November 1, 2020 - 10:21am
Famag IM5-IM5S
There's been some discussion about the locking mechanism on the Famags, with talk about reversing the direction of the base plate. Seems it just substitutes trouble with the bowl lock not holding for trouble getting it to unlock. I know the manufacturer has corrected the breaker bar (to an offset bar) on as purchased machines. Has there been a correction on the faulty locks on the removeable bowls?
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Hi Nikki, I have an IM-5S that I bought earlier this year. From the moment I unpacked it, it took excessive force to unlock the bowl. I never experienced a problem with it unlocking accidentally, but haven't loaded the bowl to its max either. Following advice from Zuri Barniv on an earlier thread, I reversed the locking plate. At times it can be difficult to unlock the bowl regardless of the orientation of that plate. I've found that the bowl does not always sit perfectly level on the plate. Have not spent the diagnostic time to know if this is because of how the four 'feet' are positioned on the bowl.
At any rate, I find that pressing the edge of the bowl on the inside lip, nearest the housing and dough hook, makes it a bit easier to release. Easier, but far from perfect.
The machines have been on back order and are quite scarce. Hopefully come December or so, a new purchaser can enlighten all of us on how the bowl lock is behaving. If no one has an answer before then, I hope you will repost your question at the end of the year. Meanwhile, if you are using one, I hope you are enjoying it. The mixing and dough development capability is simply superb.
Thanks , GrainBrain, for your input. I think that it is incumbent on a manufacturer to make sure such a problem doesn't cloud the reputation of this machine. (Another responder isn't having the problem.) Is it the luck of the draw? I'm very tempted otherwise.
I recently bought a Famag 5S from Pleasant Hill Grain. The bowl locking mechanism is fine on mine.
I got mine about a month ago and I have struggled just to get it to lock in general, it doesn't matter what way the plate is either for me. The bowl rarely locks and the bowl sensor constantly shuts off the unit unless it is covered in foil.
That sounds completely unacceptable. What has been the result? Any satisfaction from manufacturer or distributor?
Hello!
I am having a difficult time removing the bowl of my Famag 5. When I turn the plate, the bowl turns with the plate.
So, I have my brother hold the bowl in place, while I turn the plate below to unlock the bowl.
But, it shouldn't take 2 persons.
What am I doing wrong? Please advise.
Thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
Sherry
Hello Sherry,
Probably every user has shared your frustration getting used to their FAMAG.
My model is the IM.5S, with a tilting head.
I agree that it should not take 2 persons, but it's best to use two hands.
With the head tilted up, I lay my left forearm across the top of the bowl.
While pressing down on the near side of the rim with my forearm, the fingers of my left hand securely grab the outside of the bowl while my thumb presses against the inside.
With the bowl firmly held by my left forearm and fingers, I rotate the disc plate using my right hand.
Sometimes one foot of the bowl is not aligned with the other three, making this harder.
When re-inserting the bowl onto the disc, verify that all four receiving holes/slots are fully open.
This ensures the bowl is properly seated and as level as possible.
Hope this helps you enjoy your machine, it's awesome at mixing and kneading any dough I've made.
Best wishes,
GrainBrain
Dear GrainBrain:
Thank you for your quick reply. I called and spoke with a technical rep, Darren with Pleasant Hill Grains (PHG). He suggested removing the bolts on the bottom of the bowl and inserting special shims. I will try that. Since I purchased my Famag 5 w/tilting head from them, they will send me the shims.
Hopefully, that will solve the problem.
Thanks again for the quick reply. Much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Sherry
Dear Grainbrain:
The bolts below the bowl were on very tight. I couldn't remove them. PHG suggested a pair of pliers or a channellock. I had no luck. So, I took my bowl to my car mechanic. He sprayed something under the bolts and they easily screwed out.
Kind regards,
Sherry
When you are inserting the shims, I found the best approach was to remove all 4 feet, place a mark near one screw, then try fitting shims and testing the bowl locking mechanism for that one foot until you got the height just right, then repeat for each foot one by one to get the height exactly right.
