Yes I'm afraid I did go and buy one last week - hey, at £129 and a
3-year warranty it's got to be worth a go?

Anyway, this afternoon's project was to assemble the beast. Took some
time given that the whole kit was reduced to a box about 18" cube, and
the instructions don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to reality...
anyway, I now have the usual problem of having a small pile of
components left over - which is never a good thing, is it?

I'll probably try ringing the manufacturer next week, but I wondered if
anyone else had been there, done that, and had the answers? Here's the
list:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end
- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm
- 4 'fibrous' washers - I already used 4 inside the drum, interposed
between the blades and the inside of the drum - was that right?
- Lots of spring washers which weren't mentioned at all, but aren't
enough to use everywhere possible - where's most important?

Plenty more small bits and pieces, and I'm sure most are just spare. I
must admit though, it's the chain which has me most foxed!

David

Lobster wrote:
Yes I'm afraid I did go and buy one last week - hey, at £129 and a
3-year warranty it's got to be worth a go?

Anyway, this afternoon's project was to assemble the beast. Took some
time given that the whole kit was reduced to a box about 18" cube, and
the instructions don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to reality...
anyway, I now have the usual problem of having a small pile of
components left over - which is never a good thing, is it?

I'll probably try ringing the manufacturer next week, but I wondered
if anyone else had been there, done that, and had the answers?
Here's the list:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end
- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm
- 4 'fibrous' washers - I already used 4 inside the drum, interposed
between the blades and the inside of the drum - was that right?
- Lots of spring washers which weren't mentioned at all, but aren't
enough to use everywhere possible - where's most important?

Plenty more small bits and pieces, and I'm sure most are just spare.
I must admit though, it's the chain which has me most foxed!

David

I suspect the chain is for holding something into position
or stopping it going further than its normal setting?
--

Sir Benjamin Midllethwaite

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 19:03:27 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Yes I'm afraid I did go and buy one last week - hey, at £129 and a
3-year warranty it's got to be worth a go?

Anyway, this afternoon's project was to assemble the beast. Took some
time given that the whole kit was reduced to a box about 18" cube, and
the instructions don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to reality...
anyway, I now have the usual problem of having a small pile of
components left over - which is never a good thing, is it?

I'll probably try ringing the manufacturer next week, but I wondered if
anyone else had been there, done that, and had the answers? Here's the
list:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end
- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm
- 4 'fibrous' washers - I already used 4 inside the drum, interposed
between the blades and the inside of the drum - was that right?
- Lots of spring washers which weren't mentioned at all, but aren't
enough to use everywhere possible - where's most important?

Plenty more small bits and pieces, and I'm sure most are just spare. I
must admit though, it's the chain which has me most foxed!

David

One end connects to the frame of the mixer, the other to the ankle
iron of the newly arrived Eastern European.
Hurry up before the Chinese get him!
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
Lobster wrote:

I'll probably try ringing the manufacturer next week, but I wondered
if anyone else had been there, done that, and had the answers?
Here's the list:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end

I suspect the chain is for holding something into position
or stopping it going further than its normal setting?

You'd think so, but I'll be damned if I can see where! It's only puny, too.

David

Lobster wrote:
The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
Lobster wrote:

I'll probably try ringing the manufacturer next week, but I wondered
if anyone else had been there, done that, and had the answers?
Here's the list:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end

I suspect the chain is for holding something into position
or stopping it going further than its normal setting?

You'd think so, but I'll be damned if I can see where! It's only
puny, too.

David

Throw some pics up of it in four different angle positions
--

Sir Benjamin Midllethwaite

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 19:03:27 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end

Possibly attaches to a pin/peg to stop it getting lost. Does it have
collapsible legs and a peg locking it in position.

- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm

Is it used for easing the drive belt on and off? If not, it must be a
special free poking stick for poking people.

- 4 'fibrous' washers - I already used 4 inside the drum, interposed
between the blades and the inside of the drum - was that right?

Possibly the other four go on the outside? I assume they are to
prevent water leaking out.

- Lots of spring washers which weren't mentioned at all, but aren't
enough to use everywhere possible - where's most important?

