Bosch has recalled about 91,000 of their 1380 Slim 4-1/2″ angle grinders, which I remember writing about when they first came out. Another 18,000 are being recalled in Canada.
The problem? According to the recall notice, the grinder can overheat when being used, leading to melting of the brush covers, exposing the end of motor brushes to users, posing a burn hazard.
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There were 4 reports of complaints, and 0 reported injuries.
The recall affects 1380 Slim grinders built between March 2015 through November 2015, with date codes 502 through 511.
If your tool is included in the recall, stop using it and contact Bosch for a free repair kit.
You can call them at 844-552-6724, Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT.
fred says
May 20, 2016 at 9:42 amMaybe a good reason to register your tools – but I always wonder if the manufacturers make timely contact with registered owners of their tools when there is a recall.
I have an old Sawzall 6523-21 that I registered – but then stumbled upon a recall a few years after it was announced. It seems the original saw had an open spot near the front gripping area where you might inadvertently stick a finger and get it injured or broken as the blade holder moved back and forth. I never thought to put my finger there – and probably could have lived with the flaw. The fix was a new rubber boot design that covered this area. I emailed Milwaukee and they sent me one – gratis naturally – and with some prying, pulling and pushing the old boot came off and the new one went on.
On a different note, earlier this year I had a call on my cell phone from one of our long-time suppliers telling me that there was a recall on some drywall lifts that had proved to be dangerous. He knew we had bought one from him – but didn’t recall which model. I told him I was retired – but was able to look it up and found that we had bought a different brand. I relate this because it may still be worth dealing with reputable local suppliers – rather than doing all your shopping purely based on Internet prices. Maybe this was just a sales call – since he hadn’t heard from me in a while – but I think he was calling all his regulars out of real concern.
Jim Felt says
May 20, 2016 at 11:25 amGood vendor! And they do exist.
Though clearly local vendors are all over the place in terms of customer service/sales skills.
While Amazon is only as good as their vendors and their really well trained and enabled (telephone) call people. Notice I didn’t say “call center” people. And Amazon doesn’t seem to much use call centers if(!) you escalate to an actual call back person. I always tease them as the “spare bedroom in slippers Jeff Bezos support staff”…
A principle reason I seldom hesitate to support them by buying things I can’t physically see and buy locally.
Toolfreak says
May 21, 2016 at 1:41 amA repair kit? That isn’t going to be very useful to a lot of tool owners who aren’t able to repair their own power tools, which is dangerous since the tools will likely go unrepaired. Really would be better if Bosch offered to have the tools repaired for free at authorized service centers and not just send out a kit to owners and hope they get it around to it or do it right in the first place.
The heat issue with the Bosch slim grinders comes up a lot in reviews all over the web. I passed on getting these at Lowe’s when they were some crazy $59 for a set of 2 price because of so many negative reviews about how hot they got, and others who remarked how incredibly loud they were – loud enough like something was seriously wrong. Not really what you want in an angle grinder.
Glad I passed. Hope word of this recall gets out before anyone gets burned or seriously hurt.
Stuart says
May 21, 2016 at 7:30 amThe repair kit will probably be new brush covers.
fred says
May 21, 2016 at 7:48 amI was thinking that myself. The grinder may still overheat but the new brush covers may be a thermosetting plastic – that you just screw in. The only tool needed may be a screwdriver or “only one thin dime” to unscrew the old covers and replace them with the new.
Toolfreak says
May 21, 2016 at 4:17 pmOh, whoops. I figured Bosch might actually send a repair kit that addressed the underlying issue – the grinder overheating – and not just another brush cover to replace the melted ones. Silly me.
fred says
May 23, 2016 at 9:17 amI make those silly mistakes too – and have to slap myself in the face to bring me back to reality.
I remember a case where GM had engine mounts failing resulting in the engine lifting – twisting carburetor linkages – resulting in the car accelerating uncontrollably. They designed a better engine mount for all new applications – but the recall fix was to attach a loop of cable from the engine to the body frame to limit how high the engine could lift in the event of a n engine mount failure.
I’m guessing that in this case, that Bosch in their zeal to make the tool fit in the hand better (smaller diameter) they lost sight of how to deal with heat dissipation. Maybe – using famous German logic – someone thought: Grinders = Welders, Welders = Welding Gloves , Welding Gloves = Heat Protection and Heat Protection = no problem with a hot grinder .
Stuart says
May 23, 2016 at 6:37 pmOr they might have made assumptions about use that turned out to be inappropriate.
If the brush covers are melting, with the brushes being the burn hazard, welding gloves assumption or not, something went wrong in the design.
User reviews seem to be pretty positive.
Maybe the overheating condition occurs with ambient temperatures of 105°F, with thick and clogged wheels, and continuous use.
Some design or manufacturing issues don’t make themselves apparent until a tool has been on the market for a few years.
fred says
May 23, 2016 at 9:18 pmStuart
You are right – and its a a bit like cars.
All the running on the test track and over road testing by the car companies is still not as good as thousands of cars being tested in real life situations by different drivers. And – to continue the analogy – some drivers may push their car in different ways – possibly beyond the manufacturer’s expectations – or even any reasonable expectation.
User reviews are another thing – that may not be statistically valid until there are enough of them. They also may not be anything more than first impressions. I often try to read Amazon reviews before I buy a popular item. Sometimes even with dozens or more reviews it may be hard to discern what’s said applies to your situation. But be that as it may – reading online reviews are better than buying blind.