Fahrenheit Technologies Endurance 50F Information

If you replace the 1/8 in. SS on the bottom griddle with 1/8 in. Titanium could be the answer and save time with no modification to the sub-frame.
I'm bringing that up for brainstorming on the issue. I look it over and the ignitor is already very close to the griddle so it could be a way to get around it.
Adding the 1/4 material to the pusher/other side pot seems easy enough to do with little modification.

 

Yes, but how would you adhere the titanium to the rest of the pot? I ask because it can't be welded...and that part of the pot is under stress due to the pusher movement...so I'd think any other bonding adhesive would be out...but it's a good idea if you could figure the attachment part out...

 

Wasn't aware of the welding issue but maybe screw it with recessed machine hex screws. All we need to replace is the bottom plate only, two square pieces where the cracks appear. Or V-notch the 1/4 in. SS at the ignitor area?

 

Well...maybe...but sitting here thinking about it I'd be a tall task. I guess you could cut out the stainless V, make a titanium V, then make L brackets at same angle as V and weld to the vertical pot sides (this is where it might get tricky because you can't affect how it lays in the frame) and "rest" the V on those...then mark and drill/tap the recessed screws into the brackets. I guess my major concern would be the significant differences in the rate of expansion between titanium and just about all other metals...not sure if that would cause issues or not.

If someone has some titanium kicking around I'd be happy fab this up for them as a test bed (I have a spare pot/plasma cutter and 100% argon required to weld). 4" flat would work nicely...

 

OK...did some more reading and I'm not sure titanium would work so well...the issue would be the steel pusher rubbing against the ti...that would cause the ti to wear quickly unless lubricant can be used...but at 1,000 degrees...I don't think so...

 

Will keep tinkering ideas. You've did the pusher and front ash disposal. One more to go. I just finished my air intake damper arm assembly. Will post pics soon.....

 

Actually, I'm installing the SS pot into a heavily modified frame...trying to fix what I see as shortcomings in the V3 design. Taking longer than expected, but fortunately weather has been cooperating thus far! I'll shoot some pics over the weekend. I will tell ya that modifying the frame is an arduous task. I'm thinking of designing a new frame...something to ponder whilst on da throne

 

Disregard the white scale drawing on the vent, big tip felt does no justice
I created a spring tension adjuster to keep things somewhat tight
Next on the list is the cold air return and the cleaning gizmo

 

What's this all about? Did you go and make yourself an auto dampener?

 

No, got fed up bending down to adjust when needed
Slight adjustments at standing level, will help after I install a temperature probe inside one of the heat exchange tubes to dial in a maximum heat setting
Now you got me tinkering about a auto-cruise damper

 

Air inlet manually adjusted.

 

So...I finally got around to my modified frame/pot thingy this weekend. It was a real PITA to get the 1/4" pot in there and re-engineer some of the things I personally didn't like. Here's what I did...pics below or wherever they show up:
1) Had to dissect the frame (cut mount plate from pot holder to gain reasonable access).
2) I didn't like the "slotted" method used on the stocker, so I opted to weld in a platform to mount a gasket for better sealing. This took a lot of work because the rear or the pusher needs to sit approx. 4" up to align with the pusher arm. Plus welding in very confined area was challenging.
3) If you didn't know the incoming air is split 50/50 in the frame. 50% goes directly under the pot and the other 50% is directed through the door and back around into the pot. Knowing that you can see how important (and crazy) having a tight door is. All I know is that I've loss count of the # of issues the need for a tight door has caused (and you can't put a gasket on the stocker because the surface area is like 1/16th). Bent doors, bent arms, and who knows what else (I can tell you my frame wasn't all that square either) so I decided to try something else. I removed the 50/50 plate to allow all the air under the pot. I closed off the door ports in the frame (that was fun) as well.
4) Because I'm no fan of the stock door I decided to cut out a new, one piece, unit out of 1/4" SS. This required borrowing the hinge pins from the stocker...I mounted those with a 1/16" offset as now I have plenty of surface area for a gasket (note - I don't need a gasket at this moment since I haven't routed any air through the door, but I will be adding that on so I'll need the gasket in place regardless). This unit is actually lighter and seals far better than the stock door I modified with the 1/4" SS face.
5) The door opened way too far so I had to modify the pusher arm (I think 2.5" is about as far as that door can swing open) and then find a creative way to have it "lightly" seal against my soon to be added door gasket. I welded in some L brackets for the arm hooks to grab onto...nothing fancy because I don't need a million tons of pressure anymore to close the door.
6) Lastly I added full size wings to the pot with mounting screws welded in to guide the pot on the frame and keep it there during pusher movement...those should also help seal it better too...

Now - this has not yet been tested...hopefully it all goes in and only minor tweaks are needed to have reliable operation. I've tested it manually and it seems to function, but will report back when it's installed and running...

 

You've been busy
Can't wait for the results
This pot is all new to me and the modifications are a little hard to follow but I'll catch on soon enough

 

I hear ya bro...I've spent way too much time on this

In all honesty, to just deal with the pot failure itself, you might be able to cut out the stocker 1/8" V and replace with maybe a 3/16" or if you're daring a 1/4" V with the only modification required being to the igniter (would need to be shimmed or shortened). But that's definitely easier said then done...at least in my opinion as I've done it several times swapping out the non-igniter side on bad pots to the igniter side on a repaired pot (mine always fail on the igniter side first).

But I was after more...I want this to be a one-time fix for several issues...and that led to the pics above...hopefully I achieved some of those goals?!?!??!??!

 

Modified frame & 1/4" pot installed (notice my broken bolt fix...)...tested pusher operation & door clearance. Closes fine, but need to shave a 1/16th or so as door lightly touches the cabinet when pusher is all the way forward...no big deal...Just need to fit igniter and see if it fires up...

 

Was there a rope gasket in the original design? or a Dexter's mod? or your own DIY?
I could see the air seeping through the whole pot assembly and not directed 100% to where it should go!
Thumbs up getting her done
A bolt instead of a nut, much easier to fix
The igniter, you can try having a slight downward lean to clear the 1/4" pot and having a wedge gasket to seal it

 

No gaskets in the original design...I used 1/8" flat gaskets...I'll take those over the porous slotted method on the OEM anytime!

So...I fired it up yesterday and wow...it burns 10x better than I can remember! Took a bit longer to ignite (guessing thicker pot is the cause), but once going it produces a tall white flame! Best part is that I'm only giving it about 1/2 the air it was getting last year...

I took a vid, but this site doesn't seem to allow vids...

Still need to work out a few more patched items (need to widen my re-light plate and scrapper slightly), but otherwise real happy with my front door mods...was going to add air to the front door, but not needed at all!!

 

The video, make a U-tube video and post link.