Anywhere that'll shake loose.

Plenty more small bits and pieces, and I'm sure most are just spare. I
must admit though, it's the chain which has me most foxed!

It's always better to have too many parts rather than not enough..

sponix

Lobster wrote:

- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm


This is for aligning the pulleys.

CRB

crb wrote:
Lobster wrote:

- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm


This is for aligning the pulleys.

CRB

could be for locking the mixer drum in place while it mixes and taken out
when the you empty the drum?

--

Sir Benjamin Midllethwaite

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 21:04:04 +0000, sponix wrote:

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 19:03:27 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end

Possibly attaches to a pin/peg to stop it getting lost. Does it have
collapsible legs and a peg locking it in position.

- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm

Is it used for easing the drive belt on and off? If not, it must be a
special free poking stick for poking people.

- 4 'fibrous' washers - I already used 4 inside the drum, interposed
between the blades and the inside of the drum - was that right?

Possibly the other four go on the outside? I assume they are to
prevent water leaking out.

- Lots of spring washers which weren't mentioned at all, but aren't
enough to use everywhere possible - where's most important?

Anywhere that'll shake loose.

Plenty more small bits and pieces, and I'm sure most are just spare. I
must admit though, it's the chain which has me most foxed!

It's always better to have too many parts rather than not enough..



There could be even more after it's switched on :-)



--

..andy

sponix wrote:

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 19:03:27 GMT, Lobster
wrote:


- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end


Possibly attaches to a pin/peg to stop it getting lost. Does it have
collapsible legs and a peg locking it in position.

Yup, I have seen some used like that - a bit like attaching the chuck
key to the flex of the drill ;-)

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Yes I'm afraid I did go and buy one last week - hey, at £129 and a
3-year warranty it's got to be worth a go?

Anyway, this afternoon's project was to assemble the beast. Took some
time given that the whole kit was reduced to a box about 18" cube, and
the instructions don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to reality...
anyway, I now have the usual problem of having a small pile of
components left over - which is never a good thing, is it?

I'll probably try ringing the manufacturer next week, but I wondered if
anyone else had been there, done that, and had the answers? Here's the
list:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end
- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm
- 4 'fibrous' washers - I already used 4 inside the drum, interposed
between the blades and the inside of the drum - was that right?
- Lots of spring washers which weren't mentioned at all, but aren't
enough to use everywhere possible - where's most important?

Plenty more small bits and pieces, and I'm sure most are just spare. I
must admit though, it's the chain which has me most foxed!

David

LOL - it makes me glad I didn't buy one.. ;-)

Paul Andrews wrote:
"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Yes I'm afraid I did go and buy one last week - hey, at £129 and a
3-year warranty it's got to be worth a go?

Anyway, this afternoon's project was to assemble the beast. Took
some time given that the whole kit was reduced to a box about 18"
cube, and the instructions don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to
reality... anyway, I now have the usual problem of having a small
pile of components left over - which is never a good thing, is it?

I'll probably try ringing the manufacturer next week, but I wondered
if anyone else had been there, done that, and had the answers?
Here's the list:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end
- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm
- 4 'fibrous' washers - I already used 4 inside the drum, interposed
between the blades and the inside of the drum - was that right?
- Lots of spring washers which weren't mentioned at all, but aren't
enough to use everywhere possible - where's most important?

Plenty more small bits and pieces, and I'm sure most are just spare.
I must admit though, it's the chain which has me most foxed!

David

LOL - it makes me glad I didn't buy one.. ;-)


Not everyone can put a flatpack together. ;-)

--

Sir Benjamin Midllethwaite

Lobster wrote:
I now have the usual problem of having a small pile of
components left over - which is never a good thing, is it?

Buy another three mixers and you should have enough bits left over to build
another one!

:-)


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

John Rumm wrote:
sponix wrote:

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 19:03:27 GMT, Lobster
wrote:


- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end

Possibly attaches to a pin/peg to stop it getting lost. Does it have
collapsible legs and a peg locking it in position.

