Thread: Rotex RO150 bad vibrations

Hi Les,
There are plenty of conversations on the Festool Owner's Group forum about unruly behaviour of the Rotex sanders. However, if it's only when using the medium pad, that shouldn't be the issue here.

I have an ETS 150 finish sander, and when I bought the hard pad for it, it started jumping about. I discovered that if I turned the machine on and looked across the face of the pad, there was a noticeable wobble. I took it back and they were happy to change it over for me.

Side note - having too much suction (dust extractor turned up high) can cause problems under certain circumstances, but again, if it's only with your medium pad, that shouldn't be it.

Ben

Thanks Ben. I have tried different suction strengths and it would still jump around. I did see the comments on FOG. I will turn the sander on and try to see if I can detect any wobble. I can understand if the pad is damaged but it is not the case. I can also mention that when I use the hard pad then I can handle the sander with one hand in rotex mode. I need both hands to just keep it on the timber with the medium pad.
The more I think about it it is most likely an unbalanced pad.
Les

Hi Les.

Can I clarify, is it a replacement medium pad that is causing the problem, or the original one and the behavior has changed over time?

And one other thing to check, the brake pad, the rubber ring/boot that clips into the body of the sander and makes contact with the pad top, is it fitted correctly and/or damaged at all?

Hi Anthony, the brake pad is still in excellent condition. The photos show that and the pad also makes even contact with it all around. It is the original pad that came with the RO150 and has not seen much use as I use the hard pad more often and then finish off with the ETS150/3.
As Ben noted his issue, I then did the same and looked at the difference between the 2 pads while running from the side. The pad in question does have some wobble from top to bottom of the pad which is not visible with the hard pad.
The RO150 is 18 months old and my guess is the pads are not part of the warranty so I will just purchase a new one with the current special pricing.
Thanks for the help to Anthony and Ben.
Regards
Les

Les, you're probably correct about it not being covered by warranty, but it may be worth calling Festool Australia just to check. They've been known to be quite generous on occasion! Even if you don't get a free replacement, you may get some information about what may have caused the issue in the first place. If you do call them, let us know how you go!

Cheers,

Ben

Hi Ben, as you said - they can be generous - and they were. The service manager sent me a free replacement with overnight courier to Perth.
The old pad does have a problem. The new pad still has a bit of vibration but that is due to the aggressive action in Rotex mode. The guys at Festool did some testing and Anthony also did some testing for me. I now experience similar to what they do.
Thanks to all who helped.
Regards
Les