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Post by lyndon on Apr 7, 2015 7:37:31 GMT -5
This is how I am prolonging the life of one of my belts now   Excuse all the grease and grime! I really must give it a good clean sometime. |
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Post by Ben on Apr 7, 2015 9:11:21 GMT -5
lyndon: That is awesome. Does the chain make it louder?
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Post by lyndon on Apr 7, 2015 10:21:52 GMT -5
In a nutshell... SO MUCH LOUDER. It makes the belt driven version sound silent.
I don't have a device to measure the sound level, so I can only sort of make example guesses, but it's not as loud as a vacuum cleaner. It's maybe as loud as a washing machine on full spin perhaps.
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Post by Ben on Apr 7, 2015 14:27:14 GMT -5
yowza. good to know.
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Post by lyndon on Apr 7, 2015 16:06:32 GMT -5
I'm no mechanic, so I have no idea if different chain types produce different noise amounts. Also the drive cog doesn't quite fit right, it's misaligned by 1mm as I got the bore hole the wrong size, that probably effects noise too.
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Post by cacao2choco on May 25, 2015 20:27:19 GMT -5
A couple of tips:
1. These rubber belt performance very much depends upon the temperature they experience in use. Performance drops significantly when the inside gets hotter. It is important to make sure to keep the grinder cool.
2. Warm the nibs slightly in a microwave before adding. We typically warm 1/2 lb of nibs at high for 30 to 45 seconds (mixing in the middle). That will make it easy on the grinder and into paste faster.
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Post by jcocoa on Jul 7, 2015 4:08:55 GMT -5
I highly recommend that If you can can do any preparation to your nibs to ease the pressure off the grinder before they go into the grinder, then your premier grinders will last for ages and run for days without issues. I personally pre-grind my nibs using a meat mincer into a gritty paste, then warm this paste until the the cocoa butter thins the mixture slightly. Also pre-warm the grinder bowl and wheels. By doing this i reckon i have extended the 'life' of the machines, and had no problems with them for over a year. However i recently noticed small amounts of black dust coating the vents of the machine, and realised it was time for a belt change. I have since upgraded to a Powertwist linked belt which came highly reccomended, although not easy to get hold of in the UK so had to import it unfortunately, but hopefully will be well worth it. Here is what the belt looks like:  Like all instructions that come with things, the instructions to fit these belts are seriously oversimplified so i am working on making a step by step photo guide for whoever wants to carry out this change on their machine too. |
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Post by Ben on Jul 7, 2015 13:25:35 GMT -5
What meat mincer are you using? How long does it take to refine an amount of nibs?
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Post by Thomas on Jul 7, 2015 20:19:29 GMT -5
What size belt did you use? I'm currently replacing the gears on Premier. I also find it odd that there is no grease on the gears. I would think that would extend their life. Maybe there is a worry that the heat would make the grease run into the motor,
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Post by lyndon on Jul 8, 2015 11:57:59 GMT -5
I've managed to fit one of these 10mm belts pictured above onto a premier, but it can't handle a full 4.5kg load. Although an 8mm belt would be better, they don't seem to exist in that size.
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Post by jcocoa on Jul 9, 2015 3:40:57 GMT -5
Hi Ben, the meat mincer i am using is a pretty basic MY KITCHEN ELECTRIC MINCER one from lakeland as was on a budget, plus couldnt resist their amazing policy of 'If at any time, or for any reason, you're not completely happy with your purchase(s), we'll give you a full refund with no fuss, no time limit and with free return postage. It's all part of the Lakeland guarantee'. As it is i am on my 3rd machine from them . However the most recent one works great and will get through 2kg's nibs in about 30mins or so, i pass them through the machine twice to get a paste. I was using a juicer with an auger, but realised a meat mincer is more heavy duty and does the same job. tsnuggs: i am afraid i am not sure what size belt it was i will try find out though for you, i basically contacted bhavani@dtnj.com who works alongside Erin at indi chocolate and he supplies full transmission kits for the premier machines (included are two new gears and belt), but i asked for the powertwist belt instead of the rubber one as read good reviews on them. He said 'Power Twist belts are definitely a better option. Power Twists are also made of Polyurethane and they do not shed like the rubber belts. The main advantages of the power twist bets are they do not stretch as much as the rubber belts and lose power transmission efficiency. They last a lot longer and work much harder. They also do not slip, where as the rubber belts slip a lot and are inefficient. I have also heard people say that the power twist belts run a lot quieter compared to rubber belts. The vibration is less on the power twist belt since they do not have a memory and set like the rubber belts. You cannot go wrong with these belts.' and so far they are working great for me. When i opened up the machine and looked at the gears there was a very thick hard type grease on them with was totally blackened, so i cleaned that off and applied new grease to my gears, i would recommend using a small amount of grease though as like you say when it warms up, the grease loosens and then flicks off the gears and all over the place. What sized premier machine do you have lyndon? mine is a 2ltr one and so have only ever put a maximum of 2.5kg into it. |
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Post by lyndon on Jul 10, 2015 9:25:25 GMT -5
I have the 2 litre versions too, the tilting one, I'll probably buy a 3rd soon. I never put less than 3kg in it, and have often put 4.5kg based on other peoples experience in here Unfortunately I've discovered today that my chain upgrade one has worn down the cog on it after using it for 2 months, I'm not sure why, perhaps just not enough oil on the chain, or maybe the alignment wasn't right. I'm no engineer |
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Post by Ben on Jul 10, 2015 10:54:16 GMT -5
I'd look to the chain alignment. I had/have that problem on the conche I built and there it's definitely alignment.
