Wipers still not wiping

I have a 6" wipe film turnkey from USALABs. I have not been able to achieve full contact with the glass in the middle of the heating mantle. It is a solid fixed bladed held in tension with springs. Ive tried to add larger springs into the center of each of the 3 blades but still does not make contact in the middle.
Has anyone had similar issues or found some sort of work around to make the unit function properly. Currently this unit is part Wipe film and part falling film, resulting in undistilled material

You may have to adjust the top of cap position to ensure the blade fully touch the inner wall.

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5e676370-5a31-4d8d-aca0-55e2a69aba68

I have no advice, just shitposting

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Sounds like the glass isnā€™t true. Youā€™re making contact at the top and bottom of the basket?

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thanks
ive tried 3 different length shafts trying to find ā€˜the sweet spotā€™ inside the glass walls but i have similar results regardless of where the blades sit
they make contact on the top and bottom, but not in the middle
this is also my 3rd piece of glass, i was assured this worked properly prior to shipping

Ouch!

Have someone make you curved blades?!?

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How did they verify that this glass was made properly?

I also recommend swapping over to gear driven outlet pumps.

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He should probably figure out the issue at hand before even thinking about buying gear pumps.

I would recommend checking the glass for trueness with a straight edge.

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You also can try to cut the PTFE blade to 3 or 4 pieces. Then the spring may be able to push the blade to touch the inner wall of the main evaporator.

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Without a doubt! That would be my first priority as well.

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Was about to suggest the same thingā€¦ :thinking:

Iā€™ve seen blades come out all sorts of shapes, they clearly wear/warp to fit. Machining them bent at the get go seems like a reasonable response to an unreasonable problemā€¦

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has anyone here cut the blade into multiple segments. that seems like a viable solution.

At worst it cost you a set of blades

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Certainly seen them loaded/manufactured that way in other rigs.

Min 2 springs per segment.

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Look on the bright side, if you had a stainless wiper you may have achieved THISā€¦.

Where did all the PTFE go?!?

(ā€œFreeā€ wiper. Because previous owner was clueless)

Edit: I was hoping I had pics of the individual segments, showing how different in profile they had become. They say sugar will rot your teeth if you donā€™t brush, it will also destroy your wiper blades if you donā€™t wash with waterā€¦

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My only advice against doing the segment cutting with more springs (which is a great idea by the way) would be that if you have already requested multiple new pieces of glass that they donā€™t leverage you doing that as an act that voids any kind of warranty or guarantee on the unit.

While I canā€™t imagine that it does, they may see the cut segments and say you brought this issue upon yourself to allow them to get out of providing you with a proper fix.

While Iā€™m all for these little tricks to fix issues, if you paid for the unit to work properly, then you should still try to get what you paid for (a working wiper and glass with proper contact all the way around).

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ā€“or replace with carbon-impregnated PTFE blades and never replace again :wink:

disclaimer: i realize water washes will never not be necessary, even if one is good at mitigating the source of residues in oneā€™s extraction process; this just saves me from having to stop runs, or to disassemble my entire fucking early-gen Pope every couple of months just to get at the wiper basket to replace blade nubsā€“not to mention a $700+ price tag for new blades from Pope.

disclaimer disclaimer: I realize a CNC router and PTFE bar stock could save those costs, i just do not have time. i think someone could make a fucking buck off of providing carbon blades customized to every wiper make/model. picks nā€™shovels and all that

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Iā€™ll third? the idea of cutting the blades into segments. Lay a metal ruler on the inside wall first to get an idea where itā€™s losing contact and it may give you some idea of where to cut the blades. And donā€™t worry too much about the springs, centrifugal force should be doing plenty of work to keep the blades in contact with the wall.

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I say you paid for a working unit you should have usalabs service this, especially if it arrived that way. If it never worked from the start thatā€™s theft in my book. If it is not under warranty maybe usalabs can send a technician for a price dunno never bought anything from them.

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There are some short paths around here for saleā€¦