clin14 Posted February 4, 2022 Report Share Posted February 4, 2022 Hi everyone! I have a Peter Pugger VPM-9SS and it doesn't seem to be working efficiently. Sometimes it pugs okay but I can only get 2-3 logs out of it, and it pugs out really slow despite having a full clay chamber (I did the unlatched door trick to check) and the vacuum is working fine. I wonder if anyone has any tips/tricks that I am missing out on to make the pugger work more efficiently? I also am not sure if this is the default of how it works, how fast is it supposed to go? It's been taking me about an hour just to pug a few logs, that doesn't seem normal. Thank you in advance! Anything would be helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piedmont Pottery Posted February 4, 2022 Report Share Posted February 4, 2022 In my experience the VPM-9 is fairly sensitive to moisture content of the clay. Too dry or too wet pug poorly. I sometimes stop the pugmill, open it, and manually moove clay from the back of the mixing chamber towards the outlet end. Then close it up, pull a vacuum for a few minutes, then pug it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted February 5, 2022 Report Share Posted February 5, 2022 This machine only hold up to 25#s max. Thats a small volume before it empties out. My guess is about 15-18#s comes out before relaoding. That also means it will hold some clay in chamber that does not come out until next time its full .Meaning the machine cannot empy all the clay as some stays behind always Many folks do not realize how small 25#s is really (only a pug of clay ) so that means you need to feed it more clay all the time to get it to process more. If its spining the clay inside its to wet. I thought the VPM 9 was small now they make a 7 which is a joke really as that only 14 # capacity. (1/2 a pug of clay) I own and use two of these machines-the VPM SS20 and the VPM 30-its the same with these two, some clay always stays behind. You should be able to get the clay out in minutes not an hour. This small pugger works best full of clay to start .It has a speed knob that contols the output as well. Spend time filling the chamberr FULL then mix say 5 minutes then turn on Vac and pug it out another few minutes You will have to stop and refill to keep it coming after the 15-18#s comes out..Consult your Manuel for any other tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clin14 Posted February 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 On 2/4/2022 at 8:17 PM, Mark C. said: This machine only hold up to 25#s max. Thats a small volume before it empties out. My guess is about 15-18#s comes out before relaoding. That also means it will hold some clay in chamber that does not come out until next time its full .Meaning the machine cannot empy all the clay as some stays behind always Many folks do not realize how small 25#s is really (only a pug of clay ) so that means you need to feed it more clay all the time to get it to process more. If its spining the clay inside its to wet. I thought the VPM 9 was small now they make a 7 which is a joke really as that only 14 # capacity. (1/2 a pug of clay) I own and use two of these machines-the VPM SS20 and the VPM 30-its the same with these two, some clay always stays behind. You should be able to get the clay out in minutes not an hour. This small pugger works best full of clay to start .It has a speed knob that contols the output as well. Spend time filling the chamberr FULL then mix say 5 minutes then turn on Vac and pug it out another few minutes You will have to stop and refill to keep it coming after the 15-18#s comes out..Consult your Manuel for any other tips I do fill up the chamber as suggested by the manufacturer, but that is also a process that seems to take a long time as there never seems to have space to put in more clay even if the chamber is not full yet. I've been putting in clay a bit at a time and mixing in between for a few secs to clear up some space. Not sure if it's the same for you. I'm starting to think that the pugger is just not as efficient as we thought it would be by design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 8, 2022 Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 Peter Pluggers are great machines. I think there's something going on here that's abnormal. First, are you sure the clay isn't just spinning with the auger? That can happen if you add too much water- the clay will just spin and not mix. Second, are you sure the auger is running in the correct direction when trying to pug out? The auger pushes the clay toward the back of the machine when mixing, then you reverse it so it pushes the clay out the nozzle when pugging. It should pug it all out in a very short time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted February 8, 2022 Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 I sent you a pm-lets talk story for a minute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.