Told not to buy another Festool, from festool

[Cljwoodworks]

Hello, I’m new here but have been reading threads for quite some time, and own a few Festool products. I purchased a brand new ETS 150/5 EQ  and within a week the sander would repeatedly quit while sanding. I tried different cord, applying no pressure (enough to keep on surface) and turning off and back on a few times, it would repeatedly quit working/sputter out to a stop. So within a week I sent it in for a warranty repair. Week later still don’t hear anything, I call today and speak with a tech who tells me that there is a part that needs replaced 2-4 weeks is the soonest (I understand covid). Or a full refund that will take 2 weeks by mail. I then asked if other sanders have had this issue only to be told that yes engineeers have notice an issue amongst all of them, they cannot pinpoint the exact cause. I then said that the place I had bought it might have one more, should I not go back and buy it to try? The tech told me to stay away from it. How can Festool condone this? A $525 dollar piece of equipment they know doesn’t even work continue to push them out to customers and tell me not to buy another one? On top of that, if I can’t find another one I’d have to wait to order one until about this Christmas. Guess it’s time for a new brand.

 

[Cheese]

Good luck with finding an alternative...everyone's in the same boat.  [smile]

According to Festool, here are the current delivery dates for these items:

576079 ETS 150/3 EQ 150mm (6") Random Orbital Sander w/ Systainer3 08/20/2021

576088 ETS 150/5 EQ 150mm (6") Random Orbital Sander w/ Systainer3 08/20/2021

You could always put Mirka to the test, here's their message:

Info: Coronavirus situation
2020-03-17
We live in exceptional times. The COVID-19 virus now impacts every life and every market. At Mirka, we are taking proactive measures in all parts of the company to protect our staff and partners and to secure business continuity.

Mirka’s manufacturing and delivery capability are strong and we do not foresee major production or delivery issues short term. Critical raw materials and components are secured and goods traffic is still running without any real disruptions.

Should there be any changes that might have an impact on operations and the availability of our products we will communicate about this immediately. All of our communication channels are updated as soon as we receive more information.

 

[squall_line]

There are a number of threads on here with helpful suggestions on how to keep the sander from shutting off.  It seems that a speed of 5 or below is quite helpful for some.

 

[peter halle]

[member=75830]Cljwoodworks[/member] , Welcome to the Forum.

Sorry to hear about your issue.  Yes, there seems to be an issue with some Festool sanders that they are attempting to rectify.

You do have the option of returning (if you are still in the trial period) and moving on.  Then you can make a decision on another sander from whatever brand you wish.

You wrote about a 2 to 4 week delay in getting parts.  Then you talked about waiting until possibly Christmas to get a new one.  I admit I am doubting the Christmas thing. 

You are upset and need to make a decision and if you decide on getting it repaired, odds are you will be happy.  But I also think that sometimes there is that lingering bad taste that always stays there.  Only you can make that call.

Peter

 

[Lincoln]

Good luck with finding an alternative...everyone's in the same boat.  [smile]

You could always put Mirka to the test, here's their message:

Info: Coronavirus situation
2020-03-17
We live in exceptional times. The COVID-19 virus now impacts every life and every market. At Mirka, we are taking proactive measures in all parts of the company to protect our staff and partners and to secure business continuity.

Mirka’s manufacturing and delivery capability are strong and we do not foresee major production or delivery issues short term. Critical raw materials and components are secured and goods traffic is still running without any real disruptions.

Should there be any changes that might have an impact on operations and the availability of our products we will communicate about this immediately. All of our communication channels are updated as soon as we receive more information.

Ordered a DEROS a couple of weeks ago and it only took a week. Was out of stock, but a big shipment arrived a couple of days after I placed the order. (I'm in Australia). Great sander, highly recommended, if the Festool doesn't work out.

 

[CeeJay]

Well at this stage I’m glad I bought all (3) of my Festool sanders used.

They are all between 3 and 5 years old and all working exceptionally well.

So I can strongly support buying used as an option if new stock is troublesome at the moment.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ron B]

Can anyone supply a time line when this problem started?  I bought a DTSC and a ETSC sander new in the last year, and a RTS recently on Recon.  If my manufacturing date fell into the time line, I would run them through the testing closer.  My bigger concern is the RTS since it is a Recon with only one year warranty.  Is this chip used in any other Festool items besides sanders?

 

[Cljwoodworks]

Good luck with finding an alternative...everyone's in the same boat.  [smile]

You could always put Mirka to the test, here's their message:

Info: Coronavirus situation
2020-03-17
We live in exceptional times. The COVID-19 virus now impacts every life and every market. At Mirka, we are taking proactive measures in all parts of the company to protect our staff and partners and to secure business continuity.

