Why I HATE the "plug-it" cord!

[Toolpig]

Ok, I know I'm going against the "grain" here (I crack myself up!!  ;D).........

I'm using my 6" ROTEX (the newer one) to edge sand a red oak floor and touch up some low spots.

So I'm down on my knees a lot (insert profane joke here) -- and I'm twisting around a bit while lightly jerking on both the cord and the vac hose.  I'm really working this thing hard and it's totally up to the challenge, except that the cord keeps popping out of the sander.  I tried replacing the cord with a different one, but it keeps happening and it's terribly annoying and frustrating!

My opinion is that the removable cord is totally unnecessary and poorly-designed.  Since it's likely that Festool will never go back to the "old-style" cords, I wish they'd at least make one that doesn't pop out when tugged on lightly.  Tradesmen are hard on these things!  Shouldn't be hard for Festool to come up with a better design!

TP

 

[Tinker]

Ok, I know I'm going against the "grain" here (I crack myself up!!  ;D).........

I'm using my 6" ROTEX (the newer one) to edge sand a red oak floor and touch up some low spots.

So I'm down on my knees a lot (insert profane joke here) -- and I'm twisting around a bit while lightly jerking on both the cord and the vac hose.  I'm really working this thing hard and it's totally up to the challenge, except that the cord keeps popping out of the sander.  I tried replacing the cord with a different one, but it keeps happening and it's terribly annoying and frustrating!

My opinion is that the removable cord is totally unnecessary and poorly-designed.  Since it's likely that Festool will never go back to the "old-style" cords, I wish they'd at least make one that doesn't pop out when tugged on lightly.  Tradesmen are hard on these things!  Shouldn't be hard for Festool to come up with a better design!

TP

 

[Tinker]

Have you tried giving the two ends a little twist when putting them together?
Tinker

 

[Daviddubya]

This may seem way too obvious, but...  Did you lock the cord in place on the sander???

 

[ejantny]

I find the cords do lock when twisted but on some tools the vac hose makes it difficult to twist-lock. Sometimes they seem fidgety to lock.

 

[Toolpig]

Yes, of course.  With both cords.  When jerked on, the lock un-twists itself and pops out.  I looked to see if the little plastic "tabs" were broken and they are not.  The "lock" won't stay locked.

Under normal, gentle use, The cord doesn't pop out.  But if you've ever done a floor, you're twisting and pulling on things quite a bit.

TP

Have you tried giving the two ends a little twist when putting them together?
Tinker

 

[fcraven]

I too thought the twist feature would actually work, but it doesn't, at least not on my TS55.

From my observation, the sleeve is so tight between the green ring and the locking ring on the chord that it can not be turned when installing it on the tool. (I assume that this is where it would move). That being said, there does appear to be some movement with the the actual connector inside the ring. But that concerns me. Without really forcing the thing, the locking ring only turns 5-10 degrees. Functioning correctly, I would think it be more like 90 degrees.

I've had mine come unplugged on several occasions, and I haven't used the saw that much yet. I think it might be possible to FORCE it on tighter, but feel like I'm about to break it. Perhaps some people could comment on how tight it should be.

 

[Ted Miller]

I took one power cord and I zip tied it to the CTs hose making the power cord about 5" longer than the CT hose. Not that I ever had a cord come unplugged but now I know with the zip ties it will never happen and I do not have the boom arm either...

 

[Chris N]

I had this issue with my TS75.  Cord came out at in-opertune times.  Turned out I was not twisting the "plug-it" far enough.  I also thought it would break if I twisted it any further.

In the end, it seems like there was a break in period until the "plug-it" would turn completely with a "light touch" and lock in without feeling like I was going to break it.

I don't have the rotex, so I do not know if this is a similar situation.  My advice would be to put a small mark (piece of tape or paint?) on the plug it and see how far it turns when you put it on.  If it is less than ~1/4 of a turn (or whatever it should be if someone has an official specification), it will clear that you need to turn more. 

 

[EdL]

The plug-it cord hasn't really impressed me yet either. I just think it's a finicky design.
Not that I'm opposed to a quick attach cord, Milwaukee has used them for years on some of their tools, I have never had one of them fail.

Ed

 

[Lou Miller]

I had this issue with my TS75.  Cord came out at in-opertune times.  Turned out I was not twisting the "plug-it" far enough.  I also thought it would break if I twisted it any further.

In the end, it seems like there was a break in period until the "plug-it" would turn completely with a "light touch" and lock in without feeling like I was going to break it.

I agree with Chris. The "break-in", or lack thereof, is most likely the issue here. ALL of my Festools were like that when they new. The attachment is so stiff that it feels like you have it turned all the way to lock, but you don't. The cord isn't going to break, turn it all the way. Eventually, things will loosen up and the cord will attach much easier. To each their own, but I really like the plug-it cords. I don't have them on a couple of tools and it gets annoying after a while.

Toolpig, I'll trade you an old style Rotex for the new style if you'd like. The old style doesn't have the plug-it cord and I wish it did.

 

[Ben West]

I had the same problems with my RO150, TS55, and OF1400, until I realized I wan't turning the cord enough to completely seat it.  Once I realized that, I had problems gripping the plug-it to apply enough torque to seat it fully.  So, for a while I had a set of channel locks nearby to help seat the plug-it, but now it's worn in enough to do by hand.  Once I've seated it completely, I doubt you could pull it out without breaking something.

