Plank Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting, repair, and maintenance

Food coming out too fast

If you find that some freeze dried food is being pushed out of the mixing chamber too quickly, it may be because the water flow/swirl speed is too aggressive.  Try turning the grey valve counter-clockwise to reduce the flow through the pump, as seen in this picture:

Another consideration is that the bottom of the mixing pump chamber/tube is meant to be approximately four inches (10cm) below the water level.  If it is less than this, the output nozzle might be too close to the surface and cause the water to spin too quickly inside.  For minor adjustments, you can push the tube down a little bit below flush with the surface of the mounting platform.  If you need it to be considerably lower, please contact us for a longer mixing tube.

Sometimes the opposite problem occurs when the water level is too high relative to the mounting platform, and water splashes up above the tube and onto the platform.  This can happen when the water level is very close to, or touching, the bottom of the mounting platform.  In addition to turning the flow nozzle to minimum as described above, a simple solution to try is to push the tube up higher than the top of the mounting platform, as much as a half-inch above flush with the platform.  If the tube is pushed up so high as to contact the overhanging keg, be sure that water does not splash up and wet the end of the auger.  If your tank's water level is so high that this does not solve the problem, please contact us for additional special mounting options.

A note on extra-long mixing tubes

Many users have opted for over-sump installations (or up in a canopy), necessitating a longer mixing chamber tube.  While this generally works fine, we advise that the max length be kept to about fourteen inches (35cm).  These longer tubes have an increased risk of allowing fine freeze-dried food particles to stick to the insides as they fall to the water below, particularly if they have any condensation inside.  This can cause a buildup over time if not periodically cleaned, and make a mess.  Be sure to check extra long mixing tubes for food buildup as a regular maintenance item!

Replacing the auger