Bruce Girrell on mon 23 jul 01
Lisa Skeen wrote:
> 1. Pugmills: Some claim to be easy to clean. How true is that
> claim of the Shimpo and Bluebird studio models? Peter Pugger?
I can speak only for the Peter Pugger.
First of all, we have to put some perspective on "easy to clean." _Anything_
that has clay stuck throughout its interior is not going to be easy to
clean. That said, ease of cleaning would then be dictated by ease of
disassembly and accessibility of parts.
I think the Peter Pugger does pretty well on this score. One aspect of the
Peter Pugger VPM-30 that aids the problem is that, being a vacuum machine,
it is completely sealed. The clay will not dry out even if left to sit for
months. The machine consists of two nozzle sections, the main chamber, the
auger/mixer, and the motor/vacuum section. The nozzles and main chamber are
aluminum castings; the auger/mixer is welded stainless steel. The nozzles
are each attached with four bolts which are easily accessible. I scoop the
excess clay out with wooden or stiff plastic ribs.
Once the second nozzle is removed, the auger/mixer can be pulled off of the
drive shaft after removing one nut. The ability to easily remove the
auger/mixer greatly aids in cleaning, since this one piece has all the most
difficult to clean places. I usually take it outside and use a hose and
scrub brush to attack it. With the auger/mixer removed, the only remaining
obstruction in the main chamber is the drive shaft - and it's not much of an
obstruction.
When I do a complete cleanout of the machine, I remove the hopper door from
the main chamber and remove the main chamber from the motor/vacuum section.
To access the four bolts that secure the main chamber to the motor housing
you must remove four screws that retain the lid of the motor housing. Also,
while that nozzles are sealed with O-rings, the main chamber is sealed to
the motor housing with silicone adhesive. Once the main housing is removed,
it is also easily cleaned outside with a hose and scrapers/brush. I suspect
that most people would not remove the main chamber as I do.
I hope that my proclivity to detail hasn't made the process seem more
difficult that it really is. A quick cleanout (removing the two nozzles and
the auger/mixer, followed by a scraping, but not washing of the parts) takes
me about 45 minutes. To completely tear down the machine, clean it, and
reassemble it takes me about 2 1/2 - 3 hours. I usually recover 35 - 40 lbs
of clay from the machine.
Bruce "Mr. Detail" Girrell
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