 

[Toolpig]

Sorry, but no!  ;D

I love everything about the sander except for the cord.

TP

I had this issue with my TS75.  Cord came out at in-opertune times.  Turned out I was not twisting the "plug-it" far enough.  I also thought it would break if I twisted it any further.

In the end, it seems like there was a break in period until the "plug-it" would turn completely with a "light touch" and lock in without feeling like I was going to break it.

I agree with Chris. The "break-in", or lack thereof, is most likely the issue here. ALL of my Festools were like that when they new. The attachment is so stiff that it feels like you have it turned all the way to lock, but you don't. The cord isn't going to break, turn it all the way. Eventually, things will loosen up and the cord will attach much easier. To each their own, but I really like the plug-it cords. I don't have them on a couple of tools and it gets annoying after a while.

Toolpig, I'll trade you an old style Rotex for the new style if you'd like. The old style doesn't have the plug-it cord and I wish it did.

 

[Toolpig]

Folks, I'm a complete idiot!!  I wasn't turning the twist-lock far enough.  You folks were right -- it felt like I had twisted it far enough, but I used a little more force and the twist-lock works perfectly.

Sorry Festool!!  I never should have doubted you.  :-\

TP

I had this issue with my TS75.  Cord came out at in-opertune times.  Turned out I was not twisting the "plug-it" far enough.  I also thought it would break if I twisted it any further.

In the end, it seems like there was a break in period until the "plug-it" would turn completely with a "light touch" and lock in without feeling like I was going to break it.

I don't have the rotex, so I do not know if this is a similar situation.  My advice would be to put a small mark (piece of tape or paint?) on the plug it and see how far it turns when you put it on.  If it is less than ~1/4 of a turn (or whatever it should be if someone has an official specification), it will clear that you need to turn more. 

 

[fcraven]

Folks, I'm a complete idiot!!  I wasn't turning the twist-lock far enough.  You folks were right -- it felt like I had twisted it far enough, but I used a little more force and the twist-lock works perfectly.

Sorry Festool!!  I never should have doubted you.  :-\

TP

Inspired by the subject line "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I decided to try it too.

I figured, the worst thing that would happen is I would complain to Bob, and he would take care of my situation (that's just how he is). Now I can join in saying "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" although, I'm more likely to say "AAAA HAAAAA!!!!", or "DOH!"

To install the plug properly on my TS55, I had to :

• Remove the auxiliary dust shield
• Tip the saw so I could grab the plug-it from underneath,
• Twist so hard that I think it's going to break
• Then...The tension grew, it started to make noise like I was ringing the neck of a rat (no, I have no personal experience) and then the tension let up and it came to a full and complete stop. The sound it made was something like "Squuuiiiipt." (thus raticide)
• Now it works much better.

So for the record, The plug-it requires about a quarter turn, or 90 degrees, to lock. I recommend everybody due this to their tool before the 30 day return period (for that extra confidence)  ;D

Fred

 

[Dan Clark]

Soooo....   You think the rest of us knew that because we are inherently brilliant!?!  For many of us (yours truly included), there was a "Doh" moment too.     

Congratulations!  You are an Oh-ficial Festoolian!   8)  You may now don your black and green cap!

Dan.

 

[Matthew Schenker]

Soooo....  You think the rest of us knew that because we are inherently brilliant!?!  For many of us (yours truly included), there was a "Doh" moment too.

Hey, last night I was up working in the shop until 3:00 AM (it was one of those nights when I couldn't fall asleep, so I decided to do some sanding).

At one point, I was switching from the Rotex to the ET 150/5, and I tried to attach the Plug-It to the dust port.  OK, I only did it for a moment before I laughed at myself.  I realized then it was time to try getting some sleep!

Matthew

 

[Dixon Peer]

Well, I certainly think the "Plug it" system is a good thing, but on my newly acquired Domino, rotating the machine end of the thing doesn't securely lock it into place.  It does not work as well as it does on the other Festool machines that I have with that feature.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Some of my Plug-It cords were very hard to twist-to-lock when new.  I thought I was going to break the fitting on my TS 55, but I figured "what the hay, if it breaks, then Festool can fix it and give me new one" that operates more smoothly when new.  But all of them that were once very hard to twist have gotten easier after being broken in through use.  My only complaints are a) the position of the female receptacle on the TS 55 makes it hard to grasp and twist the Plug-It, which was one of the tighter ones in my set, and b) why does Festool annoy us by supplying cords of two different wire gauges in the USA?  For the prices they charge, they should supply the larger size wire so any Plug-It cord can be used with any tool.  As it now is, if you start using your LS 130 sander and want to switch to your TS 55 or 1400 router, you'll have to switch the cord, too.  For the small difference in cost, I'd rather have all large gauge cords.

Dave R/

 

[Dixon Peer]

Quote: "why does Festool annoy us by supplying cords of two different wire gauges in the USA?  For the prices they charge, they should supply the larger size wire so any Plug-It cord can be used with any tool.  As it now is, if you start using your LS 130 sander and want to switch to your TS 55 or 1400 router, you'll have to switch the cord, too.  For the small difference in cost, I'd rather have all large gauge cords."

I'll second this one.  When changing from the large router, the 2000, to a sanding operation, I have to change the cord on the boom arm.  Festool should supply the larger gauge wire with all the tools...or does it have to do with protecting the motors of the smaller tools?