Yup, I have seen some used like that - a bit like attaching the chuck
key to the flex of the drill ;-)


That's certainly the grade and length of chain you'd expect for that
sort of job; but no, there's nothing like a locking pin anywhere. It's
actually one of the machines's disadvantages which I can see immediately
IMHO, which is that it doesn't collapse easily (ie you'd need spanners
and it would be awkward) like those proper Bell jobs which sit on
removable stands; ie, really it needs a trailer or van to transport it.

Where's Chris P. Bacon when you need him!? ISTR he bought one of these too?

Seems to have been made in Doncaster, and amazingly, a phone number is
provided, so I'll give them a bell (no pun intended) tomorrow and
hopefully find out!

David

Lobster wrote:

Answers from the manufacturer below!:

Anyway, this afternoon's project was to assemble the beast. Took some
time given that the whole kit was reduced to a box about 18" cube, and
the instructions don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to reality...
anyway, I now have the usual problem of having a small pile of
components left over - which is never a good thing, is it?

I'll probably try ringing the manufacturer next week, but I wondered if
anyone else had been there, done that, and had the answers? Here's the
list:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end

The housing covering the motor is in two halves; one mounted to the
mixer frame, the other (like a lid) is attached to the first half with
three bolts. Cable feeding the motor (also attached to frame) is
clipped to inside of the 'lid' to avoid it snagging the drive belt, also
within the housing - however that means that if you ever need to undo
the lid it will hang on the electrical cable if not restrained. So the
chain connects the lid to the other half of the housing to take the
weight of the lid if it's unscrewed.

- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm

"Ah yes, quite a few people have phoned about that." Mistake -
shouldn't be in the pack!

- 4 'fibrous' washers -

"Erm... shouldn't be any loose ones of those...!" (used in the
manufacture but not needed at the diy assembly stage).

Oh well - at least I was able to readily talk to someone who knew what
they were talking about, which you might not expect for an el cheapo
Aldi product.

David

Lobster wrote:
Oh well - at least I was able to readily talk to someone who knew what
they were talking about, which you might not expect for an el cheapo
Aldi product.

You saved £70 compared to buying the same product from Tesco...

I'm glad you started this thread - I haven't put mine together
yet!

On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 12:03:45 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:

Lobster wrote:
Oh well - at least I was able to readily talk to someone who knew what
they were talking about, which you might not expect for an el cheapo
Aldi product.

You saved £70 compared to buying the same product from Tesco...

I'm glad you started this thread - I haven't put mine together
yet!

I pray I'll never need a cement mixer again, so I can't say I
inspected the offer at Aldi very closely. I do know that they usually
sell very good quality stuff at lower prices than the traditional
stores. I also know that a lot of people wish they wouldn't and act
accordingly.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 10:42:30 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Lobster wrote:

Answers from the manufacturer below!:

Anyway, this afternoon's project was to assemble the beast. Took some
time given that the whole kit was reduced to a box about 18" cube, and
the instructions don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to reality...
anyway, I now have the usual problem of having a small pile of
components left over - which is never a good thing, is it?

I'll probably try ringing the manufacturer next week, but I wondered if
anyone else had been there, done that, and had the answers? Here's the
list:

- Short length of chain with retaining bolts at either end

The housing covering the motor is in two halves; one mounted to the
mixer frame, the other (like a lid) is attached to the first half with
three bolts. Cable feeding the motor (also attached to frame) is
clipped to inside of the 'lid' to avoid it snagging the drive belt, also
within the housing - however that means that if you ever need to undo
the lid it will hang on the electrical cable if not restrained. So the
chain connects the lid to the other half of the housing to take the
weight of the lid if it's unscrewed.

- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm

"Ah yes, quite a few people have phoned about that." Mistake -
shouldn't be in the pack!

- 4 'fibrous' washers -

"Erm... shouldn't be any loose ones of those...!" (used in the
manufacture but not needed at the diy assembly stage).

Oh well - at least I was able to readily talk to someone who knew what
they were talking about, which you might not expect for an el cheapo
Aldi product.

