Thread: MOF001 that may be faulty in an auction

Peter,

I had my 6 month old MOF-001 repaired under warranty in 2015 due to the same symptoms - basically intermittent erratic running, with speed varying up and down sharply without moving the speed control knob. The Warranty Repair Job Sheet says that they replaced the "speed control circuit board", and the "speed sensor ring". It took about a week for the parts to arrive from the Triton wholesaler in Sydney. I have no idea what the parts would cost if you had to pay for them.

The technician that did the repair work said that he believed that the failure was caused by running the machine under very high load, but that the Triton Australia wholesalers had a habit of treating this specific failure as a warranty repair. That explanation does gel with my case, as I was using a 1/2" spiral up-cut bit to cut about 40 mortices in very hard Forest Red Gum when the router died, so overloading may have been be the cause - or a weakly designed circuit that failed prematurely under full load.

If the seller will also give you the original purchase receipt for the router when you buy it, you may be able to get it repaired under warranty. My MOF001 has a three year warranty on it, but some only have a one year.

RoyG

Mine has done the same for ages - cleaning out dust doesn't completely fix the problem anymore. Interesting (!) to use a router that runs at any speed it feels like....

This is such a widespread problem; if I had any confidence that Triton have redesigned parts, or addressed the issue, I'd happily buy a new speed controller and be on my way.

However, so many things have gone wrong with my MOF-001 that I'm not inclined to throw more good money after bad. Fantastic design, lousy quality.

I too have an MOF with speed control problems. Unfortunately mine started playing up just after the warrantee finished with very little use during that period.
I have tried the blow it out with air remedy with no success. As said, they have some great design features but the quality is suspect especially when it comes to speed control. The parts to replace the controller used to be about $80 here in Aus. Unfortunately I have not heard from anyone that has replaced the controller whether it was a long term success.

Dust can be a problem, but the only way I think - by itself - it may cause the symptoms you describe is that the magnetic ring that is the sensor for the speed control may be caked - unlikely, but I suppose just about possible. Removing the two screws holding the black ventilated housing, which will reveal the speed controller. This should lift to reveal the magnetic ring. Air applied here would reveal if there's a problem. If not, a new speed controller may be the cure, however, I'm not so sure you can rule out armature damage, as a stall would give rise to very similar symptoms, but with no hope of repair.

Ray

Thanks for all the responses. I priced a replacement speed control here in NZ they are something like $125, just for that part. So I would not want to spend too much on the router, in case.
It appears they're already chasing each other on the auction with 4 days to go, so it seems unlikely that I'll take the gamble after all. Was prepared to risk maybe $50 factoring in the cost of repairs as a possibility, and they're above 80 already; probably end up close to 200.
There's way too much bad news about the Tritons from my woodworking mates here on the forum . I also remember the bloke who had 2 armatures blow up while still under warranty and then a 3rd after the warranty expired. -P.

I originally got the MOF-001 with the idea of using it mainly in a table setup, and reconfiguring for handheld use when required (not too big, not too small....just right) In reality this is just too much of a hassle, so I ended up getting a nice compact DeWalt router for handheld operation leaving the MOF-001 permanently table mounted. In this situation the larger TRA-001 probably makes more sense as a permanent table router, but again I'm wary of Triton due to all the speed controller problems.

Has anyone purchased a TRA-001 under the current incarnation of Triton, and had problems with it? I seem to remember hearing somewhere that the plastic worm gear associated with the height adjuster in earlier examples may have been changed to a metal item on the current TRA-001 - not sure if this is correct? I'd love to know whether they have sorted the speed controller issues or not; this is a pretty fundamental design flaw which has permanently tarnished the reputation of Triton routers with informed woodworkers.

PWH- I think you're best advised to give a used MOF-001, especially with unknown history, a wide berth. There are just too many things that could be wrong with it, and the cost of replacement parts can rapidly add up to the cost of a decent used router from a more reliable brand.

I have a new model TRA001 and yes, the worm gear is now metal.
(and there are replacement metal shafts for old models with the nylon shaft)

That just leaves the great unknown - have Triton identified the failure mode on the speed controller, and come up with a permanent fix for this? In terms of sales and restoring faith in the brand, you'd think it would be worth their while to come clean on this? Have they learned nothing from the trials and tribulations of VW (cars)??

Owning a MOF-001 is like having an Italian car; you need three of 'em (in various states of disrepair) for cannibalizing parts just to keep ONE on the road.

Taking a cue from adverts for older Italian (or British...ahem) cars, the promos for the Triton MOF-001 should include the phrase "suit enthusiast"

No problems with mine (apart from a new 1/4" collet) - great router.

Originally Posted by RoyG

Peter,



That explanation does gel with my case, as I was using a 1/2" spiral up-cut bit to cut about 40 mortices in very hard Forest Red Gum when the router died, so overloading may have been be the cause

RoyG

If that kind of job represents 'very high load' God help the thing if you ever put a decent sized panel raising bit in it. It's supposed to be a 2hp router, not a trimmer. Buy a Makita - no problems!

Gee guys now you got me worried I bought the MOF-001 of Timbits on ebay about a year and a half ago for the specific reason to put under a table I wanted a big routor and I was real happy to get this one for the price I got it for. to date I still have not built the table yet so the damn thing is still in the box it came in I hope I dont have this issue with mine when I do get it outand start using it. If something go's wrong with mine I would not have a clue what was wrong thats why I try to buy what supposed to be high quality product to limit the chances of things going wrong for as long as possible

Don't worry, Steve, power tools respond to correct use and the majority of problems with them can - in some way - be attributed to pilot error (not a criticism, just a fact).
Providing you:

• Take the plunge spring out before you use it in a table (and leave the spring cap off altogether when using it inverted)
• Use a sensible speed relative to the cutter size
• Take appropriately-sized bites at the stock, on the basis that the smaller the cut, the easier the pass
• Never make it stall by using an inappropriate feed rate

Do that and you'll be fine - as you would with any other decent router.
I bought each size of Triton Router as and when they were released and mine are all still going strong. I have upgraded the worm gear and changed the collets to the new style in the TRA001, but that's progress.

Ray

Ray - while your comments cover some of the failure modes found with Triton routers (e.g. stalling causes armature damage, etc.), I don't think they really address the elephant in the room - speed controllers packing up. This one module failure seems to account for possibly >75% of the issues users have experienced, and is clearly a dud design. My own MOF-001 only ever got very light hobbyist usage (mainly running small dovetail bits for box making), never ran large bits, was never stalled (or even close), yet still started exhibiting speed fluctuations when only about 18 months old. There must be huge numbers of the MOF-001 (especially.....not so much the larger TRA-001) which have either needed a new speed controller, or been binned as the repair was considered too expensive.

Mind you, if it weren't for your excellent guides on disassembling and maintaining Triton routers, a lot more of them wouldn't even have lasted as long as they have ! I need to refer to these instructions so often that I have a laminated copy hanging in the back of my power tool cupboard... I can't think of a single power tool I've ever owned that has been in pieces and needed fettling as often as the MOF-001

As I said, mine is currently limping along; depending on the weather and wind direction I never know if it is going to work, or what speed it will run at. If I had any confidence that Triton have fixed the speed controller issue for good with current replacement parts, I'd fix it in a heartbeat. Pity we can't get anyone from the company to enlighten us.