Random orbital sanders: battery vs plug

[OliT]

Morning,

I've got a couple of basic sanders (bosch green belt and 1/3 sheet) and was looking at adding a better quality random orbital to the collection.

I've got quite a few de walt 18v tools which I really like, buy is there a consensus on battery vs mains power for sanders beyond personal preference/price/sanding time?

Thanks
Oli

 

[AJB Temple]

In my opinion there is no advantage. The reason is that for ROS to work optimally, you need dust extraction to a vac. If you have a vac hose attached, then a cable makes no difference. I use the Mirka Deros.

 

[Jonathan S]

I vertically never use a sander without an extractor so personally I wouldn't benefit from cordless.

 

[Doug B]

You don’t have to limit yourself to either or battery versus mains Festool make a very good quality ROS that will work on both Cordless eccentric sander ETSC 125 Li 3,1 I-Plus

 

[Lonsdale73]

I've been curious about the DeWalt 18v Sander too, wondering how it would compare with a mains powered sanders with regards to how effective it is at sanding. I have a Festool which I bought after wasting a lot of money on cheaper models that were about as effective as waving a tissue at the timber and lasted about as long. The Festool is great but at 150mm is sometimes too big and/or too powerful for the job in hand.

I don't know how much of a comparison this is but here goes anyway. I used to own a mains-powered multi-tool, not a Festool, nor a Dewalt nor even a Bosch but a brand with a decent reputation for producing decent enough powertools. I found it rather a disappointment; the bi-metal blade struggled to remove the fine tip of screws that were just a little too long for the shed wall they were screwed into and when cutting wood with a wood blade it was so loud that ear defenders were a must and sometimes as respirator too to combat all the smoke it produced as it burnt the wood! Maybe I was using it wrong, I don't know. Anyway, I sold that to someone who said it was just what they wanted.

Last week I received the DeWalt 18v version for a -must-do- task that I can't think of a better way of tackling. The bare DeWalt unit was about £15 more han the mains version but the difference is incredible. It cut through 6mm steelbar wih minimum effort and sliced through wood like the proverbial hot knife. In this instance, battery easily outclassed corded.

I don't honestly expect the 18v sander to outclass the Festool but if it performs as well as the multi-tool then I'll be happy with that.

 

[Billy_wizz]

Screws are generally hardened and destroy even carbide metal cutting blades quickly

 

[TheUnicorn]

"Last week I received the DeWalt 18v version for a -must-do- task that I can't think of a better way of tackling. The bare DeWalt unit was about £15 more han the mains version but the difference is incredible. It cut through 6mm steelbar wih minimum effort and sliced through wood like the proverbial hot knife. In this instance, battery easily outclassed corded."

I don't think unless you have two tools using the same blade as a side by side comparison then this argument holds water, surely the point of a battery is not an increased amount of power but the ease and flexability of being cord free, traded off against the lower cost and greater choice (not being locked to one brand because you've invested in the battery system) offered by corded models.

I'd likely choose a corded sander

 

[TheUnicorn]

Screws are generally hardened and destroy even carbide metal cutting blades quickly

I agree, but wish I'd known that before i knackered my blade within seconds, trying out my new tool, In future I'll be avoiding the combination of screws and multitools

 

[OliT]

Food for thought, thanks. The Festool is out of budget at the moment. I'm leaning to the de walt corded one (DWE6423) but their website doesnt have any specs on the 18V for comparison.

 

[Lonsdale73]

"Last week I received the DeWalt 18v version for a -must-do- task that I can't think of a better way of tackling. The bare DeWalt unit was about £15 more han the mains version but the difference is incredible. It cut through 6mm steelbar wih minimum effort and sliced through wood like the proverbial hot knife. In this instance, battery easily outclassed corded."

I don't think unless you have two tools using the same blade as a side by side comparison then this argument holds water, surely the point of a battery is not an increased amount of power but the ease and flexability of being cord free, traded off against the lower cost and greater choice (not being locked to one brand because you've invested in the battery system) offered by corded models.

I'd likely choose a corded sander

I did say I didn't know how much of a comparison (not arguement!) it could be. I did wonder about blade quality but a) I used DeWalt blades on both machines and b) there are multiplr youtubers who have said they've used a multitude of multitool blades and not found much of a difference between them. Bottomline is the cordless DeWalt proved (in my hands) more efficient than the corded one. I was pleasantly surprised and, as my need of it is outdoors without a convenient mains power socket, corded wasn't really an option for me anyway.

 

[Spectric]

I can recomend the Bosch GEX 125/150 corded ros.

 

[Nelsun]

One thing I've noticed since taking the plunge on a couple of cordless sanders (with the option to plug them in) is that the stroke length is small. They're 2mm vs 3mm for a finish sander and 5mm for the Rotex geared monsters. Battery runtime will surely be extended by a shorter stroke but at the expense of, for want of a better word, "aggression" or speed of stock removal. Unless being cordless is a major benefit to what you need to do, I'd go corded every time.

 

[AJB Temple]

Not sure how much the Mirka Deros is now, but it is very light in use and more compact than the Festool, and also has two plate sizes and full variable speed. Extraction is nigh on perfect. If it were me - having been through lots of sanders over the years - I would save up until I could afford the premium tool. Mine has had literally all day usage on occasions.

 

[OliT]

Not sure how much the Mirka Deros is now, but it is very light in use and more compact than the Festool, and also has two plate sizes and full variable speed. Extraction is nigh on perfect. If it were me - having been through lots of sanders over the years - I would save up until I could afford the premium tool. Mine has had literally all day usage on occasions.

About £400 from Axminster. The De Walt is only £100, which is probably more where I'm looking in terms of budget/usage.

Thanks for your input everyone - really helpful.
Oli

 

[Lons]

Hi Oli
I can't offer an opinion on cordless as I always use my RAS connected to a vac and I think there is a significant difference in performance if not used that way.

I'm surprised no one has suggested the Metabo SXE450 which a numbers of UKW members own. I've had mine for a number of years and am very happy with it especially when used with Abranet disks.
At around £125 it might be worth consideration.
Bob

 

[gmgmgm]

I bought the Makita cordless ROS to replace an old corded one. As I use an extractor 99% of the time (Abranet disks), the cordless nature isn't that special, though it's perhaps easier to manage a single hose, than hose+cable. It's also fairly heavy with a big battery on it.

But for that 1% of time when I want to quickly sand off a corner on the far side of the workshop/outdoors (using the little dust-bag thing), it's invaluable.