|
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.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Mar 26, 2015 4:33:29 GMT -5
The Fenner classic Z370 is what I have used, but I don't really recommend them unless you can find a product to prevent slipping, and even then I don't know how much extra life you can get out of them. Otherwise eanbean of indichocolate.com on these forums sells official parts and will ship internationally.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Mar 26, 2015 4:25:46 GMT -5
I would say anything over 18C is too warm to leave your chocolate out to set. I set my chocolate in a fridge that is controlled to about 14C
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Mar 26, 2015 4:20:57 GMT -5
My original 1.5 litre grinder lasted over a year of use, the belt was still fine when the motor blew up
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Mar 25, 2015 8:00:48 GMT -5
It really depends, at the moment I am using V belts instead of the crimped ones that come with the machines (which are much better, but I have to import them). They wear out after about 7 days, although I think if I used some belt grip lubricant I could improve that a lot. The official belts should last much longer, but if you overload your machine with nibs and it jams while you are not paying attention, you end up with a lot of smoke and a belt that doesn't work any more. The proper belts should last for months of use though with care.
I've not looked into other alternative belt options, but there may be some better ones out there than the official product.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Mar 25, 2015 6:57:48 GMT -5
Oh and in terms of running it for days, mine have been running 24/7 for about 15 days right now.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Mar 25, 2015 6:57:08 GMT -5
I know the main problem I have run into is the belts wearing out very quickly, once you start losing rpm in the bowl the ability to grind reduces dramatically. I'm converting one of them to chains at the moment, and should have it finished next month, but it's not very cheap to do.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Mar 23, 2015 6:32:43 GMT -5
Has your RPM dropped? I've also found after a while, the base and wheels tend to smooth out and you get a sort of indent in the base. I'm not sure if that has any real effect on the ability to grind. I'll be interested to hear other peoples opinions.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Feb 13, 2015 13:15:24 GMT -5
I put 3.5kg in the 1.5 litre one without any problems.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Feb 7, 2015 9:16:15 GMT -5
Right here in the chocolate alchemy shop
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Feb 7, 2015 8:40:16 GMT -5
It seems like most of us go through the "cocoa butter/cocoa powder" combination attempt for our first tries at making chocolate. Recipes aside, you can't make good quality chocolate with low quality products, but it's certainly fun to give it a go anyway as a proof of concept.
A 55/45 combination of powder/butter would give you a rough guide for adding these ingredients together, plus the extra cocoa butter, but the crunchy texture is going to be unavoidable without the right equipment.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Jan 28, 2015 14:58:29 GMT -5
You can use a food grade essential oil for orange flavour, you can get organic versions too.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Jan 27, 2015 9:20:30 GMT -5
You would definitely be better off buying a chocolate you like as your base product and going from there.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Jan 20, 2015 6:14:29 GMT -5
Today the motor seized up on my machine, lots of heat, a bit of melting/smoke, but no fire fortunately (because I was out on the school run!). Anyway I think it's beyond repair, unless I can find a replacement part for the motor, any ideas? I'm going to just order a new 2 litre tilting one today anyway.
|
|
|
Post by lyndon on Jan 18, 2015 9:15:57 GMT -5
You may have added the seed chocolate too soon, maybe try adding it under 40C? you could also try maintaining it at around 31C for 15 minutes or so while you stir, if that's possible with your setup.
|
|