Operators who don’t think they are paid enough to care or report it
Or
People reluctant to spend money
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also possible, though far less likely, that before a big long batch run, the blades were intact or only slightly worn; then, as the long run proceeds, the wipers were moving to fast to see it, only to be found after the batch was done and the blades were stopped.
again less likely given that photo, like that’s a LOT of wear, and in an interesting pattern. but i have seen a surprising amount of wear happen, from brand new to teeth nearly gone, in a single shift/batch run.
aligning and correcting one’s rotor/blade cage i found through trial and error to be one of the biggest contributors to blades wearing or not, second to an insufficient feed rate
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Sounds to me like carbon wipers should be standard on everything.
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Wow these wipers look rough, how much run time do you think these bad boys have on them?
Not too proud of this photo, but it makes your wipers look clean by comparison. This is carbon wipers on a SS VTA. I tried to sonicate these but it was hopeless, we eventually replaced the whole spindle.
I’ve run carbon and PTFE wipers on both VTA and Pope systems. They both wear away over time, but carbon does seem to have a longer life. I have seen the inside of a SS evaporator scarred from carbon wipers however. I’ve seen PTFE (I think, they were white) rollers on chemtech systems melt and develop flat uneven spots, especially when operator leaves the evaporator hot without spinning for an extended period of time. Carbon rollers seems like a great idea.
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wow! appreciate the share. this is the main reason why i prefer glass stills to SS, throughput is less sure but seeing what’s happening inside without having to disassemble is really, really valuable.
BIG YES 100%. i consider PTFE blades basically planned obsolescence and a way for mfgs to continue to make money off of us
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I’ve found myself a pretty good deal on carbon wipers in 75% PTFE 25% Carbon
Modeled after this, but 100mm long instead of 500mm, with a 2mm bevel on each blade edge.
The MOQ is higher than I need.
Does anyone else want/need a set? Cyclo’s chinese manufacturer wants $350 USD for a set of virgin PTFE ones. I could land you 20x 100mm wipers for that price anywhere you want them shipped.
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Why are these manufactured so short? Is it supposed to be more modular where you can just replace the blades that are bad? Once would think larger and fewer blades would be easier.
Yes.
Look at how POPE and VTA do it.
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another possible source…
Allegedly mine should arrive this week. If there are spares after everyone gets the ones they’ve asked for I’ll post them here.
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Here they are. There are a couple of extra sets. Who wants em? $350 USD shipped to you anywhere in North America.
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Still available? Just got a Lab1st stainless unit and have no idea what the blades look like. Figure it’d be nice to go ahead and have those ready for when I tear it down.
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A post was split to a new topic: Refinishing a SS wiper body: what’s the score?
Yup, I’ve got a couple of sets that are presently uncommitted.
Shoot me your email in a DM and we can go from there.
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yo @lincoln20xx you got anymore of these?? need em for a 12" chinese stainless system
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@RockSteady yup shoot me a DM with how many you need - length and quantity - and I’ll see if I’ve got enough on hand.
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