Lesley Alexander on thu 23 sep 10
My Peter Pugger appears to me to be tighter than ever, but it refuses to
de-air, Three calls to the company led to suggestions, I'm about to call
again. But after applying all they said there is no change.
Has anyone had problems of this sort, and what did you do? I've checked
under the valve (it can reach 27); removed, cleaned and oiled the O-ring fo=
r
the vacuum chamber; made sure there was no dry clay around the shaft betwee=
n
the mixer and the vacuum chamber, emptied the nozzle, cleaned the surfaces
and replaced tighter than ever. I also used a flat knife grinding stone on
the top of the hopper, and oiled both the hopper and hopper door. Does
anyone have any ideas or experience that might help me?
Richard White on thu 23 sep 10
In my experience with our Peter Pugger, my mental checklist includes:
1) With a wet sponge, clean the top edge of the hopper.
2) With the wet sponge, clean the underside edge of the hopper lid around=
=3D
the gasket. Pay attention to the rear edge, because the shape of the lid
where it fits down into the hopper opening obscures that part of the gask=
=3D
et.
You have to get down and look straight across the top of the hopper openi=
=3D
ng
to see that edge of the lid. Often, there is a bit of clay in that corner=
=3D
that you can't easily see.
3) Wipe the gasket of the front plate of the cavity where the shaft goes
through to the motor and the metal ledge it sits on.
4) Take the black rubber cap off the end of the nozzle and thoroughly cle=
=3D
an
the inside of it, especially around the inside corner and the ridges arou=
=3D
nd
the inside wall. The cap must be completely pushed onto the nozzle or air=
=3D
will leak around it somewhere; a tiny bit of clay inside the cap can caus=
=3D
e
that.=3D20
5) Rubber cap back on, lid down and latched, start the vacuum and push ha=
=3D
rd
on the front plate to be sure it seals against the case. The vibrations
sometimes keeps it from sealing well and the vacuum never gets started. Y=
=3D
ou
can let go as soon as the vacuum begins to rise.
If it doesn't start to evacuate the chamber, then you may need to unbolt =
=3D
the
nozzle from the hopper body and check the big O-ring. Otherwise, the only=
=3D
remaining seal is around the motor shaft, which if it is worn will probab=
=3D
ly
require some serious disassembly.
hope this helps
dw
Darlene Yarnetsky on fri 24 sep 10
Hi!
I have a peter pugger and occasionally have run into that issue. Have you
checked the hose leading to the pressure guage? Sometimes there seemed to b=
e
air escaping where the two linked on mine. I would simply move the hose a
little and it was fine. It made a difference for me when all else failed.
One thing that helped me locate this the first time was turning off all the
noise in the studio I could and listening. I would go ahead and turn on th=
e
de-airer, let it pressurize as much as it would, and then turn the machine
off and listen for where the air was leaking.
Good luck!
Darlene Yarnetsky
Mudcat Pottery
William & Susan Schran User on fri 24 sep 10
On 9/23/10 3:39 PM, "Lesley Alexander" wrote:
> Has anyone had problems of this sort, and what did you do? I've checked
> under the valve (it can reach 27); removed, cleaned and oiled the O-ring =
for
> the vacuum chamber; made sure there was no dry clay around the shaft betw=
een
> the mixer and the vacuum chamber, emptied the nozzle, cleaned the surface=
s
> and replaced tighter than ever. I also used a flat knife grinding stone o=
n
> the top of the hopper, and oiled both the hopper and hopper door. Does
> anyone have any ideas or experience that might help me?
I've only had vacuum leaks at hopper door and access panel to vacuum chambe=
r
that are resolved wiping clean the surfaces.
Is the vacuum building up, then can't be held?
Can you hear a hissing sound where the vacuum leak is or not able to locate
or hear? May need to use a tube held to your ear and check around the
machine to locate/hear small leaks.
Have you run your fingers along the rubber seal gaskets on hopper door and
vacuum chamber door and felt for any nicks?
Let us know success or ongoing issues.
Bill
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
Larry Kruzan on fri 24 sep 10
Clean the end cap and the outside of the nozzle. Put a little vasoline on t=
he cap side, put it back on firmly.
Its the only thing left and the place I check first if cleaning the lid sea=
l dosn't work.
Larry
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lesley Alexander"
To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 2:39:16 PM
Subject: Pug mill not de-airing
My Peter Pugger appears to me to be tighter than ever, but it refuses to
de-air, Three calls to the company led to suggestions, I'm about to call
again. But after applying all they said there is no change.
