Slurryguy & Clair,
I wish we had had this discussion a month ago. I figured with Barry Fuller wanting 25,000 for a press and me needing one I could build one for a lot less. Bob Criswell and I emailed back and forth a couple of times, and talked of design issues but I went another direction when I took a stroll in the "back 40".
I found an old posthole auger that you would mount on a 3 point hitch and drive from the PTO off a tractor. It is 6" diameter and 3 feet long and I figured it would be perfect to put in a pipe and push slurry into a box full of holes (for drainage) that slowly constricts (to build pressure) into the final shape of the wanted brick. This would create an extrusion of compressed PC and then one could have a hydraulic press (or a hand saw) that cuts it to length and put holes in the brick (if desired) at the same time. I was hoping to get 500 to 800 psi out of the auger. I don't know how tight a grain auger is but mine is tight inside its housing (6" PVC pipe for a test). Also I don't understand parts of Clair's statement "when you press you have to let the mix drain off for at least 6 hrs then you can press quite fast and remove them from the press by hand." Are you letting your mixed slurry sit for 6 hours in the tow mixer or in a hopper? Is it draining off water while it sits there?
I have the auger off the posthole apparatus, the box is half built (I decided to use plywood first as a test) and I am looking for bearings, pulleys, and engine. I was going to mount my auger horizontal so it just pushes out the compressed extrusion horizontally to cut on a rolling slab/conveyor/table.
Maybe I need to re-think. I was assuming if they can generate these huge pressures with augers for plastic molds it would be possible with PC.
Ron
I wish we had had this discussion a month ago. I figured with Barry Fuller wanting 25,000 for a press and me needing one I could build one for a lot less. Bob Criswell and I emailed back and forth a couple of times, and talked of design issues but I went another direction when I took a stroll in the "back 40".
I found an old posthole auger that you would mount on a 3 point hitch and drive from the PTO off a tractor. It is 6" diameter and 3 feet long and I figured it would be perfect to put in a pipe and push slurry into a box full of holes (for drainage) that slowly constricts (to build pressure) into the final shape of the wanted brick. This would create an extrusion of compressed PC and then one could have a hydraulic press (or a hand saw) that cuts it to length and put holes in the brick (if desired) at the same time. I was hoping to get 500 to 800 psi out of the auger. I don't know how tight a grain auger is but mine is tight inside its housing (6" PVC pipe for a test). Also I don't understand parts of Clair's statement "when you press you have to let the mix drain off for at least 6 hrs then you can press quite fast and remove them from the press by hand." Are you letting your mixed slurry sit for 6 hours in the tow mixer or in a hopper? Is it draining off water while it sits there?
I have the auger off the posthole apparatus, the box is half built (I decided to use plywood first as a test) and I am looking for bearings, pulleys, and engine. I was going to mount my auger horizontal so it just pushes out the compressed extrusion horizontally to cut on a rolling slab/conveyor/table.
Maybe I need to re-think. I was assuming if they can generate these huge pressures with augers for plastic molds it would be possible with PC.
Ron
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