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Post by eanbean on Nov 23, 2015 1:41:58 GMT -5
I wanted to let you know that we've created a Chocolate Refiner that takes the best of the Premier Wonder Grinder and upgraded it for chocolate makers. We did a lot of research and listened to a lot of chocolate makers (big thank yous to the Alchemist and many on this Forum and The Chocolate Life). This resulted in more robust gears and a Polyurethane belt as well as fully sealed bearings.
In addition to buying the upgraded belt (http://indichocolate.com/products/chocolate-machine-replacement-parts?variant=7475561409), you can now buy the Chocolate Maker Upgrade (http://indichocolate.com/products/chocolate-machine-replacement-parts?variant=7475531073) and the upgraded Chocolate Refiner(http://indichocolate.com/products/chocolate-refiner?variant=7781420993).
If you need shipping outside of the 48 contiguous states feel free to contact me on the email available on my website.
Hope this helps.
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Post by eanbean on Nov 23, 2015 1:46:44 GMT -5
Hi Ben, the meat mincer i am using is a pretty basic MY KITCHEN ELECTRIC MINCER one from lakeland as was on a budget, plus couldnt resist their amazing policy of 'If at any time, or for any reason, you're not completely happy with your purchase(s), we'll give you a full refund with no fuss, no time limit and with free return postage. It's all part of the Lakeland guarantee'. As it is i am on my 3rd machine from them . However the most recent one works great and will get through 2kg's nibs in about 30mins or so, i pass them through the machine twice to get a paste. I was using a juicer with an auger, but realised a meat mincer is more heavy duty and does the same job. tsnuggs: i am afraid i am not sure what size belt it was i will try find out though for you, i basically contacted bhavani@dtnj.com who works alongside Erin at indi chocolate and he supplies full transmission kits for the premier machines (included are two new gears and belt), but i asked for the powertwist belt instead of the rubber one as read good reviews on them. He said 'Power Twist belts are definitely a better option. Power Twists are also made of Polyurethane and they do not shed like the rubber belts. The main advantages of the power twist bets are they do not stretch as much as the rubber belts and lose power transmission efficiency. They last a lot longer and work much harder. They also do not slip, where as the rubber belts slip a lot and are inefficient. I have also heard people say that the power twist belts run a lot quieter compared to rubber belts. The vibration is less on the power twist belt since they do not have a memory and set like the rubber belts. You cannot go wrong with these belts.' and so far they are working great for me. When i opened up the machine and looked at the gears there was a very thick hard type grease on them with was totally blackened, so i cleaned that off and applied new grease to my gears, i would recommend using a small amount of grease though as like you say when it warms up, the grease loosens and then flicks off the gears and all over the place. What sized premier machine do you have lyndon? mine is a 2ltr one and so have only ever put a maximum of 2.5kg into it. Hi, it's Erin (aka eanbean). If you're not seeing the upgraded replacement belt you need for a Premier Grinder (Tilting, 2L, etc.) you can contact me directly to help figure it out. I've got the replacement belts for the Premier Wonder Grinder already up on the website (http://indichocolate.com/products/chocolate-machine-replacement-parts?variant=7475561409). |
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