Let’s Mix Things Up

KIMG0063For some reason, I have been fascinated with KitchenAid mixers since I was a little kid. I think it is because my parents had a large Hobart mixer at their restaurant, and I thought the smaller home edition was novel. Or more likely, they have gears, mechanical attachments, and a motor… three of the things that are dearest to my heart.

I bought one a while ago from Craigslist, and it leaked oil the first time we tried to use it. After getting over the initial horror of oil dripping into the dip we were concocting, I read up and found out this problem is fairly common. KIMG0064The grease they used breaks down over time and becomes a combination of a cakey substance and a fairly thin oil which drips from the case. I disassembled it, replaced the grease with Food Grade Machinery Grease, and all was good. This was about a year ago, and there has not been another drop of oil.

Tonight I was at a good friend’s house, and she mentioned she was having the same problem. She was even thinking about getting a new KitchenAid. I brought it home, did the same procedure, and it is now as good as new. I am posting this as a public service announcement. Don’t throw out your KitchenAid mixer if it drips oil! It is a fairly simple fix.KIMG0065

I included some pictures of the inside in case you’re curious. I know that I was. I didn’t include a picture, but it also has an interesting electromechanical governor system that adjusts the power delivered to the motor to maintain the selected speed under varying load conditions.

A couple more things:

  • Yes, the pictured mixer is purple.
  • No, it is not mine. Mine is much more masculine.

Next Boost Test

KIMG0048For those of you on the edges of your seats about the functionality of the cheap ebay boost controller, you can relax. It didn’t work. It would initially over boost before settling back down.  I took apart the tee, and found this (photo on left). I thought the tee contained just a check valve, but the spring was strong enough that it acts as a relief valve. It would boost up to about 18 psi, crack open the ball, and then settle back down. I dropped the spring seconds after taking this picture, and it bounced off the shop floor and into oblivion. I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing. I will explain.

 

The following three sketches show:

  • The stock configuration
  • What I thought I was buying
  • What I actually bought

The first uses an electric solenoid to control boost (which the Grand National tries to do blindly). The second uses a “Grainger Type” boost valve that is so named because one can modify parts from Grainger to make it.  I didn’t initially go this route because adjustment results in burned knuckles.  It consists of a simple adjustable home made relief valve. The third sketch shows the Cheap Ebay Manual Boost Controller (CEMBC) that I purchased. As shown in my last post, the CEMBC came with a tee and a variable orifice. Internal to the tee is a fixed orifice and relief valve. The problem was that the boost required to overcome the relief valve was greater than the boost I want to dial in. It was overboosting before the relief valve even opened.KIMG0049

Now for the next test. I’ve completely removed the ball and spring in what I call the Modified Cheap Ebay Manual Boost Controller (MCEMBC). I think that this will provide more accurate feedback to the waste gate actuator, and I do not think they are necessary if no vacuum actuated circuits are connected to that loop. I initially thought that this would cause inconsistencies between immediate Wide Open Throttle and rolling into the throttle more slowly. I’ve thought about it more, and now I think that its operation will be similar to a pneumatic version of a voltage divider. The signal to the waste gate actuator should be a nice, smooth percentage of the boost pressure.KIMG0050The only disadvantage I see to this setup is increased spool up time because it won’t lock the waste gate closed until it reaches the desired boost. Instead, it will open gradually. I think my final solution will be a combination of a “Grainger Type” controller and the MCEMBC. It will really depend on the adjust-ability of the fuel map when I get a chip I can tune.

This post really isn’t for the general populace. I just want to log what I am doing so that I can bounce it off of other car guys to see if they agree. I promise to make the next post about cats, chickens, interior decorating, or something along those lines.

Getting Closer

My KIMG0044Grand National is getting closer to running correctly in its almost stock form. I put a manual boost controller on today. Before you start complaining about everything being zip tied together, I need to point out a couple of things. First of all, I find the term “zip tie” rather offensive. They are called racing ties. Secondly, this isn’t permanent. Even though they seem to have decent reviews, I don’t trust the boost controller I bought.  I will re plumb it in a semi professional manner if it works as advertised.

The biggest reason that I don’t trust the boost controller is that it cost only $11.99 on ebay (with free shipping). The second biggest reason is its theory of operation. It simply has a variable KIMG0043orifice that releases boost feedback on the waste gate side of a combination orifice/check valve. It seems to me that it will change the ultimate boost if I am at Wide Open Throttle vs accelerating at a moderate pace. I pondered tossing this out when I figured out how it works. Then I noticed the smaller printing. It states “HIGH PERFORMANCE” right on the label, so I decided to give it a try. I hope to report back with good news.

Not Enough Power

So no luck with the chicken coop.  The solar panel I was using was labeled as 5 Watts. However, it only put out about 20 mA (.24 Watts) in direct sunlight. That wasn’t even enough to run the power supply.  I assumed that it would put out more than that in the shade. I guess I need to buy a better panel.  More money, and I don’t even have any chickens yet.

 

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On another note, I’ve been struggling with sorting a Buick Grand National for some time now. Today, I figured out that the previous owner had installed an adjustable boost actuator at over 20 psi.  I never noticed how high it was set because I had a big crack in one of the headers. I welded that up last week, and it started blowing off vacuum/boost lines. I guess someone’s solution to low boost was to crank on the actuator rod rather than fixing the problem. I used my air compressor and a pressure regulator to open the waste gate (pictured), and it didn’t fully open until almost 25 psi!  I cranked it back down, and I have a Manual Boost Controller on order.  I can’t wait!  Once I get it tuned back down and running predictably, I can start cranking it back up and spinning the tires!