Ts55 blowing fuses,

[sean_hogan]

Hi guys was using my ts55 today and as soon as the saw started too get slighty bogged down it kept blowing fuses on the plug of my transformer, has anyone else came across this.
Can't help thinking wish I got the ts75 as my 55 feels underpowed, I'm in the uk and it's a 110v ts55

 

[ajones]

could be your transformer have you got another you could try?

 

[sean_hogan]

could be your transformer have you got another you could try?

Yeah I have 2 and they are both doing it, really frustrating

 

[sean_hogan]

Oh and it's only about 3 month old it practically brand new

 

[ajones]

thats a shame, i.m guessing they are three kva trannys.. looks like you will be sending it back to festool.I think its the first time I have heard of a ts55 with issues like this.

what are you cutting and what blade are you using?

 

[sean_hogan]

I was cutting 35mm laminate worktops and it was struggling, the multipurpose blade with the yellow sticker, you think I should send it in ?

 

[Steve F]

I'm a novice, but had the same problem with my TS55.  Made me want to swap it for the TS75, but I came to the FOG for advice first.  Because of the advise I got, I still have the TS55.  Here's what I learned:

It may seem obvious, but check to see what else is running on that same circuit at the same time.

Next, with anything dense, you really need to go really slow - slow enough that it actually feels too slow.

Finally, don't hesitate to do a cut in multiple passes.  In hardwood, I never try to cut more than 3/4" in one pass.  That really solved it for me.  Because of the rail, two or three passes are no big deal and I find the cut is smoother and the saw never bogs down - even though I always keep it running through the vacuum.

Steve

 

[Nigel]

My experience with the ts 55 is this.

It will cut  ply all day long but as soon as you approach max thickness 35mm and over you might cut 2 or 3 meters but it will cut out [240v].It will get going again by spinning up to cool it .You might get further with a new blade.

This is just my experience,others on here don't seem to have the same problem.

Now, if yours is doing the same but it's 110v does that mean it'll blow the fuses in the transformer? I don't think you have the cutout feature on your saw?

Solved the problem when I got the 75 .

Steve F's plan sounds like it might work.

 

[ajones]

I was cutting 35mm laminate worktops and it was struggling, the multipurpose blade with the yellow sticker, you think I should send it in ?

I am not sure about transformers it needs someone with more electrical knowledge than I have maybe Ick can comment
but a transformer has two windings so would the  higher load cause the fuse to blow,would the cut out not come into play first?do you run lighting off your transformers ? as this would ruin them pretty fast as most are not capable of the 100% duty cycle so be sure everything is ok with the power supply
and if it is and If you have the right blade (sharp)on the machine and were not pushing the saw then it should be capable of cutting to the full depth of the blade
if it can not do this then the saw is not fit for purpose in my opinion.

Phone tts UK on monday and see what thay have to say (i,m sorry to have to say this but dont let them fob u off)

 

[sean_hogan]

The cut out feature on the saw came on twice when I first got the saw when I was pushing it too hard now it blows fuses on the transformer, maybe it's user error(me) think I might be looking too sell up and get the 75, my friend has an 18v cordless aeg rip saw and it cuts laminate worktops a lot faster and easier than my ts55.not as good a cut obviously.
I feel like the ts55 should have the motor the ts75 has, worktops and cutting down fire doors 45mm max is the biggest things my ts55 ever has too cope with and it struggles on that so it's safe too say I'm disappointed :-(

 

[neth27]

It should fly through worktops, my cordless saw goes through them easily (on a rail) Regarding the fire doors, thats why i sold my TS55 it struggled badly on them..

John...

 

[Rick Christopherson]

maybe Ick can comment

There really isn't enough information. What size is the fuse or circuit breaker? Is it on the 230 or 115 side of your transformer? What size is the transformer? How long are the power cords before and after the transformer.

Before concluding that something might be wrong with the saw, let's verify that everything is fine with your power.

 

[sean_hogan]

maybe Ick can comment

There really isn't enough information. What size is the fuse or circuit breaker? Is it on the 230 or 115 side of your transformer? What size is the transformer? How long are the power cords before and after the transformer.

Before concluding that something might be wrong with the saw, let's verify that everything is fine with your power.

Could be a possibility rick, I will get the tools out tommoro and write everything down for you and post it, it was tripping on the 240 plug going into the wall

 

[oldie]

Getting a little confused – am I missing something?    [unsure]

OP says:
“...as soon as the saw started to get slightly bogged down it kept blowing fuses on the plug of my transformer...”

“...it was tripping on the 240 plug going into the wall”

“The cut out feature on the saw came on twice when I first got the saw when I was pushing it too hard now it blows fuses on the transformer...”

Does the TS55 have an internal thermal trip??
I'm going to assume (always a bit dodgy to assume anything of course) that all comments re. 'tripping' etc, on this occasion, are referring to the fuse in mains plug blowing up.
And – that nothing else connected to transformer.

In the UK, the mains plug will be on the 230v side of transformer.
If socket on wall is connected to a ring circuit; it shouldn't matter what else is connected to that circuit.

Surely the correct fuses are being put into the plug?
If so, then it follows the 'transformer + saw' drawing too much current.
Tried another transformer; so seems fairly reasonable to assume the saw is the culprit.
Don't reckon long leads should cause excessive current to be drawn – but anyway, was (apparently) working fine – until saw started to bog down a little.

See where this is going?? 

Have you got a friendly electrician knocking around; who could check how much current is being drawn – using one of those 'clamp' meters perhaps.
If so – get him to check current with saw running (but not cutting) for a minute or two; then check again whilst saw cutting; in particular, is current drawn rising excessively as saw starts to struggle?
Hopefully the results would help clarify what's going on.

Similarly, you could experiment; by not letting saw ever bog down at all, at all!
How long will it run for?

Is it good to let any power tool struggle too much, for too long?
Have a gentle suspicion that p'raps too much is being expected from saw, &/or, saw blade.

Please let us know how you get on, and, good luck getting it sorted.  [smile]

 

[Rick Christopherson]

If socket on wall is connected to a ring circuit; it shouldn't matter what else is connected to that circuit.

Use of a ring circuit does not prohibit voltage drop. As a matter of fact, it can even lead to a false sense of security if the existence of a ring circuit permits the use of smaller conductor, which I believe it does in the UK. voltage drop will still exist. The only thing that changes is how it is calculated.

For those in the U.S. Ring circuits are not employed here, and even if they are, you cannot drop conductor size due to the ring.

Surely the correct fuses are being put into the plug?
If so, then it follows the 'transformer + saw' drawing too much current.
Tried another transformer; so seems fairly reasonable to assume the saw is the culprit.

Nope. The circuit protection on the lead of the transformer is protecting the transformer. All that this reveals is that the load is exceeding the rating of the transformer. This is the reason why I asked the OP what size transformer he was using. If the transformer is too small for the load, it will (and should) trip when the saw is operated normally. This by itself does not indicate the saw its the problem unless we know the transformer is large enough to handle the saw.

Don't reckon long leads should cause excessive current to be drawn – but anyway, was (apparently) working fine – until saw started to bog down a little.

What long leads will do is reduce the available voltage at the load. For motors, this will tend to increase the necessary amperage to achieve the same amount of power. For static loads like light bulbs, it will reduce the amperage, so this oversight does cause some people to reverse Ohm's Law when it comes to motors. The amperage increases only because the motor is more heavily loaded. The bottom line is that using too long of an extension cord (lead) will result in an increase in amperage for a motor driven load (but not a resistive static load).