Skill Builder Guides & reviews for building and construction
Roger Bisby revs up with the Triton Geared Eccentric Orbital Sander.
Ah! life can get very confusing. No sooner do we all get used to a random orbit and then Triton comes out with ‘eccentric’ orbit. When does an orbit cease being random and become eccentric or is it the other way round? Is there a difference?
No sooner do we all get used to a random orbit and then Triton comes out with ‘eccentric’ orbit. When does an orbit cease being random and become eccentric or is it the other way round?
So many questions so little time so move on because there is even more to consider here. A robust and positive lever on the side changes it from ‘free run’ random, AKA eccentric, to geared fixed for more grunt and less finesse which is what you need for higher stock removal when swirl marks are not a consideration. You wouldn’t, I know, but somebody might operate that button with the machine in motion which is a bad idea because it will crunch the gears.
So now we have sorted out what this 500 watt sander can do for you let’s look at the rest of it. The disc size is 150mm with 16 holes for 8 or 16 holes pads. There is also a dust extraction port but no bag which is a shame if you are using it untethered because it kicks the dust out the back and onto the user.
Like all Triton tools it is out of China but designed in York. If anything, it is over engineered with lots of magnesium alloy where other manufacturers might use plastic and it has nice big vibration damping grips which allow you to hold it comfortably even with gloves on.
That is a good idea but my instinct and, that of the people in Triton’s pictures, is to hold the back end with one hand for better control and there is no rubber over moulding on the back end. Presumably the tests have shown that most of the vibration is on the head and not the body. The large front grip has a quick adjustment lever which moves it up and down and from side to side which is a nice touch.
There is a rubber-covered lockable on/off switch on the top and there is a small thumb wheel tucked into the back end which operates the electronic speed control for constant speed to help prevent scorching or melting and clogging, that sometimes occurs with paint removal. It even has an indicator to show you what speed you are doing but if you can’t judge that by looking at the disc you really shouldn’t be driving this thing.
I like the fact that is comes in a Triton zipped holdall with a generous starter pack of discs and a set of spare carbon brushes that are easily changed from the outside. I also like the 3 year warranty and the price is nice.
I have just purchased this sander I have noticed a difference in the direction the disk rotates in the 2 modes. In the free-run mode it rotates clockwise when viewed from above which is the direction as indicated by the arrow on the side of the sander. When used in the forced rotation mode it rotates in the opposite direction i.e. anti-clockwise when viewed from above. This does not seem correct. I have tried to contact Triton for Technical support but although they promised a response within 2 days, I have not heard from them. Has anyone else noticed this difference as if not I should return the sander.
To Mike, this is completely normal as the concept of a FOS (fixed orbital / geared orbital / ROTEX or whatever you call it), is simply to lock a large ring gear around a center gear, and as a result with all helical gear sets, reverses the rotaional direction, just like al other fixed orbital motion sanders like bosch gex 150 turbo, bosch 1250 devs, festool ro 150 feq, makita bo6050j, makita bo6040, gbm ggos150, and this triton tgeos. Why would you presume it must rotate the same way anyway?
It think it is a pity the author didn’t do technical research because he/she wouldn’t otherwise have stated swapping mode while it’s turned on will ruin the thing when in fact, this can’t do a lot of harm as long as you just don’t make a habit of it. It’s not like changing gears on a rotating drill like bad.
– Handle a nice touch? Rather unique feature, and the real dealmaker for me! The hold is so more natural and 2 way adjustable. Logically like this, you can apply pressure more evenly.
– Adjusting speed is not only handy for paint removal but ALSO it makes polishing entirely possible. That just can’t be overstated.
– And last but nog least, the PARTS availability is great and for very very reasonable prices.
Greetings from NL,
Kilian.
Hi, I own one of these sanders. The Velcro backing pad has worn away. Are there replacement Velcro backing pads available to purchase?
Many thanks
Keiran
Yes of-course,
search ebay for: triton 910308
I don’t own my tgeos any more because the mount between backing pad and shaft kept breaking (the aluminium triangle thingy). It’s a flaw by design, but only if you use it with much force on the edge while in fixed orbital (aggressive) mode.