Mirka’s manufacturing and delivery capability are strong and we do not foresee major production or delivery issues short term. Critical raw materials and components are secured and goods traffic is still running without any real disruptions.

Should there be any changes that might have an impact on operations and the availability of our products we will communicate about this immediately. All of our communication channels are updated as soon as we receive more information.

Ordered a DEROS a couple of weeks ago and it only took a week. Was out of stock, but a big shipment arrived a couple of days after I placed the order. (I'm in Australia). Great sander, highly recommended, if the Festool doesn't work out.

I actually have a Mirka as well, it quit working, won’t even turn on and needs to be sent out. With Festool I’m just annoyed they told me not to even buy their own product new off the shelf. To me that tells me the problem is pretty huge. And according to who I talked to there isn’t a specific date range showing the problem. Guess I’ll continue using my rotex as a finish sander.  [wink] [wink] [wink]

 

[semenza]

I thought, based on similar topics, that this issue was on the ETS EC models. Not all Festool sanders.

Seth

 

[Chainring]

I'm going to guess there's something being lost in the conversation between you and Festool. What I think is probably happening is, you're hearing "Don't buy X Festool product." What's probably being said is, "You're expecting a different result and you're going to be disappointed."

There's a problem. It'll be fixed. If you can't wait, well, there's other sanders out there. S**t happens.

 

[Cljwoodworks]

I'm going to guess there's something being lost in the conversation between you and Festool. What I think is probably happening is, you're hearing "Don't buy X Festool product." What's probably being said is, "You're expecting a different result and you're going to be disappointed."

There's a problem. It'll be fixed. If you can't wait, well, there's other sanders out there. S**t happens.

I said.. " the store I bought it from has one left, theyre a small store and not many people know they carry festool so they are  a rare place with another on the shelf. should I get the refund and buy that one?" he said " I would stay away from it, its probably got issues too". SO you are correct, I do expect a 525 dollar sander to work out of the box.

 

[Cljwoodworks]

I thought, based on similar topics, that this issue was on the ETS EC models. Not all Festool sanders.

Seth

From what I was told today is it is a ETS EC/EQ model issue that they are having a hard time pinpointing exact problem or time range variability. I loved the sander, smooth, fits hand perfectly. I had to sand a 30' long oak beam in a cieling with it on day one and it worked great only shut off twice which i initially thought was me, then that night it started shutting itself off regularly while sanding a table top.

 

[mino]

I said.. " the store I bought it from has one left, theyre a small store and not many people know they carry festool so they are  a rare place with another on the shelf. should I get the refund and buy that one?" he said " I would stay away from it, its probably got issues too". SO you are correct, I do expect a 525 dollar sander to work out of the box.

From all the reports it looks like manufacturing variance problem with the overload protection kicking-in at a lower load than it should. That type of issue would mean sanders even from the same batch may 1 bad from 100 being OK. With no way to distinguish without pulling them all out and using them.
IMO that type of issue is exactly what warranties are is for.

If you have such a random problem, and have a production shortage at the same time, pulling the product from the market to score PR points will not help most customers - who would not be able to buy their tool at all. And would only cost huge amounts to Festool. Lose-Lose basically. The most you can do is pause the production, test, test, test, test, then warranty-repair any which were bad and restart production.

It is a pain for everyone but please do not spit on a company because a techie gave you his honest opinion.

The only thing that can achieve is the techies being forbidden to talk with customers about anything except fix dates. Festool reps. are already known to be pretty secretive, lets not push them more.

 

[binettea]

I had this exact issue on an ETS EC 150/5. Replaced it by another unit within the first 30 days. Same problem. Talked to Festool who also recommended I go with the older model (non EC) instead. I have been able to use it at speed 5 (will stop every once in a while). I think all these issues started early 2021 late 2020. I am hoping they figure this out soon and start repairing them. I don't want to send mine in just to wait weeks or months before getting it back.

 

[tigger]

Sorry to hear you're having this issue. As to whether or not to buy Festool, all I can offer is for you to stick with the brand. I've was a power tool rep for many years and have sold some of the "top brands". I can tell you that all brands have issues with any number of their tools. The reason I have used Festool for over 20 years (even though I sold other brands) is because they deal with their issues more than any other company.
Try and different model of sander. I have them all and I find they all work well in the intended applications. But yes, I too have heard of this issue Festool is having. My local dealer is up front about it and Festool has told him they are sorting it. History dictates that that means, they are sorting it.
Most other companies will keep you tied up for weeks with reasons other than their own fault. Hang in there. I've never regretted sticking with these guys.