shawnmichal
shawnmichal
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- Feb 23, 2015
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Well I've given up on my Powermatic, it's gone from bad but usable to unusable. I'm trying to get them to fix it but I'm not holding my breath.
Which Injector?
- Thread starter OldCigarette
- Start date
- Status
What are the symptoms?
Just my opinion, but there really isn't much that can or will go wrong with the Powermatic I Manual injector from Zico. Had mine for over 1-1/2 yrs, been broke 2x. 1st time was my fault. A month after I got it I definitely overstuffed it & forced it. They fixed it under warranty - had it back in less than a week. 2nd time my wife broke it. She says she didnt overstuff it, but I call BS. The pin (end of shaft left side of pic where crank handle attaches) was sheared off on BOTH sides. That pin is hardened tool steel! It was out of warranty so I fixed it myself in a couple hours. No big deal except for the 5 Cobalt drill bits I broke drilling it out! If anyone elses breaks the pin, do NOT try to hammer it out. You'll destroy the shaft before it budges. I replaced mine with a spring roll pin trimmed down & sanded to fit. Might break sooner - but I have a drawer full of replacements ready to go!
As for Customer Service they have been GREAT for me. Confirmed what the pin was made from, offered advice. Even told what their recommendation for lubricants. I am a happy customer. Anyone have a broken one they want to sell for dirt cheap?!
As for Customer Service they have been GREAT for me. Confirmed what the pin was made from, offered advice. Even told what their recommendation for lubricants. I am a happy customer. Anyone have a broken one they want to sell for dirt cheap?!
Started with the mini powermatic and have just started using the Powermatic 2 the electric one and have to say love it so easy to use once you get the hang of stuffing the tobacco into the left side so it fills properly down at the filter. Hard to overfill as it injects automaticly so if to much it jams and wont inject and you have to remove your heavy handed attempt at stuffing. Filled a 100 tubes in no time flat so quite happy.
Brown Thumb
Well-Known Member
I am still impressed with the Fresh Choice Stuffer.
Ain't cheap but is quick and when It breaks It will cost me 100 bucks to fix.
I have to buy 100 buck of there chit Baccy and they will fix it for free.
I can then give the Baccy away as presents at Christmas for the smokers I know.
Ain't cheap but is quick and when It breaks It will cost me 100 bucks to fix.
I have to buy 100 buck of there chit Baccy and they will fix it for free.
I can then give the Baccy away as presents at Christmas for the smokers I know.
DGBAMA
Well-Known Member
Bevel gears...... Nice. I was wondering how the "motion transfer" worked to move the injector with the vertical handle motion. The working actually look more robust than I would have expected.
Yeah, overall it is designed pretty stoutly. The only plastic pieces I found are for the little tab that holds the tube on while it fills. Although I do hope to step up to the PM2 eventually, I am very happy with the PM1 & the customer service.
I have the Powermatic I and it works very well as long as I do my part. For some time, I was getting it jammed up on a regular basis and didn't understand why. I made sure the tobacco was not too moist, didn't pack it in, and it would still jam up.
Then, I started paying closer attention to just what was going on. What I found was that there was a lot of small particles of tobacco. Basically, tobacco dust. It happens. tobacco does break up at times and you can have an accumulation of very small particles. I found that if I had a lot of fine tobacco particles, the likelihood of jamming increased a LOT. Of course, that was before I started using whole leaf too.
Now, I pay attention and dump the dust! Of course, I don't get much tobacco dust, or small particles, anymore either since I make sure the tobacco is in good shape moisture wise. Sometimes, it's a bit too moist and that causes the injector to be difficult to operate so, I let it dry out a little bit.
I also make sure that my shredded tobacco has good long strands! That helps keep the cigarette in shape as it burns and the cherry doesn't fall off onto my shirt. I hand shredded some, using a knife, and found that the larger (some were almost 1/4 inch wide) shreds didn't cause any problems at all either.
OK, my $0.02 is spent.
Then, I started paying closer attention to just what was going on. What I found was that there was a lot of small particles of tobacco. Basically, tobacco dust. It happens. tobacco does break up at times and you can have an accumulation of very small particles. I found that if I had a lot of fine tobacco particles, the likelihood of jamming increased a LOT. Of course, that was before I started using whole leaf too.
