My Woodchips auger feeder

[@frenchcreekvalley]

Thanks Luk. I have been trying to make a round tube work with an auger flight that is like a long spring with flattened loops. It has no shaft in the center. It is about 2 1/2" in diameter and the tube is about 3 1/2" in diameter, so I thought there would be enough clearance. But it still binds up badly. This style of "auger flight" works well in some applications, but it sure didn't work for me. The flighting that I used came from a ground-grain feeder for hogs. I will try slitting my tube and opening it up. If that doesn't work, I will have to start all over and I certainly will use a square tube. Pete Stanaitis

[@LukVanhauwaert]

Pete, I think maybe the shaftless auger can wrinkle inside the tube and then still there is a spot without clearance. You, or your freind Adams is good at electroniks. Maybe before splitting the tube you could try controling the motor in a way that it moves some forward and then retracks a little backward, so forward...backward...forward. That takes the wrinkle out of the auger and frees and re-arange the chips at the blockage. Just an idea that might maybe work. As for my auger I show in the video, it sometimes screaks and screams very hard but had so far never jammed. My problem is that it feeds not precise enough for DriZzling. Luk

[@frenchcreekvalley]

Hi Luk. You are correct. The shaftless auger does "wrinkle" in the tube. That's a good term for what happens! It also bends at the open end of the auger and that causes it to scrape on the edge of the tube, causing even more trouble. I added a short section of auger tubing at the far end of the "spring" to eliminate that problem, but it still catches some of the time. The motor that I am currently using is reversible and I have it set up with a switch that enables me to do as you suggest. That helps. I think the GEK guys do that reverse-then -forward thing with their design. I also put a hand crank on the end of the shaft so I could operate the auger manually to get a feel of how it is working. But even with all that, I still don't feel that it is going to work that way. I got the auger for free and it was 16 feet long, so I have already cut it in half. I have nothing to lose by slitting it open. For better wood chip augering, see this: Froling wood chip and pellet firing T4.mpg These guys do a lot of preconditioning of the chips before they enter the auger.

[@LukVanhauwaert]

Pete, Yes Froling is a nice machine. Popular and reliable but you have to have the money as they are expensive. Have you notised? All thier augers have square tubes. To prevent "wrinkling" do you have enough space to introduct a pipe inside the tube and fix that with bearing at either side so this pipe can roll on top of you shaftless auger giving it some sort of stiffness/ If you have to cut the auger tube open then I would try to cut only one slit all at the top of the tube and bend the tube walls to the side open to form a sort of troth.

[@marsogreen2411]

Luk Vanhauwaert hello and sorry for posting a question so many years later. I was wondering if anyone has had success with cutting the top of the tube open for resolving the issue with the wood chips binding up. I have a round tube and I was wondering if cutting the top of it and welding on another tube, kind of like making the whole section oval, and without changing the actual auger, if that would work. Thanks in advance

[@marsogreen2411]

Frenchcreekvalley .frenchcreekvalley Hello, I was wondering if you were successful by cutting the top of the tube for giving the chips a place to escape, and how well that worked out for you. Thanks in advance!!!

[@michael970]

I wonder how a chain or belt type system would work.kind of like a mini hay ladder maybe bicycle chain on sprockets with small scoops every few links..just a thought.you make some awesome things

[@LukVanhauwaert]

Michael, Tank you for the complement. Yes a chain auger would be one of the many options to consider when building a feeder system that feeds in...drop...drop..drop.wich is howone has to DriZzle. I am now rebuilding my "DriZzleR" than a new cyclone and then I will attact the feeder again. Maybe you subscribed... then you automaticaly will see first the new video's.

[@josemanon6295]

Good.

[@bz18g12]

Luk, this looks really nice. I like the pull-up design, vs pushing the chips. I'm wondering what's the diameter of your auger versus the inner width of the square tube? In other words, how much clearance there is on each side of the auger, to the sidewall of the tube? I reckon there's a trade-off between effectiveness and problems, as this space changes, and wondering what your dimension is. Thanks for your very interesting videos!

[@LukVanhauwaert]

BZ, Thank you for your comment. In answer to your question...The auger has 125mm diameter and the square tube is 150mm. So realy not much clearance is needed. The secret lies in the round auger versus square outer tube. The chips can escape and work themselve free in the corners of the square tube at every flight of the auger. Luk

[@jpiekal56piekal75]

Best Regards, Luk

[@LukVanhauwaert]

George, Djienkoeje!!!