rts has the shakes on low power

[laanguiano]

Just got a RTS 400 this past week. I have it hooked up to a CT midi.

On full power (6) and the vacuum on low it is very smooth.  If I turn it to 4 its still smooth, but if I turn the dial from 1-3 think get super shakes when standing. With the vac up or all the way down.  bad shakes.

Anyone else have this issue?

 

[ScotF]

I do not own an RTS, but I do have the DTS (same motor and size, just different pad) and I think it can be a little jumpy, but I have not noticed it much to be honest and I rarely run it at lower speeds.  These sanders as you might know have a break-in period of 10 hours or so and I noticed my DTS kept getting smoother and smoother with use.

Scot

 

[Timtool]

Festool sanders apparently need a break-in time, they need to run a couple hours to get to their full smoothness and power.
But in this case i think it is sort of normal, it's logical that these little sanders start to stall and shake when they turn too slow. The question is why on earth did they put a variable speed on these? theres never any practical benefit to turn it down, so just ignore it!

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

There is a break-in period. I would recommend that you generally always run the sander on 6.

However, I did do some drywall patch last night and lowered the speed on my ETS 125, which worked well.

If you think there's a problem with your RTS, I would encourage you to call our service department tomorrow. Their number is below in my signature. M-F, 8a-5p ET.

 

[tiralie]

Initially I found my RTS quite jumpy as well.
I have found that changing the vacuum and speed setting for different grades of sandpaper will help settle it down. For example if I am sanding with 80 grit I might turn the speed down to 3 and the vacuum up to 8 and if I am sanding at 120 I might turn the vacuum down to 5 and the speed up to 5 or 6.
Stick with it, it's a nice sander and very handy.
Tim

 

[laanguiano]

Tim that sounds like what I experienced.

Shane I'm sure its fine.  I'll give it a month and see if it chills out on lower speeds.  Not sure if I'd ever use it at low speeds but I was just putting through a trial run