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Post by rosenbauert on Apr 21, 2014 8:53:21 GMT -5
I have done about 12 batches of chocolate and the shaft the drum sits on has begun to wobble. It?s not in the drum or rollers because it does this when I remove the bowl and turn on the motor, so it's something inside. Before I open it up, do you have suggestions on what I should look for? Also, I noticed that there are scoring marks on the stainless steel at the bottom of the drum. Is this normal? The paddles are not touching the sides and I have only put sugar and liquor that I ran through the screen on the Champion, so I don?t understand what could have scored the inside of the bowl.
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Post by lilypa on Apr 21, 2014 16:01:20 GMT -5
Your problem could be related to two things that I can think of: 1) Your belt could simply be stretched out. To tighten it, loosen the four bolts holding the motor to the Santha body. Push the motor further away from the drum shaft and retighten the bolts while pushing the motor away. Note that the belts that originally come with the Santhas are pretty crappy. Many folks here have recommended replacing the original Santha belt with one of these: www.amazon.com/PowerTwist-V-Belt-Profile-Width-Length/dp/B00CLG38JQ/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1398113609&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=powertwise+plus+v-belt+3L (This is assuming you have a Santha Spectra 11). If you do replace your belt, you'll still probably have to retighten the belt after the first couple of uses. New belts tend to stretch. 2) The drum shaft could be the source of your wobble. My Spectra 11 has a wobble to it and I've traced it the to shaft. However, I'm not sure what has caused the shaft to wobble. I'm guessing that there are bearings inside of the shaft that are slowly pitting such that the shaft now has an eccentricity to it. Anyone out there experience this?
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Post by rosenbauert on Apr 22, 2014 12:01:37 GMT -5
Hah! Just opened it up and the fan belt, although whole, is torn to shreds. I wanted to know what to look for before I opened it up but don't need to be an alchemist to figure this one out. I have asked John to send me a new belt, but think I may order that one you suggested as well. Thanks for your help.
Do you think the scoring on the inside of my drum caused by the wobble will affect anything?
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Post by lilypa on Apr 23, 2014 15:01:18 GMT -5
I don't think the scoring will be a problem. Can you post a picture of it? I'm curious how bad it looks. Do you think it was caused by the scraper bumping again the drum during wobbles?
Another belt option that's a bit cheaper and ok is a 3/8" Gates Truflex V-belt. Note I think it's the 1500 model for the proper circumference. I posted it somewhere else on the forum previously. It too will slowly lose black bits of itself inside the melanger base (looks like black dust), but won't shred like the original Santha belt.
Either way, remember to retighten your new belt after a couple of initial uses because it'll stretch a bit. With my PowerTwist, after the second use I had to remove one link and retighten. I've since removed one more link, but that's been after 5 batches. I don't expect it to stretch much more now.
Cheers, Dave
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Post by rosenbauert on Apr 24, 2014 10:11:58 GMT -5
Here is the scoring on the drum. Hard to believe that those plastic paddles scored it, and I know sugar and cacao are not as hard as stainless so hard to believe it happened, but I suppose there are probably some fine particles of silica in the hulls that did it. John says it won't affect my chocolate and he is sending me a new base and belt so I should be fine. I also ordered a belt from Amazon just in case. Thanks for the tip on tighten ing the belt
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Post by lilypa on Apr 25, 2014 23:06:19 GMT -5
Yeah, looking at my Santha I see a few scoring lines at the top of where the plastic paddle lines up, but it's not nearly as extensive as the scoring on your drum. Wow!! I'm glad John's working with you on that.
Dave
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Post by rosenbauert on Apr 28, 2014 5:23:28 GMT -5
I didn't get the stuff from Santha yet, but I bought that adjustable link V-belt you suggested from Amazon and it is awesome. Did two batches over the weekend and the Santha is running like a champ. Thanks again Dave, you were a big help.
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Post by lilypa on Apr 28, 2014 17:47:59 GMT -5
Sweet!!! Glad I could help (or at least be a conduit for information that someone else had mentioned somewhere else on this site some time ago). Remember to check the tightness of your new V-Link belt after say another 5 batches or so. Mine loosened up after the first few batches. Yo!!! Dave
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