Drum Grinding on Front Faceplate. Am I losing my mind?

[KamboneGravy]

Hey y'all. I hope this is the right place to post this. The top/front of my drum is positioned very close to the front faceplate, and when the roaster heats up, the two make contact and grind. I had only heard a couple of small rubs in the past, but today I turned on the motor and it rubbed so hard that it almost seized up. Has anyone else encountered a similar issue. Any suggestions for an obvious fix?

Thanks for taking the time. 

[SusanJoM]

If you take the bolt covers off the bottom bolts, how much is extending?  If it's less than what we can see on the top bolts, maybe you could try just loosening the top ones a bit?

As you might guess, this is JUST A GUESS....But it's what I would check first....:-))

Susan

[KamboneGravy]

If you take the bolt covers off the bottom bolts, how much is extending?  If it's less than what we can see on the top bolts, maybe you could try just loosening the top ones a bit?

As you might guess, this is JUST A GUESS....But it's what I would check first....:-))

Susan

Thanks for the suggestion, Susan. Unfortunately, before I took a deliberate look at how far those bolts extend, I just disassembled the little bugger, and I'm putting it back together now. It honestly seems like the front faceplate just gradually bends towards the drum. If I'm not able to align it differently upon reassembly, I'm thinking maybe a couple of small spacers on the front of the upper rods (inside the shroud) may ensure that the drum and faceplate stay far enough apart.

[KamboneGravy]

Well, after disassembly/reassembly, and a visit from my friend and his sneaky child who hid a piece of the roaster, there still seems to be less room between the faceplate at the top of the drum than at the bottom, put perhaps just a tiny bit more than before. I'm going to turn the drum on and heat it up before replacing the shroud, just to see if I'll be able to roast today. If not I might go ahead and add washers or something to the top posts. It honestly looks like the front faceplate just has a slight inward bend.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my query

[SusanJoM]

How about shooting an email to Mr Li?
He is a good businessman and will want to know if there is something wrong with the product.
And he may have insight for you that you can share with us.

Just sayin'

Susan

[KamboneGravy]

How about shooting an email to Mr Li?
He is a good businessman and will want to know if there is something wrong with the product.
And he may have insight for you that you can share with us.

Just sayin'

Susan

Susan,

That's a great idea, and I probably should have done it the first time I heard a rub. I'll send an e-mail and report back.

Was this the first you noticed a flex in the faceplate? Did your last roast go normally?

This is where I admit that I didn't handle this in the best way possible. I've heard this little rub a few times during past roasts, but I didn't take action. I don't even notice a visible flex, it's just that everything is aligned and tightened down and there is still a difference between the space at the bottom of the drum and the space at the top. I haven't taken a very scientific approach because I was overeager to roast.

Here's another image that I think might illustrate just how subtle the issue appears. FWIW, I just heated up the reassembled roaster to around 500F (BT) without any rubbing.

[SusanJoM]

Not me.
I'd email Mr Li first and see what he suggests.
He may want pictures pre-teardown.

[KamboneGravy]

Alright. I need to get some food in me. I'll compose an e-mail to Mr. Li sometime today and report back. For now I'll hold off roasting.

[KamboneGravy]

Just a quick update from my end. All I'm doing is ripping apart my Huky, taking pictures, and drinking a beer; wideasleep1 is doing all the heavy lifting (thinking). I sent an e-mail to Mr. Li earlier today. Hopefully he can provide some insight, and if so I'll be sure to post it here.

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday.

[KamboneGravy]

I received a response from Mr. Li last night. He suggested that I tap the drum axis with a hammer.
Because the space between my drum and faceplate is not uniform, I fear that modifying the drum in this way is not an ideal solution. Sure, it may create the needed space to prevent rubbing at the top, but it will also increase the gap between the rest of the drum and the faceplate, potentially causing chaff or beans to slip through during a roast. I responded with my concerns and have not received a reply.

[SusanJoM]

It just occurred to me that you can also (when you contact Mr Li) refer him to this thread.  Then he could see the various pictures and comments that have led up to your contacting him.

[KamboneGravy]

Thanks Susan. I included a link to this thread in the original e-mail.

[KamboneGravy]

Update - I tried a few things, including shims (lock washers) on the upper rods inside the faceplate. This created extra space, but gave the drum axis a few millimeters to slide back and forth. There was nothing preventing the drum from sliding back to its original position, too close to the faceplate, where it would grind.

Mr. Li suggested that I add a washer to the drum axis (see picture).
I bought one of these.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crown-Bolt-1-4-in-Zinc-Plated-Cut-Washer-807216/204633088?N=5yc1vZc2ck
It almost does the trick. The trouble now, is that the washer is a bit too thick (because I carelessly disregarded Mr. Li's specification that the washer be 1mm thick. Mine is 1.778mm thick), so while it provides adequate space between the top of the drum and the faceplate, it forces all of the components on the drum axis (motor, drum, front bearings) too closely together. As a result, the small screw in the front of the machine that secures the drum to the white bearings ring, can't be tightened all the way. Also, once everything is reassembled and buttoned up, there is an audible whine...sounds like the motor is straining.

In conclusion, I think that one or two 1/4" washers will ultimately solve the problem, but it/they need to be juuust thick enough to create the needed space without forcing the components too closely together.

I wrote this quickly so please forgive spelling and/or grammar and the lack of photographs.

[Boogity]

Here is a photo of my solution.  Not as elegant and placing washers inside the housing to shim the drum closer the face of the roaster, but it has worked well for over a year.  It was cut from a very thin piece of corrugated cardboard.

[KamboneGravy]

They're gonna start charging you rent down at the hardware store...you should be able to find super thin brass shim washers, and stack as many as you need to accomplish the perfect clearance.

FOUR hardware stores yesterday and not one had shim washers. All of the standard washers I found with the correct inner diameter were too thick, much closer to 2mm than 1mm. I bit the bullet and paid $1.25 for a washer from Amazon which matches the specifications Mr. Li provided.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007EE5C6W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hopefully by Tuesday I'll be happily roasting again. With all of the disassembly/reassembly, drum removal, etc, it seems like most of the grease from the drum axis has wiped off, so I asked Mr. Li if he can recommend a lubricant for the drum axis. He sent me the below picture. This has become quite the learning experience. I also brought up the crack in my J-Pipe collar, and Mr. Li is going to send me a new one. I think I'll use the opportunity to order a solid drum and fast motor.

Here is a photo of my solution.  Not as elegant and placing washers inside the housing to shim the drum closer the face of the roaster, but it has worked well for over a year.  It was cut from a very thin piece of corrugated cardboard.

Hey, if it works, it works! Am I correct to assume that you just needed to stabilize the drum? Your solution looks like it would solve that problem, not the primary issue I have of the drum being too close to the faceplate.