I've been kind of hoping that this thread would fade away. However, since it hasn't, I now feel duty-bound to pass along a cautionary tale concerning TT and the Mafell home office.
A little over a year ago I came very close to importing an Erika 85 EC. However, when I was unable to get Mafell to state in writing that it is safe to operate a Cuprex motor with "50Hz" stamped on the motor nameplate on a 60Hz system, and when they also refused to comment about whether motors on machines bound for N.A. were somehow different from those sold in Europe, I respectfully changed gears and instead became a Festoolian - opting for the (I think more versatile) standalone 110V-120V/50Hz-60Hz CMS system (TS and OF modules w/sliding table, extensions tables, LA-CS 50/CMS rip fence, etc.).
The other contributing factor was, of course, the appalling 1-year warranty period offered by TT, but more on how that ties in later.
So, if you care to know more, here's how everything played out. Before the idea to import an Erika crossed my mind - and when I was still considering buying from TT - I contacted TT in writing to request more info about the Erika 85's 230V/50Hz motor. You see, I'd done my due diligence and I was concerned by the lack of any sort of definitive statement from Mafell about whether or not it was safe over the long term to power the tool on 50Hz. Obviously, this question has been discussed at length by regular folks in numerous online forums but, with no clear agreement among all of those involved, I wanted some written assurance that the motor wouldn't suffer any negative consequences.
This is when I discovered that TT only offers a 1-year warranty on the Mafell tools it sell, something that flies in the face of the standard 3-year warranty that exists on Mafell products elsewhere in the world. This, when combined with the motor nameplate discrepancy, just seemed odd to me.
So, even though the paltry warranty is what pushed me toward the idea of importing a Erika 85 myself (along with, of course, the massive savings that I could realize thanks to a favorable exchange rate, etc.) there was more to the story.
You see, when I requested clarification on what I saw as a major contradiction - on the one hand TT was fine selling tools with 230V/50Hz motor nameplates accompanied by a paltry 1-year warranty but on the other hand cautioned folks like me from buying direct from Europe - the Director of Operations and the President of TT both went out of their way to scare me away from importing what was clearly (to me at least) the same tool direct from Germany, writing to me:
"Be very careful when considering sourcing tools directly from Europe. German dealers do not have access to 120V tools, and many of the 230V tools on the gray market only work on European 50Hz frequency. It is extremely expensive to buy a tool from Europe that ultimately doesn’t work and have to send it back (especially an ERIKA which weighs over 100 lbs when fully boxed)."
...and then, bizarrely, choosing to split hairs:
"There is no such tool as an "Erika 80 EC saw". There is an "Erika 85Ec push-pull saw...."
...followed by dropping the ominous and, I think, very telling:
"Anyone in North America that purchases an Erika 85Ec...from a Dealer other than Timberwolf Tools is taking a ridiculous risk, I think. You may find that a module or motor intended for sale in Europe or the UK works for awhile in the US or Canada and then stops working. There is no mechanism for warranty repairs if something were to go wrong, however minor. Per our
Contract with Mafell AG, it is not our responsibility to support these machines. As Jeff said in his email, returning a tool of this size and weight to a Dealer is not practical. So unless you are a brilliant "do-ityourselfer" [sic] with both superior mechanical and electrical capabilities, you are stranded with a tool that is not supported."
...followed by the President accusing my "story" of being "unusual" and me of being "suspicious".
Of course, the clear implication of these various statements was that the motors attached to
their tools - the tools TT was receiving from Mafell - were somehow different from those on machines elsewhere in the world, something I could find zero proof of. Kind of a statement by omission, if you will.
When I then asked Mafell directly whether motors with "230V/50Hz" nameplates that were attached to tools destined for N.A. were somehow different from their European counterparts, not only did they totally avoid answering my question (which I took to mean that there
is nothing different - all motors right 'round the world are the same), they completely failed to provide me with the statement that I'd requested from them; that it is safe to operate a 230V/50Hz Mafell tool on a 60Hz system. To be clear, though I asked simple questions they wholly neglected to provide any meaningful answers.
I even went so far as to point out that, at that time (and I suspect this may still be the case) I was unable to find any evidence of the existence of such a thing as a motor nameplate on a 230V Erika saw that read "230V/50-60Hz" or the equivalent. Mafell's response? Crickets.
So, N.A. Erika owners: what's printed on your machine's motor nameplate?
Again, all I wondered was "why?"
Why, if motors intended for the N.A. market were somehow different than those intended for the rest of the world, were their respective motor nameplates identical to those affixed to their European counterparts?
Contrast this to the motor nameplates affixed to Festool machines sold in N.A., many of which (perhaps all of which?) read "110V-120V/50Hz-60Hz".
The whole thing seemed super fishy to me.
Plus, further frustrating everything, was the clear unwillingness by Mafell AG to step up and take responsibility for their products. At every turn, they stayed firmly at arm's length, playing dumb when the time called for the exact opposite and clearly wanting nothing to do with the questions and concerns that I'd raised - even recommending at multiple junctures that I just stick with TT for answers; this even
after I'd made it abundantly clear that I wanted nothing to do with that company.
In what turned out to be my last correspondence with Mafell, when I posed the following:
"So, to once again reiterate, I have contemplated purchasing several Mafell 50Hz machines including an ERIKA 85 EC push pull saw. The only thing preventing me from moving forward with these purchases is the concern I have over compatibility with 50Hz machines and the U.S. 60Hz electrical system. Throughout all of my correspondence with you and, before that with TT, no one has bothered to take the time to adequately address my concern. As a result, and without proof otherwise, I still have no idea which of the following conclusions is accurate:
- running a 50Hz machine on 60Hz power negatively effects the motor’s health and/or longevity, or
- running a 50Hz machine on 60Hz power has no measurable negative effect on the motor’s health
or longevity."
...Mafell chose to not even bother to reply.
By that point (this had all taken more than a month) - and since I'd had to fight every step of the way just to make it that far - I gave up and moved over to the Festool camp.
Based on this experience, I made the decision to stay away from TT and all Mafell products. Numerous red flags went up and I chose to heed the warning. So, buyer beware.