Now, I pay attention and dump the dust! Of course, I don't get much tobacco dust, or small particles, anymore either since I make sure the tobacco is in good shape moisture wise. Sometimes, it's a bit too moist and that causes the injector to be difficult to operate so, I let it dry out a little bit.
I also make sure that my shredded tobacco has good long strands! That helps keep the cigarette in shape as it burns and the cherry doesn't fall off onto my shirt. I hand shredded some, using a knife, and found that the larger (some were almost 1/4 inch wide) shreds didn't cause any problems at all either.
OK, my $0.02 is spent.
My Premier supermatic has lasted for 15 years and its still going strong. I take my excell when I go fishing and tha tthe pring gave out but it is still going stron. The bigges thing that goes is the spring on the handle but thats an easy fix and you do not need the spring for the excell. Doug at ryo magazine say these and the normal top o matic are built to last.
Nesikep
Member
Injectors are hard to find around here... I can't even find a working pocket injector.. the Roll-right and Zen are absolute garbage, the Rizla a little better... So far the one I liked the best was an el-cheapo "Laramie" which had a little bit a longer stroke than most, which made it fill right to the filter properly.. I had to fix it many many times, it's full of bondo and epoxy, and I have to do it again.. but it's rolled about 1500 20 packs.. I'm also really fast with it, with a peak speed of about 4-5 sticks a minute. I have been following this thread a while.. lots I've learned about these things.. I need a shredder too and I'm not having much luck finding one of them either.
Wow! Can you get one via mail order? Decently working injectors can be had for under $30 U.S. here but I have no idea what is going on in Canada.
Nesikep
Member
I live in a no-where town... I suppose mail order could be had though... I guess I'm a sucker for punishment and will use something until it just really doesn't work anymore
I am in Canada found a whole bunch of supermatic !! on craigs list for spare parts if need the others I bought were off of ebay 4noggins and ea carey smoke shop. I lucked into my tobacco shredder found on ebay for 179 dollars for the powermatic shredder just by looking every now and again.
This is the good topomatic http://www.ebay.ca/itm/TOP-O-Matic-...483?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58c6afc2cb
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http://www.ebay.ca/itm/PREMIER-Supe...239?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415eb25edf This is the excell its easy the sprin will go and it will still roll a good smoke all 3 listed will make make taylormade cigs
Nesikep
Member
One of my problems with ebay is most of them ship only to your billing address.. my billing address doesn't get any courier service though.
The top-o-matic looks decent, but honestly I don't think anyone can roll a smoke a whole lot faster than I can with a good handheld unit.. even with the double ones, most of the time is spent getting the filter on without crinkling it! I will keep my eyes open for them.. perhaps this fall I'll be a high roller (OK, groan) and get me some good equipment
The top-o-matic looks decent, but honestly I don't think anyone can roll a smoke a whole lot faster than I can with a good handheld unit.. even with the double ones, most of the time is spent getting the filter on without crinkling it! I will keep my eyes open for them.. perhaps this fall I'll be a high roller (OK, groan) and get me some good equipment
DGBAMA
Well-Known Member
Don has the powermatic mini. Inexpensive and uses the blade type packing mechanism like more expensive stuffers.
http://wholeleaftobacco.com/Powermatic-Mini-cigarette-Injector-PWRMTCmini.htm
Looks solid
[video]https://youtu.be/EEN_Lyqz3H0[/video]
http://wholeleaftobacco.com/Powermatic-Mini-cigarette-Injector-PWRMTCmini.htm
Looks solid
[video]https://youtu.be/EEN_Lyqz3H0[/video]
Try ebay or some other form. hand crank injectors make the best and are not faster that the powered ones. witht he crank inectors to keep them goign for years is not to appy downward pressure on the handle. ryo reveiws the powermatic one as good as well but alot of people tend to have issues with them after a year. I am not sure why the clinton turbe company closed up shop but these are good machines
Gmac
Well-Known Member
Powermatic 2 + is even more of a tank.
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