N50 Arrived...now for the refurb
EDIT August 2024:
Links to the oft-requested N50 service manuals and parts diagrams:
1) N50 Spec Sheet: https://nextcloud.ratiro.org.nz/s/7zR9YC7p7mdNLTc
2) N50 Mixer Parts Catalog: https://nextcloud.ratiro.org.nz/s/rr4yAK2Qb8a87PX
3) N50 Instruction Manual: https://nextcloud.ratiro.org.nz/s/YnFg9RnMNmkLNdJ
4) N50 Service manual (1983) with updates: https://nextcloud.ratiro.org.nz/s/ycGn7C6fPXXNdbN
Enjoy!
Woohoo - my new second hand N50 (ML-33777) just arrived tonight. As the seller had said, there's some superficial wear and tear - mostly worn paint. The bowl lock tab was snapped off, and the rubber feet are missing, as are the attahment cap and its thumb screw. The switch cover is also a little warped and the attachment hub spring is broken. And the wire whip is missing some tynes. Annoyingly the new OEM N50 dough hook I just ordered doesn't quite fit and lock on the shaft (the whip and new beater do perfectly, so I'm assuming it's a just a poorly machined hook).
Other than that - and in the most important aspect - she runs smoothly at all speeds and the gears change easily, with no nasty noises.
I'm looking forward to tearing it down for a refurb over the next few weeks, and I will order new parts tomorrow. Am planning to strip and powder coat the main metal parts.
Wish me luck without the service manual - although the free parts diagrams are helpful. Having pulled apart and rebuilt my old British car's engine, suspension and electrics (but not the gearbox yet), I'm assuming I can handle it.
I'm planning on repacking the gears and transmission with either wheel bearing grease (bentone/clay based, same as Shell Darina) or white lithium grease. Food grade is not a major concern, since this won't be in a commercial environment.
EDIT: my restoration experience is documented on this updated thread: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/24332/hobart-n50-restoration-experience
Try and take some pictures of the whole procedure, I'm sure it could be very beneficial to some.
My Hobart copy is leaking some oil right now as well, and I need to repack some bearings and replace some seals as well I think.
Someone already beat me to it (I'm glad of it).
Here's an excellent photo series of a tear-down, powder coating and rebuild of an N50. I'm just going to familiarise myself with it now! :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zug/sets/72157622051782719/
I think you will love your mixer!
isn't expensive; the premium over regular grease is insignificant. I strongly recommend it. My local Grainger has it.
Some of the additives in good ol' wheal bearing grease are pretty obnoxious and the mixer is never going to work hard enough to know the difference.
Fair point. I'll check out the prices. I was a little leery after reading how much Hobart charged for their 'official' grease, when i can buy a good sized tub of wheel bearing grease for a few dollars. I know - it's odd to cheap out after spending several hundred on the mixer itself and the time to rebuild it!
That said, I may as well put food grade grease in my car's wheel bearings, as it's just about as likely to come into contact with food as the grease inside my soon-to-be-well-rebuilt Hobart!
crc food grade lube
There are others; some more, some less. Your local commercial supply should have something that matches the specs of the crc product, it's not unique. Hobart is not in the lube business. They are just reselling something packaged for them.
http://www.google.com/search?q=food+grade+grease&hl=en&num=10&lr=&ft=i&cr=countryNZ&safe=images&tbs=
You might want to go with the food grade in your wheel bearings if you're in the habit of scavenging road kill. ;-)
Ouch... the CRC foodgrade is $35 per small cartridge here ($10-12 USD overseas). Thanks for the links - something to mull over.
I've got the mixer pretty much fully apart now - not too difficult at all. Just taking it slowly and taking pictures to help me work out exactly where everything goes (and more importantly, how to get it back together). It's actually easier than the parts diagrams would have one believe.
So, the metal casing pieces are off to the powder coaters tomorrow, and hopefully everything will be back together by week's end.
Will post pics of the completed project in due course (he says hopefully).
Sweet. What color are you going with?
Did you try googling lube suppliers, there ought to be a local blender making their own for more reasonable money. You could try going to a local auto parts supplier, check out the conventional lubes and then search or email to see if they make a food grade.
Any of these helpful?
http://www.moreys.co.nz/details.php?&name=GUARDIAN+ALUMINIUM+COMPLEX+GREASEcatID=21&productID=74
http://www.moreys.co.nz/details.php?&name=GUARDIAN+ALUMINIUM+COMPLEX+GREASEcatID=21&productID=74
Oh yeah: contact your local bearing supplier, they service the food industry and you can't have bearings without grease. they should have it and if they don't they'll know where to find it.
I look forward to your pics!
Yeah, the Morey's link was useful. I think I'll go with them (prices pending).
I have gone for the Morey's Crystal Blue Food Grade Synthetic (http://www.moreyoil.co.nz/details.php?&name=MOREYS+CRYSTAL+BLUE+SYNTHETIC+GREASEcatID=21&productID=72)
Looking at the specs I'm sure it's waaay overkill for the application, but like the mixer, no point in doing things by halves, I figure. At $164USD for a 2.5kg tub it had better be good stuff - and I'm not planning on changing it for at least 10 years!
Hi breadman, this is a really great thread; thanks from a newbie. I've recently purchased a dead N50 off TradeMe and I now need to get the parts and service manuals to undertake the strip down and repairs. Are you still able to supply a copy of the parts and service manual?
best regards
Greg
Hah! So you were the person who accepted the Fixed Price Offer faster than me!
I was going to bid, but forgot. Was considering it for spare parts, as the Hobart USA parts store needs a US credit card, and parts aren't cheap. However I'm glad she's gone to a good home with a view to restoring to working order. Hopefully it's a cheap fix!
PM me with your email address and I'll flick you the correct service manual.