Lynne Girrell on sun 13 apr 03
apparently, is to allow it to dry out.
The hopper door on our Peter Pugger was left open by someone who shall
remain nameless and the interior dried out thoroughly. I knew that if I
didn't want rocks of hardened clay in my next twenty batches of clay I would
have to clean the thing out but I have been dreading the task. Today I
finally tackled the chore because we had to have some new clay. What would
have normally been a 30-45 minute cleanup ended up lasting nearly six hours.
When I removed the end cone I saw that it was packed full of leather hard
clay thay had to be dug out like an impacted... uh... let's not go there.
The O-ring was covered with a hard white substance that I first took to be
dried clay but soon realized was aluminum oxide. No amount of washing would
remove it.
Inside the machine it only got worse. Apparently clay and aluminum have a
thing for each other. All over the interior the clay and aluminum oxide had
bonded into little hillocks of nearly impenetrable white stuff. Eventually I
found that 100 grit sandpaper worked the best on the most areas, but that's
way too coarse for the sealing surfaces so those were all handled with 320
grit and plenty of elbow grease.
O-ring grooves were another matter. The sandpaperwouldn't get into the
grooves properly so I resorted to varying grades of steel wool to get the
grit out. Even after the grit was removed some pitting remained. I smoothed
these best as possible on flat sealing surfaces but the O-ring grooves are
going to have to fend for themselves.
The auger, being a gleaming stainless steel, was actually the easiest part
to clean - a simple wash up. The large cone, with its numerous grooves, took
the longest, I think.
The O-rings would not respond to any gentle methods. From many years in the
oildfield, where a nicked O-ring can spell disaster, I am very cautious
about doing nasties to O-rings but these really only have to deal with 15
psi, not 15,000 psi like I'm used to, so I finally attacked the crust on the
O-rings with the finest steel wool that I have and prevailed.
The poor thing is back together now and has mixed its first batch of clay in
this new incarnation. No divorce papers have been filed. Probably won't
happen, not around here. You see, there was this little surprise that I
accidentally left for her in the freezer compartment of our refrigerator a
couple of weeks ago and she still kept _me_ around.
Bruce "we'll call it even" Girrell
Donald Burroughs on tue 15 apr 03
I don't own and really can't afford a peter pugger, but if I did and what
happened to you would happen to me I would try and soak the interior of the
mixing area if it is possible without leaking. If that doesn't work what
about a pressure washer? I am sure you could probably pick up a decent one
for about $150.00 (or even rent one). 1700psi can remove pretty much
anything... 3000 psi ($300.00) is even better.Pressure washers are handy
for all sorts of other chores as well. They are a worthwhile investment
especially when one has nice mixer like yours.
Sincerely,Don
Lynne Girrell on tue 15 apr 03
> I don't own and really can't afford a peter pugger, but if I did and what
> happened to you would happen to me I would try and soak the interior of
the
> mixing area if it is possible without leaking. If that doesn't work what
> about a pressure washer?
For normal dried clay this would be fine, but the aluminum oxide was like
granite. No soaking was going to touch it (I tried soaking on the O-rings)
and with the amount of elbow grease and abrasives that I had to apply to the
rest of the machine I seriously doubt that a pressure washer would touch it
either.
I appreciate the suggestions, though. I need to call Peter Pugger today to
order some parts (one was damaged and I'm getting backups for others), so
I'll ask them what I should have done. If they have anything of value I'll
post it to the list.
I hope that one day you can have one of these machines or an equivalent. I
used to be so tired after wedging clay that I wouldn't throw anything. The
pugmill has dramatically changed that. My wrists and back are happier, too.
Bruce Girrell
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