Last November I started a similar thread at familywoodworking.org. I said:
I have owned my Festool random orbital Rotex sander (RO 150 E) for about two years and it has been used A LOT. It is much more efficient (and clean) when used in conjunction with a shop vac (in my case a Festool CT 22 E). I have had two ongoing design problems with this combination and both have been reported to Festool in hopes that they will correct things in future products. These problems are:
(1) The electric cord pulls out of the receptacle in the vacuum far too easily.
(2) The vacuum hose pulls off the connection on the sander far too easily.
The first problem probably stems from the fact that, in North America, our plugs have just got a couple of simple blades whereas in most places in the world the plugs are more substantial (and thus adhere better). I suspect that little ,if any, rigorous on the job testing was done with the north American receptacles in the Festool CT series of vacuums.
As to the second problem, the shape of the hose connection is different on the replacement model of my Rotex sander. The shape is now round. That will probably help some but it will not really solve the “pull off” problem, what is needed is some type of locking connection. By the way, I know that it won't solve the problem because my Festool Linear Duplex sander (LS 130 EQ) has a round dust port and the hose sometimes pulls off it when I don't want it to. It doesn't pull off as often, but it does pull off when least convenient (e.g when I am up a ladder).
Of course, I need to use these things now, and can't wait for some future fix. The attached pictures show how I fixed things. I attached a cheap 3 way electrical adapter into the receptacle and held it on with duct tape. Even though this is a cheap thingy, the tools stay plugged in much much better than they do when inserted into the Festool receptacle. I told the vacuum hose onto the tool with a clamp
Some of the responses in the Family Woodworking thread were:
Brian Buckley claimed that the overhead boom arm will take carte of these problems. I can see that it might do this might solve the problems, but I already have something that works for me. I will keep the boom arm in mind for other reasons, but will not be buying it any time soon.
Steve Clardy said that he has some trouble keeping the Fein vac hose on my 150 sander. His solution was Velcro wraps holding the cord to the hose, keeping them together. Steve, and others, wish there was some kind of a twist lock or something.
Doug Shepard reported a third problem and that is that the electric cord pulls out of his “plug it” socket on his sander far too easily
