Blender Choked on LFS....

[Vbkid]

So I was blending up some LFS for sowing Nep seeds...and my blender died. I guess I had too much in there, but it started smoking and then shut down, won't start back up.

Anyone have any idea if this is fixable or not? It was a nice blender and I feel dumb now for doing it in...

 

[kahnli]

you might have just shredded or melted your blender's coupling (depending on your brand this is usually a cheap fix) but if it won't start at all you most likely burned out the motor.
a food processor will work much better for LFS than a blender.

 

[mass]

you sure you weren't trying to make an LFS smoothie? "It's a health shake.."

 

[Physalaemus]

I get a nice small size by shredding dry LFS in a coffee grinder on a coarse or medium setting and rehydrating it afterwards. Plus, you get that nice bog flavor in your morning joe

Joking of course.

 

[seedjar]

I'm sure you've learned your lesson already, but kahlni has a good point - a food processor would probably be better. I also like the sound of using strands that have been allowed to dry. LFS is pretty tough and fibrous for a blender. If even a few of the central stems got wrapped around the blade or axle that could very easily spell bad news. At the very least, this is probably something best attempted with only a handful of strands at a time and lots of water to keep it moving around.
Unless you're in a space crunch or totally mechanically inept, I'd say it's worth holding on to. The coupling definitely would be easy to replace, but if it's not starting it's likely an issue with the electrical parts - if I were betting I'd put my money on the motor. Also you could possibly have overheated some of the contacts and melted a wire. In any case, cracking the case and taking a look will be a worthwhile learning experience.
~Joe

 

[Not a Number]

Depending on the blender (usually a function of price) there could be some circuit protection to prevent this from happening. Usually in the form of a circuit breaker diode, slow blow fuse or circuit breaker. A diode or fuse would have to be replaced - diodes are usually soldered into place (sometimes fuses are too). Some circuit breakers are self resetting, some have to be reset manually.

If it started smoking you probably burned out some component, most likely the motor. If it is the motor it will have to be replaced or rewound. In which case it would probably be cheaper to replace the blender unless you can get the parts and DIY.

As mentioned previously a food processor is better suited for this unless you have a higher end (expensive blender). Food processors tend to have more torque and larger drive shafts which would be less prone to fouling.

 

[The Griffin]

An they are cheap. I mill dried lfs on a $10 and it works dandy.

Cheers,

Joe

 

[mobile]

If it was smoking then there is a good chance that the motor overheated. The motor often has a non-resetting thermal fuse attached to/near the windings and if this has blown then it will not restart.