Cocoatown ECGC 12 melanger roller stones no longer turn
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
What happens is that the insides of the bushings get worn away as the rollers rotate around the metal shaft that holds the rollers. With extra play in the assembly it no longer applies consistent (or any...) downward pressure along the point where the roller contacts the drum bottom below. With the machine off you can test this by running little strips of paper between the roller & drum at various points along the roller. In my case I found the outer 2/3 or so of each roller doesn't really come into much contact with the drum bottom. Without the benefit of much friction there isn't much to make the roller want to keep turning if something bigger & better decides to push it the other way. Interestingly, it doesn't seem to affect the final liquor smoothness - at least in a way I can detect - or overall refining time.