Sander exploded

Hi all
I havent posted much on this terrific forum yet, and hope this is the right place

I just thought i would tell you what happened this morning, i was sanding away on a little pine project for my missus, the sander being a Ozito 125mm Multi Purpose sander purchased some years ago from Bunnings.
I had been sanding for a few minutes when the sander exploded (i thought i had received an electrical shock) i quickly turned off the power and inspected the sander, the internal aluminum alloy fan had shattered and smashed through the case in into the woodwork ruining it( a bit of wood filler shouldl fix it).
Now i am wondering if this is a common occurrence?, and as it is not a serviceable part, shouldn't Ozito replace it under good faith even though its quite likely out of warranty?and i cannot find the receipt.

I have sent an email to Ozito with out any response as yet
Cheers
Colin

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Originally Posted by ColinC1

I just thought i would tell you what happened this morning, i was sanding away on a little pine project for my missus, the sander being a Ozito 125mm Multi Purpose sander purchased some years ago from Bunnings.
I had been sanding for a few minutes when the sander exploded (i thought i had received an electrical shock) i quickly turned off the power and inspected the sander, the internal aluminum alloy fan had shattered and smashed through the case in into the woodwork ruining it( a bit of wood filler shouldl fix it).

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I had an Ozito 6" cut off grinder explode on the third cut, shrapnel flew around the shed, narrowly missing me. I wouldn't buy anything of theirs that others haven't beaten to death first, like the rotary hammer drill (that is the only Ozito tool I have bought since the exploding grinder incident).

Colin, it is an ozito, these things are throw away, if you used it for more than one job, you got your moneys worth... :shrug:

They maybe cheap but I think it is a reasonable expectation that they are also safe. You could have lost an eye there.

I would consider writing to consumer affairs or another dept if you don't get a reasonable response from Ozito.

I bought a drop saw which broke the shaft on the very first cut, got replaced but the second only lasted a couple of day, gave up in disgust,

I did not have great expectations of it lasting forever, but as bleeding thumb said, it should be safe to use without wondering when its going to explode in someones hands, that would make any newbie power tool user shy away from power tools, i found the remains of the fan (half a fan) about 6 meters away in the garden.

There is a phone number for Ozito, but as i am hearing impaired, i notified them by email, i will give them a day or 2 to respond, i could also personally call in at their office which is not too far from me, i will let you all know how it goes.
Also being unemployed and on the disability pension is going to make it difficult for me to buy a replacement,so i may have a few things that i could put on this forum to sell or exchange for a sander, such as a Silex no 77 vice that i have no use for

Just received an email from Ozito, they have offered to replace it free of charge and also send me an express post bag to send the damaged one back to them.

They also pointed out that there was a nation wide recall on that particular model way back in October 2002, i didn't realize that i had it for that long,

Good one Ozito, after all those years

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Originally Posted by ColinC1

They also pointed out that there was a nation wide recall on that particular model way back in October 2002, i didn't realize that i had it for that long,

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Good it turned out well for you. They mentioned the recall just in case you had thoughts of a lawsuit. [I was born cynical, I think.] :)

I didnt bother to wait for the express post bag as i wanted to get working on my missus little project, i thought i would go for a drive to the head office,where i met Chris, the guy who replied to my emails, he took the old sander and gave me a 450 watt random orbital sander and also gave me a 260 watt detail sander as well, that was a pleasant bonus which has come to be very handy.

What they think they effectively done is purchased your silence.

What should happen is the tool owner should contact the Dept of Fair Trading which after a while might lead to more stringent rules in regard to notification of defective goods and recalls. In the automotive industry they're required to send a letter to the last known owner of the vehicle as well as media releases.

I generally register (by web) most of my powertools jus so that recalls and similar actrually get to me.

It happens with other brands as well. At least ozito refunded and warrantied the item years after use.I had a metabo 100mm angle grinder, which the cooling plastic fan let go in as well. seized the unit up whilst running at full speed, broke my metacarpal in my left hand. Metabo's statement sorry but we have no idea what abuse it has gone through and the warranty period has expired. Ozito is pretty good for the price. I have a cnc router which I set up an ozito trimming router on and it ran for 237 hrs of cutting as reorded by the mach 3 cutting program and it never missed a beat, the only reason I removed it was, it was just starting to get some end play.