bisquette feeder hole has a hemroid

mrphilips · March 24, 2012, 02:32:14 PM

i've noticed i have to check the feeding of my bisquettes ever 20 minutes, or they'll pile up and stop feeding - wasn't sure why.
then i noticed that right there at the bottom of the tube - before it hits the moving feeder/pusher-thing - there's a rim of metal sorta protruding:

ultimately, a puck will get hung up on that edge, and not drop so nicely down after the one below it is pushed... it'll sit there at an angle, and essentially block my bisquette traffic.

it's annoying.
i am not a metal worker so don't feel i can grind it down... also, i've had to open up the case and adjust the workings in the past as my unit was "skipping a beat" and i feel the exact alignment in there is worth preserving for the time being, but i wonder - am i alone on this?

JZ · March 24, 2012, 04:05:03 PM

When you put the feeder tube in can you still see that lip. If not then it should not be a problem. If so then I would mark the protrusion that can be seen inside the feeder tube, with a black felt pen then remove the tube, take the SG apart and just file away the part the is marked with felt pen. Or use a dremel if you have one. With a dremel you might not have to take the SG apart.

mrphilips · March 24, 2012, 05:28:04 PM

i don't use the feeder tube because i have to take it out every time there's a pile-up, which means scooping out all the bisquettes, causing crumbs, etc, putting it all back, and lo - it happens again eventually.
i just use less than 2 hours of pucks at a time (seeing as i'm out there frequently to watch for pile-ups)
so i guess, yes - i still see the lip.
but if your point is it needs to be physically re-shaped, i guess it's point taken.

it's just a shame because that's a fair bit of work and as i said, i don't want to take it apart as it's got that "took-me-a-whole-day-of-testing-to-get-it-right-after-the-last-time-i-adjusted-it" feel already.

also, i think that would void the warranty. i just don't understand why these things weren't more aligned in the first place and was wondering if i was the only one.

maybe i'll call Bradley and see if Brian has a thought on it beyond carving metal.

JZ · March 24, 2012, 09:31:14 PM

Sorry I should have asked if it is under warranty - call Bradley and they will provide the fix or parts.

The reason I asked about the feeder tube is that it should cover the exposed part of that lip. I had the same issue a few days ago and found that the feeder tube was not all the way down and the pucks would hang up on the exposed lip. Make sure the tube is all the way down or the pucks will jam. Also did you look down the opening to make sure the puck advance mechanism is retracting all the way back. If not then the SG may need cleaning.

mrphilips · March 25, 2012, 05:35:21 AM

well without getting too personal, my tube is pretty wide and i don't think i've ever shoved it in all the way ::)

honestly, i'd have to really squeeze it together to get it down there - i didn't think that was the intended degree of insertion, but i see exactly what you're suggesting.

from my picture above, i don't think the tube wall's thickness will completely cover the full lip, but it might make a large impact afterall...

i will try that next time!
thanks

TedEbear · March 25, 2012, 06:14:59 AM

On my OBS that metal lip is what keeps the feeder tube from going all the way to the slider. I always shove the tube in until it bottoms out against the lip. There seems to be enough friction that it would stay in place without the lip but I figured that's why it's there and so I always put it in until it hits it.

I just looked at mine and the lip is pretty much even all around the hole, unlike in the pic you posted. The tube hides the lip after it is seated against it.

mrphilips · March 25, 2012, 07:53:04 AM

that's what i thought... that mine was quite extremely off-set.

thing is, when i took it apart to stop the auto-feeder from skipping a puck every now and then, the adjustment was essentially "guess at how aligned two surfaces must be, then tighten the screw and if it works better, don't loosen it again"... not exactly re-doable without all that testing again. worth avoiding if possible, but it may be the next thing i need to do - take it apart and see if i can get both functions more properly aligned.

i guess i'll have to clean the bugger again at some point so maybe i'll make it a three-stop process.

as for the tube, i am seriously gonna have to summon the green skin and cut-off jean shorts to get this tube shoved in there all the way - the circumference is wider than the hole by far - but perhaps this width will reduce the lip's effect too.

Quarlow · March 25, 2012, 08:22:22 AM

You should be able to realign it. I haven't done it but you may need to open up the sg and loosen a screw or 2. The tube should be all the way in and if you squeeze the tube it will go in easy. But this is good timing for this post as my pucks bound up on me yesterday. I should look at it.

mrphilips · March 25, 2012, 08:31:57 AM

ok. next non-smoking weekend or day home, i'll take it apart, try to put it back together with both a good feed cycle and a little less lippy.
shall report back

mikecorn.1 · March 25, 2012, 10:30:13 AM

Looked at mine, its has an even lip all the way around. I agree, you should be able to take apart and re-align it by loosening some screws. Good luck.

KyNola · March 25, 2012, 06:30:05 PM

mrphillips have you tried to place your fingers down into the opening and see if you can gently pull the thing in the direction away from the "lip" you are showing in your pic? In your photo it would appear you would pull it to the right but I can't be certain as I can't get a point of reference in the pic.

mrphilips · March 26, 2012, 02:52:13 PM

well, i didn't want to get "pushy" as i felt it may adjust the feeder's continuity again, but when i do a complete check-out, i'll see if it could be possible.

Salmonsmoker · March 26, 2012, 03:08:09 PM

I cleaned out my SG yesterday and cheked mine out because of this thread. Mine is lined up fine and always has been. What I noticed is that the "inner tube" that sits on the protruding part of mrphilip's SG is held in place by three vertical pins that fit in the "U" shaped slots of the inner tube-or the puck loading tube receiver. You can see them in his picture. The pins are mis-aligned enough to hold the receiver off center. There isn't any side play- at least in mine, to center up the receiver. I think that's a manufacturing flaw. If it's still under warranty I'd give Bradley a call. My $.02

mrphilips · March 26, 2012, 03:42:01 PM

well after all these suggestions and having the evening off, i got in there.

so what salmonsmoker says is true. the "inner" tube is fit with three long clips running up it's sides. these connect to three posts on the feeder mechanism's tray. mine is holding the inner tube in mis-alignment.

so can i tweak it? no.
these posts (and clips) are welded in. and as they are not equidistant - there is a definite front and back to the tube - i wasn't able to give it a 120' turn in either direction to try a different position. that being siad, the tube and clips are identical from top to bottom, so i flipped it and re-inserted hoping this would work, but it produced the exact same misalignment.

i do hope this is still under warranty (i'm 99% sure it is) as there doesn't seem to be much i can do.
i'll check the paperwork, make a phone call, report back.

mrphilips · March 27, 2012, 12:30:40 PM

yep.
big B at Bradley confirmed it, the lip seen here is a manufacturer's defect, and a new SG is in the mail.

the bottom lip is required to help keep the feeder tube from extending too far down and interfering with puck-pushery, but mine is misaligned such that there is none of the necessary lip on one side and double the required width on the other.
also confirmed is that there is no home fix for this particular error, beyond a good dremel grinding.
brian felt the powder-coat on the inner tube might have been overly applied in this particular unit, perhaps that causes the error when i fit it on to it's posts.

so, thanks fo rall the input team!
and thanks to Brian at Bradley, once again.

hopefully my next tube... won't be so "lippy"

YEAH!