RO 90 running hot

[mandatory66]

I just received a new RO 90 and plugged it in to insure it runs. To my amazement the bottom section of the sander by the air vents started to heat up. The heat after running about 2 min. extended to the back section of the sander. The heat seemed excessive and I am wondering if this is normal as I have not read any comments about the sander running hot like this. The sander was in ROS mode (fine) Should I return the sander or is this normal. There were no unusual sounds such as grinding noise etc.

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

I would call Festool Service,  they are awesome!!!!

888-337-8600

 

[Brice Burrell]

This is normal.  Do a search here and see this mentioned often.

 

[ear3]

My experience has been that the RO90 runs fairly hot, but I have not had any problems with it even after marathon sanding sessions.

 

[leakyroof]

As  Brice and others have noted, the little sander DOES get warm to Hot with use depending on how hard you're pushing it. Should be totally normal in what you're experiencing.

 

[AofD]

You can "see" the heat coming from the RO90 in this post.  The bottom of the unit reached 117 degrees Fahrenheit after 10 minutes of sanding.
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/festool-thermal-images/

 

[mandatory66]

I am amazed that I did not find this out until after my purchase. If I had known it may have swayed my decision. a 117 deg. is HOT. I know you cannot hold your hand on an item that is 120deg. very long. I must have looked at 10 video's before purchasing and none of them mentioned this issue. I fired up the sander about an hour ago and put it on some rough sawn Poplar, it's performance was excellent. I called Festool and am waiting for a call back. It appears that this excessive heat is designed into to sander for whatever reason and I would like to keep the sander based on it's performance. I am hoping Festool has some reasonable explanation. I know that heat in this situation is usually the enemy.Thanks for all the replies I am a festool newbie CT26,ETS EC 125 EQ, RO90.

 

[Wuffles]

I am amazed that I did not find this out until after my purchase. If I had known it may have swayed my decision. a 117 deg. is HOT. I know you cannot hold your hand on an item that is 120deg. very long. I must have looked at 10 video's before purchasing and none of them mentioned this issue. I fired up the sander about an hour ago and put it on some rough sawn Poplar, it's performance was excellent. I called Festool and am waiting for a call back. It appears that this excessive heat is designed into to sander for whatever reason and I would like to keep the sander based on it's performance. I am hoping Festool has some reasonable explanation. I know that heat in this situation is usually the enemy.Thanks for all the replies I am a festool newbie CT26,ETS EC 125 EQ, RO90.

All I could add is that if "heat is the enemy", the fact that the sander is moving the heat away from the pad is a good thing?

 

[mandatory66]

I agree that moving heat away from the pad is a good thing but moving heat away from the motor and electronics is also a good thing.

 

[Stephen B]

[size=13pt]Two comments -
. was the RO90 in question plugged in to  a Dust Extractor? This increased air  flow assists in dispersing heat,
. some geared Festools, in my experience with Domino 500 and RO150, run hotter when new than after a bit of use.
___________
[member=59387]mandatory66[/member]
All here have valued experience to pass on, but I would still get the final word from Festool. You are their customer.

 

[Brice Burrell]

[size=13pt]Two comments -
. was the RO90 in question plugged in to  a Dust Extractor? This increased air  flow assists in dispersing heat,
. some geared Festools, in my experience with Domino 500 and RO150, run hotter when new than after a bit of use.
___________
[member=59387]mandatory66[/member]
All here have valued experience to pass on, but I would still get the final word from Festool. You are their customer.

The RO90 runs hot even with a dust extractor attached.

 

[leakyroof]

I am amazed that I did not find this out until after my purchase. If I had known it may have swayed my decision. a 117 deg. is HOT. I know you cannot hold your hand on an item that is 120deg. very long. I must have looked at 10 video's before purchasing and none of them mentioned this issue. I fired up the sander about an hour ago and put it on some rough sawn Poplar, it's performance was excellent. I called Festool and am waiting for a call back. It appears that this excessive heat is designed into to sander for whatever reason and I would like to keep the sander based on it's performance. I am hoping Festool has some reasonable explanation. I know that heat in this situation is usually the enemy.Thanks for all the replies I am a festool newbie CT26,ETS EC 125 EQ, RO90.

  I've never felt that my RO90 got so hot that it was a reason to give up the sander, but, I also tend to wear anti-vibration gloves with any of my sanders on long sanding sessions, so I'm insulated from any heat to a certain extent that is there in the process.
I can really attest to the fact that my Rotex 150 when worked hard in the Rotex mode also gets warm in certain areas, but I totally expect that from it and other tools as a normal work experience when you're using abrasives to get a job done.
Picture using an angle grinder, the abrasive disc might not transmit or conduct much heat back to the grinder itself compared to a sander where the heat level is much closer to the machine, and can be extracted when you've got a dust collection system going, but the grinder is making its own heat while you're working.
If you're in the 30 day period, you can always return the sander if you just don't like it.

 

[mandatory66]

Received a call from Festool this mourning, the tech said the RO90 will run hotter than their other sanders,noting that this is perfectly normal. He commented that it had a large motor in a small package. He said not to worry,so I won't. Thanks again for all your responses.