David

Didn't know you could speak Chinese, or was it a call to Meccano? :-)



--

..andy

Andy Hall wrote:
On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 10:42:30 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Oh well - at least I was able to readily talk to someone who knew what
they were talking about, which you might not expect for an el cheapo
Aldi product.

Didn't know you could speak Chinese, or was it a call to Meccano? :-)

Doncaster actually - via a direct dial, standard rate number
which was provided for a customer-service type in the instructions. And
as Donny was in fact the town of my birth I was able to make out what he
was on about!

Seems like the mixer was actually manufactured there, in fact, rather
than in the Far East - although maybe they just put Chinese-made
components into cartons in Doncaster and call that 'manufacture', I
don't know. Company's called Nutool.

David

- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm


"Ah yes, quite a few people have phoned about that." Mistake -
shouldn't be in the pack!

Far be it for me to suggest that the manufacturer rep doesn't know what
he is talking about, but.....
The Aldi machine looks like a clone of the Machine Mart model I bought
last year, and the Machine Mart instructions said to use this 300mm x
8mm rod by placing it across the faces of the two pulleys to act as a
guide to align them. How otherwise have you ensured that the pulleys
are indeed aligned properly?

CRB

On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 14:51:13 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Seems like the mixer was actually manufactured there, in fact, rather
than in the Far East - although maybe they just put Chinese-made
components into cartons in Doncaster and call that 'manufacture', I
don't know. Company's called Nutool.

It's just a Chinese box stuffing rebranding company, they have a huge
warehouse close to the huge B&Q bulk distribution place next to the
A1(M) North of Doncaster.


--

crb wrote:
- Length of plain steel rod, about 300mm x 8mm

"Ah yes, quite a few people have phoned about that." Mistake -
shouldn't be in the pack!

Far be it for me to suggest that the manufacturer rep doesn't know what
he is talking about, but.....
The Aldi machine looks like a clone of the Machine Mart model I bought
last year, and the Machine Mart instructions said to use this 300mm x
8mm rod by placing it across the faces of the two pulleys to act as a
guide to align them. How otherwise have you ensured that the pulleys
are indeed aligned properly?

Sorry, you mentioned this yesterday, and I see what you mean now. I'm
sure you're absolutely right about this! I had aligned my pulleys by
eye, assuming that it wasn't too critical, because it didn't even
warrant a mention in the assembly instructions.

I've tried doing the alignment again,using the rod, and TBH I can't get
it any better than I already had; however it's not easy is it, because
the two wheels are of different thickness, and are quite inaccessible in
the back of the housing.

Anyway - any complimentary remarks I may have made earlier about
aftersales service for Aldi tools are hereby withdrawn...

David

Lobster wrote:

I've tried doing the alignment again,using the rod, and TBH I can't get

it any better than I already had; however it's not easy is it, because
the two wheels are of different thickness, and are quite inaccessible
in
the back of the housing.

Agreed. I cut an access hole to get a better sight-line, but it's
probably not that critical.

CRB

Lobster wrote:
4 'fibrous' washers - I already used 4 inside the drum, interposed
between the blades and the inside of the drum - was that right?

Sorry, forgot to mention that these washers (leather on the Machine
Mart machine) are placed both inside the drum as you have done, and in
the corresponding positions ouside the drum, under the bolt heads.

CRB

On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 14:51:13 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Andy Hall wrote:
On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 10:42:30 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Oh well - at least I was able to readily talk to someone who knew what
they were talking about, which you might not expect for an el cheapo
Aldi product.

Didn't know you could speak Chinese, or was it a call to Meccano? :-)

Doncaster actually - via a direct dial, standard rate number
which was provided for a customer-service type in the instructions. And
as Donny was in fact the town of my birth I was able to make out what he
was on about!

Seems like the mixer was actually manufactured there, in fact, rather
than in the Far East - although maybe they just put Chinese-made
components into cartons in Doncaster and call that 'manufacture', I
don't know. Company's called Nutool.

David


A warehouse rebranding operation with one or two people whose salary
can be justified on the reduction in the returns that would otherwise
happen....


--

..andy