Peter is assembled other than tightening some of the bolts. Jim kindly went out a while ago and got me some more support pieces for the tomato cages and a 9/16th wrench - the only size in my large collection, that I didn't have, and the size I need to tighten these bolts. He bought a set of six various sizes and now I have at least 3 sets and a bunch of other loose sizes.. Putting the rest of the pug mill together was pretty simple - just one call to the manufacturer to clarify one or two things. I still have to check one part that doesn't seem to have any instructions. It's a knob and I put it under the pressure gauge, which seems to be the place it fits. Unfortunately, the name of the part is not listed in the numbered parts list, nor is is shown in the sketches. So I think I'm going to get on Google and see if I can find other photos of this model
I spent the past hour or so perusing the manual and made some basic, important notes to help me get started. This Peter Pugger is not the same animal as my Bluebird Powerstar. It will take a few times of using it to remember the sequence of loading, mixing, and de-airing.
Right after lunch I'll get into the studio and mix some of my firmer clay with some reclaim to get a softer mix, get it de-aired and ready to use tomorrow.
The tiny test kiln is filled with slip and underglaze tests and ready for another firing tomorrow.
Dennis, I called Jared at Peter Pugger, and the knob is a filter that does on the left side of the part of the unit that has the two arrows on top.
ReplyDeleteI got it going, but it didn't seem to be mixing well, and I realized that I probably didn't have enough clay in there, so I kept adding more and that seemed to make it function better. I'm leaving it sit overnight and will re-mix in the morning.I'll de-air when I'm ready to use it. The seal on the exit and the tight fit of the hopper is a great improvement over what I had on my Powerstar. I also love the fact that, unlike the Powerstar, there are no screens to clean. I think I'm really going to like this unit.
Glad to see you have your pugmill up and running. It is a great little unit. I put my vacume pump on the shelf below the pugmill on my cart because it does move around when it is running as it vibrates. It may take you a couple of tries to get the amount of clay in the mixer just right before you begin de-airing. I take a small sponge and dampen the seal around the lid that says "warning..." on it and then when I begin de-airing it is helpful to push on this same lid untill you see the vacume gauge start to climb. I use the sponge on the hopper seal when I am satisfied I have enough in the mixer as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips Colleen. I haven't de-aired the clay yet because I have a bunch of other studio thing to do the next few days and because I had firm new clay and some softer reclaim and some slop in there. I mixed it a few times and wanted to let it all sit a while.
ReplyDeleteThey instructions said I would need more than the 25 lb limit to start the machine, but it doesn't specify how much more, so I kept adding a bit more and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I got it right. Seems it can be a problem if there's too much clay in there, so I kept adding just a little bit at a time. I guess I'll find out if I guessed right when I start de-airing it.