random orbit mode).  The Metabo uses six outer holes and no center hole for dust collection while the Festool draws fresh air in through the center hole and pulls the dust out through eight outer holes meaning there is no center dust cone build up with the Festool and likely far better dust extraction as well.

They are two completely different machines. 

Jerry