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Post by Thomas on Mar 22, 2015 22:02:48 GMT -5
I've been using the Primier Wonder Grinder for 6 months with no problems. I'm now refining my 25th batch of chocolate and it's been going for 48 hours but is still a little grainy. The chocolate is usually smooth after 24 hours. It's a 70% with sugar, vanilla bean, and a little soy lecithin. I've made this formula before. The grinder is running normally and the tension is all the way. Nothing looks or sounds out of the ordinary. So, it makes me think: Are the granite wheels or base used up and will no longer refine to a smooth mouth feel?
Any thoughts?
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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.
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gap
Apprentice
Posts: 390
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Post by gap on Mar 23, 2015 15:30:35 GMT -5
I made over 50 batches in my first Premier running from 24 - 48 hours per batch and had no loss of refining. The wheels did smooth out with the indents as lyndon mentioned, but everything still refined OK.
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Post by smoothchocolator on Mar 25, 2015 2:38:21 GMT -5
It's good to know Premier is tough! I'm a complete novice to this and I was a bit worried about running the machine non stop for days  |
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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.
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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.
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Post by smoothchocolator on Mar 25, 2015 7:33:12 GMT -5
Omg, 24/7 for 15 days and it's still running! That's just amazing for a little machine like Premier! When did the belt start to wear out, lyndon if you don't mind me asking??
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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.
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Post by smoothchocolator on Mar 26, 2015 3:51:14 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing your experience with the machine lyndon. I've only made 5 batch of chocolate so far (and all under 1.5kg) and hopefully the belt lasts long!
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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 |
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Post by chan000 on Mar 26, 2015 4:21:25 GMT -5
Lyndon, may I ask where you imported these V belts from? I was about to order some replacement belts for my two premiers. Only one has started to slip, but i figure it won't be long before the other belt wears out too I imagine. I took it to a local belt place but they couldn't find anything to replace it with.
Any suggestions would be great. Looking to improve the length of time before replacement parts needed for the two grinders. Otherwise I do find their results pretty darn good.
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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.
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Post by chan000 on Mar 26, 2015 4:54:19 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing. I might look into the slip prevention stuff. So you wouldn't recommend the V type over the original ones? I believe I got a quote for the original belts but including shipping it adds up, also considering how little use I got out of the first belt (less than 9 months). I can also see how much the belt is wearing out on my second, newer grinder. THere is black stuff everywhere after I run a batch.
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Post by Thomas on Mar 26, 2015 10:15:02 GMT -5
Nothing was wrong with my grinder. After three days of grinding, the chocolate became smooth. I also noticed that the chocolate was a little thick. That is, the fat content was low. I think this is why it took longer to refine. I've used these beans and formula before and did not encounter the lower fat content. At least I did not note this down in my chocolate making log. Before I was done, I did add a little cocoa butter to increase the fat content. The chocolate taste great and is very smooth. It just took a little longer to refine.
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Post by eanbean on Apr 2, 2015 21:12:02 GMT -5
If you are looking for a replacement belt you can find them at indichocolate.com/collections/chocolate-making-machines. Some things you can do to prolong the length of your belt include warming the stones before adding your ingredients (many use a hair dryer for this) and adding your ingredients very slowly until they are incorporated. This will help with the life of the motor and the belts. Hope this helps. |
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