Festool "plug its" the truth

[chippy1970]

I have been reading lately on here a lot of people slagging off Festool some of whom dont even own any Festool :roll: . Im no die hard Festool fan but I do use their tools and like their system approach. Anyway just to make things fair I thought I would post a poll to see if the latest complaint is really as bad as people are making out. Answer honestly if you have any Festool tools with plug it leads that are faulty or that you are happy with them. I myself have had two tools with plug it leads since 2007 used all the time for trade use and never had a single problem with the leads I may be lucky but I doubt it.

 

[Oryxdesign]

I have written that mine aren't faulty although I have had to cut the ned off a couple and replace the 3 pin plug and I have had to replace one plugit connector which was about £8.
Anyway the good thing was work didn't have to stop as I just used a different cable, with other systems work would have stopped whilst I disassembled the machine and changed the lead. The lead wears on all electrical items that get moved about, I've had to have a new lead on the radio more often

 

[p111dom]

I haven't had a failure but I can see a flaw in the design. I have one cable permanently in the shop plugged into a socket on the ceiling so it's a pain to get to. I have another plug it cable which sits in a systainer for if I'm doing any jobs away from home. That cable is pristine having been used only a few times between my Domino an OF1400 when fitting a kitchen into a house I rent out. The shop cable gets a hammering as every single project has heavy OF and Domino use. Looking at them side by side there is a marked difference. I can see where the edges of the two pin moulding and the cable are worn. There's also a distinct difference in stiffness when you plug them in. The better condition one is quite stiff with sort of a positive clunk/notch when you turn it but the much used one simply turns a 1/8 to a 1/4 of a turn. Stays put though but I can definitely see the difference and a future problem. My dealer says they have had a "few" returned so that's hard to say if it's a big problem or not. I doubt they sell many Festool products so a"few" probably accounts for a reasonable % of sales. Personally Iike the system and would happily replace the cable when required. There are many more issues with Festool and their customer services that I would address before the cable issue.

 

[speed]

i have quite a few festools and never had a problem as yet

 

[Mike.C]

I have had one of their plunge cut TS55 saws, and I have never had a problem with it

Cheers

Mike

 

[Waka]

No problems form Dorset.

 

[petermillard]

No problems here over many tools and years; the older plug-it chords are definitely easier to attach, though I'd expect a degree of wear on anything that's regularly attached and removed, over time.<shrug>

 

[p111dom]

I have written that mine aren't faulty although I have had to cut the ned off a couple and replace the 3 pin plug and I have had to replace one plugit connector which was about £8.
Anyway the good thing was work didn't have to stop as I just used a different cable, with other systems work would have stopped whilst I disassembled the machine and changed the lead. The lead wears on all electrical items that get moved about, I've had to have a new lead on the radio more often

Sounds poor to me. I think the poll is worded unfairly to be honest in that it's a bit balck or white for my preferable answer. Personally I think all aspects of a tool (baring the obvisouly replacable parts like brushes, cutters etc) should last the life time of the tool. If a lead wears out, surely that's a fault in the design? These are industrial quality tools for undustrial level use with an industrial price tag to match, to say you've replaced a lead or a plug but not class that as a fault I'm not sure I agree with. Not that I'm having a go or anything Oryx as it's tricky to tick the correct box due to the way the poll is worded. I can see wear developing on my lead that will lead the cable to fail in the future but it hasn't failed yet. I can see a design flaw and a problem so do I tick yes becasue I can see this wear due to the design or no because it hasn't failed yet?

I also have no objection if members of the forum make a comment about a tool whether they own in or not. My car is a VW for which you pay a slight premium over say a Ford or a Vauxhall becasue it's sold on the grounds that it's better built, more reliable etc. Several people at work have Golfs and have had quite a few problems with them. Squeeks, rattles, general build quality issues. I've had no such issues on my car but does that make their complaints any less valid because I haven't suffered the same problems? You pay a permium so expect a better product which I think is reasonable. If I owned say a Vauxhall, would that mean if would be inapropriate for me to agree with the VW owners at work. Are the issues they are facing with their products not legitimately unacceptable for a "premium product" whether I own that product or not? Of course not. So why is it a problem if a non Festool owner makes a comment that Festool customers should be getting a better deal? Seems reasonable to me.

 

[Oryxdesign]

A lead is a lead on any power tool, these will wear around the points where they get the most movement, near the tool and near the plug. Festools have the advantage that the lead can be swapped over so you don't have to stop working whilst it's repaired.
Cables wear out like brushes, blades and the grit on your sandpaper. It is up to the manufacturers to improve these things as much as they can and I think Festool have done so.

 

[p111dom]

That's fair enough I suppose. I guess the fact that the leads on the festool tools are removable means I should view them as more of a disposable part like cutters or brushes. Don't know about a lead being a lead though. There's a siginficant difference in feel and flexibility on leads across the powertool brands I have from cheap to expensive. That said the Festool lead certainly "feels" to be the best quality of all I have. I haven't heard anyone commenting about the quality of the flex though just the ends. I probably use my Metabo 450 the most time wise and that has significantly more vibration by its very nature as a ROS but the lead on that is in great condition.

 

[superunknown]

No problems here and my festools get some serious use especially the domino. I like the 'plug it' concept very much.

 

[Shrubby]

Your poll doesn't cover me as I won't buy plug-it tools
I've used & owned festo for about 20 years
Just my two penneth (hardly)
Matt

 

[JonnyD]

Ive had quite a few leads fail probably about 5 and must have replaced probably 6 or 7 of the female parts that the plug it leads go into which are housed in the handle of the machine. It seems to me that the leads fail because the pin parts in the female part of the socket fail and the electricity arcs across the pins and turns them black which in turn results in failure of the lead and that electrical burning smell.

I can see a few reasons for this i pretty much used a one lead setup above the bench and on most projects i would use a domino, router and sander and so the lead would get swapped over from tool to tool many times a day. The other reason is that my tools are used in a busy workshop and so some weeks the tools would recieve as much use as they would in a hobby shop in a year so i wouldnt expect to see many lighter users of the tools having many problems with the leads. As stated in another thread i have hardwired the tools and no longer have any problems with them.

This may come across as negative but i really rate the tools and think they are pretty much the best you can buy and will continue to buy them but the leads are not up to the job under heavy usage which is a shame IMO If you ask anyone who sell spares or services festool tools i assure you they will say they have seen many issues regarding the leads.

cheers

Jon

 

[houtslager]

The other reason is that my tools are used in a busy workshop and so some weeks the tools would recieve as much use as they would in a hobby shop in a year so i wouldnt expect to see many lighter users of the tools having many problems with the leads.

Same here, out of all the tools I use the CS75, ROS150,jigsaw get hammered in an average shop day, and over the last 18months I have 3 leads go "funny " ie; intermitment power to the relevent tool. So bad in fact, the female socket on the ROS "blew" went black and killed the male end of the lead.
Luckily for me a local tool shop reparied and replaced the cable for me for a tenner, imho the weak link is the male end of the cable, as one must twist it to lock into the machine, and over time this will lead to failure.

 

[gardenshed]

Nice tools, rubbish leads imho