Has anyone had problems of this sort, and what did you do? I've checked
under the valve (it can reach 27); removed, cleaned and oiled the O-ring fo=
r
the vacuum chamber; made sure there was no dry clay around the shaft betwee=
n
the mixer and the vacuum chamber, emptied the nozzle, cleaned the surfaces
and replaced tighter than ever. I also used a flat knife grinding stone on
the top of the hopper, and oiled both the hopper and hopper door. Does
anyone have any ideas or experience that might help me?
Phoenix Rising Farm on fri 24 sep 10
Lesley:
Admirable that you're trying to solve this.
Here are some other things to check:
Hoses. To and from the vacuum motor
Connections. At the hose ends.
Seals. On the motor vacuum chamber.
Flanges. Between barrel sections (bolted together).
Sometimes a VERY thin layer of vaseline on mating surfaces is enough to cau=
se
an otherwise "looks good" joint to seal...use the smoke test below.
Tip:
If you smoke, take a cigarette, light it as usual, and (without inhaling) s=
uck in a small quantity of
smoke and gently "puff" it toward the various parts. Watch closely.
Or just hold the cigarette close to the connection or
parts. You will see the smoke being sucked in to the leaking area. Watch=
carefully. Use a flashlight if
you need to in order to be able to see properly. Be aware that the motor wi=
ll be blowing air from behind it and that can affect your
testing of those fittings and joints.
If you do not smoke, borrow a cigarette from someone who does, or buy a sma=
ll cigar.
If you have a New Age store, natural foods store or First Nation reservatio=
n near you, you can get a sage or cedar smudge that will
also work, or use a cattail punk (thin one).
You don't want open flames from burning paper, but you do want smoke.
Liquids such as from a spray bottle do not always show you what you need to=
see...smoke will.
Hope that helps,
Wayne Seidl
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:39:16 -0700
From: Lesley Alexander
Subject: Pug mill not de-airing
My Peter Pugger appears to me to be tighter than ever, but it refuses to
de-air, Three calls to the company led to suggestions, I'm about to call
again. But after applying all they said there is no change.
Has anyone had problems of this sort, and what did you do? I've checked
under the valve (it can reach 27); removed, cleaned and oiled the O-ring fo=
r
the vacuum chamber; made sure there was no dry clay around the shaft betwee=
n
the mixer and the vacuum chamber, emptied the nozzle, cleaned the surfaces
and replaced tighter than ever. I also used a flat knife grinding stone on
the top of the hopper, and oiled both the hopper and hopper door. Does
anyone have any ideas or experience that might help me?
--
Phoenix Rising Farm
393 on the Houlton Road
Waite, Maine 04492
A proud member of the
Washington County Food Alliance
Michael Wendt on fri 24 sep 10
Lesley,
Is the vacuum gauge on the body of the pugger? if it is and
there were any kind of chamber leak, you would not see 27"
of vacuum.
If the reading is from inside the chamber it should result
in deairing.
If the gauge is at or near the pump and your vacuum gauge
shows 27 inches of mercury but the unit does not deair,
there is a plug somewhere in the line to the deairing
chamber. Clearing the plug should solve theproblem.
Regards,
Michael Wendt
Start at the pump and follow the line to the chamber to see
where clay could have gotten into the line to plug it.
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:39:16 -0700
From: Lesley Alexander
Subject: Pug mill not de-airing
My Peter Pugger appears to me to be tighter than ever, but
it refuses to
de-air, Three calls to the company led to suggestions, I'm
about to call
again. But after applying all they said there is no change.
Has anyone had problems of this sort, and what did you do?
I've checked
under the valve (it can reach 27); removed, cleaned and
oiled the O-ring for
the vacuum chamber; made sure there was no dry clay around
the shaft between
the mixer and the vacuum chamber, emptied the nozzle,
cleaned the surfaces
and replaced tighter than ever. I also used a flat knife
grinding stone on
the top of the hopper, and oiled both the hopper and hopper
door. Does
anyone have any ideas or experience that might help me?
Jennifer Boyer on fri 24 sep 10
Forgive the simplistic answer but is the valve that splits line from the
vacuum pump all the way shut? Also I keep a rubber mallet near my Pete
Pugger and sometimes need to gently tap the cover of the vacuum chamber whe=
n
I first turn the vacuum pump on.
Jennifer
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