Post by sugaralchemy on Aug 26, 2006 23:15:01 GMT -5
As some of you know, I use my Santhas like a madman. Hundreds of batches. First, I premiered the idea of high tension refining - and I always use that now. That highlighted the need for maximum tension. A small re-design of the caps could make it a lot easier to see maximum tension and eliminate cap failures. Basically, the nylon is borderline acceptable, until you start to get any heat involved. Then things get dicey.
However, the latest failure is something completely new and unexpected. It appears that given certain circumstances, the axle of the grinding wheel (between the metal axle and nylon) can get infiltrated with chocolate. Now, this shouldn't be a problem, but if enough gets in there, it slows the wheel and the pressure/heat is enough to push out the fat, leaving a mostly sugary compound. This is practically like epoxy when cool - not a good thing! Allowed to cool, it will completely lock the wheel and no manual attempts to rotate the grinding wheel will succeed. Basically, it will look like your grinding apparatus is now a very heavy paperweight.
If this ever happens to you, you will usually notice the wheel slowing, and possibly see a sugary extrusion appearing from the far end of the wheel's axle. You need to immediately stop the grinder, take out the grinding apparatus and screw off the problematic wheel. Once done, you need to pull out the metal axle. You may need to take a hammer to it if the jam up is bad and/or heat the wheel a bit in the oven - but rest assured, it will come out.
Once you've got the metal axle out, you'll find a candy-epoxy like residue inside. It is completely water soluble, but it will take a while to fully dissolve. You need to completely clean and dry it before re-assembling. You may also need to tap the nylon portion of the axle back into alignment. The longer you wait to disassemble and clean your wheel, the harder this entire process will be.
Just a tip - hope it helps.
However, the latest failure is something completely new and unexpected. It appears that given certain circumstances, the axle of the grinding wheel (between the metal axle and nylon) can get infiltrated with chocolate. Now, this shouldn't be a problem, but if enough gets in there, it slows the wheel and the pressure/heat is enough to push out the fat, leaving a mostly sugary compound. This is practically like epoxy when cool - not a good thing! Allowed to cool, it will completely lock the wheel and no manual attempts to rotate the grinding wheel will succeed. Basically, it will look like your grinding apparatus is now a very heavy paperweight.
If this ever happens to you, you will usually notice the wheel slowing, and possibly see a sugary extrusion appearing from the far end of the wheel's axle. You need to immediately stop the grinder, take out the grinding apparatus and screw off the problematic wheel. Once done, you need to pull out the metal axle. You may need to take a hammer to it if the jam up is bad and/or heat the wheel a bit in the oven - but rest assured, it will come out.
Once you've got the metal axle out, you'll find a candy-epoxy like residue inside. It is completely water soluble, but it will take a while to fully dissolve. You need to completely clean and dry it before re-assembling. You may also need to tap the nylon portion of the axle back into alignment. The longer you wait to disassemble and clean your wheel, the harder this entire process will be.
Just a tip - hope it helps.