Garden mulcher/shredder

[skouser]

HI,

At 70 I'm trying to get to grips with this Internet thingymajig, so if I've written this in the wrong place or in some other way I've broken the rules, please accept my apologies; the fact that I'm able to write this at all is a triumph for me. Anyhow, down to business. Can anybody please help me?

I recently bought a used shredder off Gumtree. The details of which are: Performance Power, quiet shredder, 2500w, model: PSS500, I think it's a B&Q machine, but they appear not to make it any longer. When I bought it, it was working perfectly and for the past few days it worked faultlessly. However, when I came to adjust the pressure plate, something snapped and the machine stopped shredding and began to just break the sinews of the wood.

On inspection I discovered that the adjusting mechanism is not of a robust design. The housing in which it is held is cast metal and it was obvious that the strain of holding the pressure plate against the rotary blades had caused it to fail, taking out a piece of the cast metal. After some thought I recognised that I could make a repair that would not only be successful, but would be stronger that the original design.

After carefully taking the unit to pieces, marking and noting what wire went where, I cut and drilled a piece of metal to order. Then I drilled two holes through the cast on either side of the break and bolted my piece of metal, as a bridge across the broken piece of cast, securely pinning the damaged section in place.

Again, carefully, I reversed the dismantling process, I put all the screws in the right place; I reconnected all the wires correctly; bolted the whole unit down on its base, inserted the collecting bin, ensuring the safety pin was in place. I tried the repair and the pressure plate moved in against the blades and back as the knurled knob was turned. Success! I thought. But when I plugged it in nothing happened. I changed the fuse – to no avail. I took the unit apart again to check the wiring, everything was put back right as I had known it had been.

Can anybody offer any help please? I have never been afraid to tackle any mechanical objects, but I am no expert with electrics – therefore, I would welcome help in that area especially. I think it is necessary to point point out that the unit was working before I dismantled it.

I thank you in anticipation of your very welcome expertise.

 

[Crystalclear]

Hey Skouser.

I've found this on google. I'm running through the pages on the per file.

Have a look at page 12 of the manual. I think it will have your solution. Fingers crossed.

http://www.adendorff.co.za/DownloadFile?id=378

 

[skouser]

Thanks for that Crystalclear, I have downloaded the pages and am printing them. I will get back to you.
Thanks again.

 

[skouser]

Thanks again Crystalclear for taking the time to find that information for me, but after checking out that section on troubleshooting I was unable to fix the problem. My model of shredder seems to be a little later than the one in the download and does not have a reset facility. Still, I am not about to give up and I have began a process that I hope will eventually lead to the source of my problem, enabling me to put it right and get this damn shredder working.

I have come to realise that I will need to test the whole electrical system and since nobody has come forward to tell me how to do this I have bought a good quality multimeter and embarked on a learning curve to master its use. I had a cheap multimeter some years ago and burned it out because I didn't know what I was doing, but I am currently learning to use this new one properly, and more to the point safely, by following a number of on-line video tutorials.

For anybody reading this, if you are interested, I will keep you updated as to my progress in learning to use the multimeter - and when I finally source the problem with the shredder and get it working. And I will use my knowledge to help anybody else if I can. But all of this is not going to happen overnight so please: watch this space and please be patient.

 

[ntb]

Have you checked the fuse in the plug?

 

[skouser]

Thank you for your assistance, but please see paragraph 5 of my original post.

 

[ntb]

Ok. At any part of the casing that is designed to come apart there is likely a pressure switch which will cut the power for safety reasons when taken apart. If not seated correctly on reassembly it will not work.

 

[Burnerman]

In the past I have had problems with the reversing switch on similar machines (Bosch and Atco to be precise) so if you can bypass it, maybe?
Did the motor actually stall when the anvil cracked, do you remember?
It's worth checking spares availability too.....sometimes it can be a real problem. A shame when you seemed to be on a roll with this one!
John

 

[skouser]

Thanks for your interest and for offering your ideas folks. I have checked all over and can't find a safety switch, apart from the one in the collecting bin that must be engaged in the unit before the motor will start. As regards the reversing switch I think it is probably okay as the whole unit was working perfectly before muggings here took it apart. I feel everything seems to be pointing to an electrical fault, which I hope to find and fix when I have viewed all the videos on the multimeter. For anyone interested, here are those tutorials:

 

[skouser]

Success!

I tested all the wires in the machine for continuity and discovered something strange. I was getting a reading on all wires except for a neutral wire. This really puzzled me because it was coming from the plug and showed a reading all along its length, (in and out of a plastic connecting block, which I checked was fully inserted and clicked into place) except where it was fixed in the machine. This indicated that this neutral wire was causing the problem, but where? I was flummoxed and eventually called an electrician friend who found the problem in minutes.

The plastic connector, although securely clicked back into place was not making contact and it was my fault. The metal spades inside the plastic connector were so flimsy that when I put the unit back together after making the repair, the neutral male spade bent upwards, completely missing its female counterpart. My friend told me this is often the cause of faults on electrical appliances when the plastic blocks have been separated so it pays to check these.

Anyhow I am now back to shredding and mulching and making up for lost time and I hope my experience and subsequent discovery helps you all.

Thanks once again to everybody who offered words of wisdom to help me.

I will monitor this site and attempt to return that favour whenever I think I can make a useful contribution.

 

[ntb]

Glad it worked out. Thanks for letting us know the outcome.