Dear Barryvabeach:
Thank you for your response. What do you mean by "place a mark near one screw"? Where do I place the mark? Please advise. Would it be possible to attach a photo?
Thanks again.
Kind regards
Sherry
Dear Barryvabeach:
If I get the height right, will the shims solve my problem (i.e., very difficult to remove the bowl off the locking plate)? Please advise.
Thanks again.
Kind regards,
Sherry
Sherry, so take off all 4 feet. Use a magic marker to place an arrow near one of the screws. Then adjust the height - by adding and removing spacers, of the foot that the arrow is pointing at so that when you put the bowl on the locking plate, the plate turns smoothly and then locks in place at the right point. Once you have it right, I wrapped the foot in some cloth and used pliers to make sure it was on tight. Then repeat for the next foot - ( choose an order - for ex, clockwise from the mark will be the next foot you adjust, you will be putting the bowl on and off numerous times and you want to be sure which one you are adjusting at a time. ) Then continue to repeat until you have done all 4 feet.
Yes, once you get the feet at the exact right height - the bowl will sit on the plate, you will turn the locking plate and it will clamp the bowl firmly, then you can easily turn it in the other direction to release. If one or more of the feet has too many shims or too few shims, it will be extremely difficult to turn the locking plate. You did get the shim set from Pleasant Hill Grain - correct? If not, you can just make up shims from an aluminum can.
BTW, once you get the shims sorted, you will love the machine - it does a great job.
One tip, when you have cleaned the bowl and are putting it back on the machine, it is best to orient it so that the feet rest on the plate - when you are ready to use it, just spin the bowl by hand so that the feet drop in the holes. If you don't do this and put the bowl so it rests on the plate, if there is any moisture on the plate or the bottom of the bowl, you will get pitting on the plate .
Greetings:
Thank you for the response. I was able to remove all 4 feet.
With the magic marker where do I place the arrow on the screw? Sorry, I'm confused.
Yes, I got the shims set form Pleasant Hill Grain. I will try adding the shims this weekend.
Thanks for the tip. Sorry, I must be very stupid. I don't quite understand the tip. I think you are saying that it's a bad idea to store the wet bowl on the plate. because the moisture will cause pitting on the plate. So, I will store the bowl separate from the plate until I am ready to use it. That way, it will always be dry.
Thanks again. Much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Sherry
Sherry, I will take a .photo tonight to explain it better.
Sherry, sorry, my explanation was not as clear. So when you start you will take off 3 of the feet, and just start adjusting shims till you get one foot perfect - see how the arrow points to that one ( I choose it at random ) then I drew another arrow pointing clockwise just to remind myself, the next foot I want to put on and adjust is clockwise, then once that is done, I continue in a clockwise pattern. until I have all 4 adjusted perfectly. The point of the first mark is just to make sure I don't get confused as I flip the bowl backwards and forwards and testing, that I know which foot I am adjusting. Hope that makes sense. On storing the bowl, yes, even if it seems dry, I and a number of users on facebook, have had piting on the plate and realized it was just moisture. Now I just make sure that it is resting with the feet not it the holes for a day or two to be sure it is totally dry.
Dear Barryvabeach:
Thank you for the detailed explanation and the photo. I understand now. I will work on this this weekend.
Meanwhile, I will not use my Famag 5 because it's very very difficult to get the bowl off the locking plate. The last time, I had to clean it in place because I couldn't remove it.
Thanks again.
Sherry
Sherry, stick with it. I could not turn the plate to lock the bowl at all when I got it, within 10 minutes of playing with shims, I got it working perfectly.
Greetings:
Thank you for the encouragement. I can easily get the bowl to lock onto the plate. I just can't remove it without brute force or with 2 people struggling to remove it.
One time, I gave up and just cleaned it in place. But, that was really hard.
I will try this weekend.
Thanks again.
Sherry
Dear BarryVaBeach:
Thank you. It worked. After adding the shims, the mixing bowl removes easily.
Thanks again.
Sherry
Sherry, thanks for the follow up post, it may help someone with the same problem in the future.