Mercdog 68 - Improvements or as is

[Trebor]

Hello all. This is my first post here. Woohoo! I am a tinkerer by nature and I have decided that I need a flowbench. I would like to see if the grinding that I am doing to me heads is improving things or making them worse. I have purchased the Mercdog plans and am in the process of building it. I am ready to make some changes (I think for the better). My question is. Of the members here that have purchased or built the Mercdog are there any changes that you wish you had done? If so what and why?

Robert

[bruce]

There is extensive discussion on this style of bench on the forum in past posts, perform a search using the search feature and you will find all the info you seek.

Make sure you click search from "older" not "newer" than last month.

[Mouse]

Hello Robert,

Welcome to Bruce's forums.

Check out the 'Orifice Style Bench' forum for info on the replacement of the rotating disc with some other mechanism. A lot of people seem to be having difficulty getting a good seal on that.

John

[Mousehouse1]

The mercdog plans in general are pretty good. The will give you a good idea of how to build and put the bench together. There are several changes that should be made or considered before you finish construction.

I would put a few more motors in then the plans call for. I would change the orifice disk and use an orifice plate setup or something along those lines. Change the way the valve bowls are held in place. Add a top chamber and baffle.

As stated above by Mouse check the orifice bench forum. We have discussed the mercdog/msd style benches in great detail. Alot of great information. I am still learning about mine. I have changed it a couple of times for the better.

If you can afford to go digital I would get rid of your manometers and do so. I and several other are using a product that Mouse sells and markets. It is a great little unit and priced right. Contact him for more information.

Bruce is another one to contact if you need orifice plates or something along those lines built.

Larry is another person to talk to about orifice style benches. He has helped me greatly.

Tom & gofaster are also very helpful.

There are several other members on here that are a great help with orifice benches. I can't remember all of there names but they were very helpful. I can tell you if I hadn't found this board I would be using the wood for something other then a flow bench. Great forums.

Everyone is very helpful on this board. They will answer any questions you might have. Ask away.

[larrycavan]

Trebor,

Welcome to the forum. You've come to the right place for your project. I guarantee you'll get the information you need. The people that post here have a diversity of skills and are willing to share their knowledge...from Australia to the USA and all points in between..

As Bruce pointed out, use the forum search function. Also on Google you can narrow down searches with this example

mercdog site:tractorsport.com

Visit the Superflow site. Study the cabinet on the 600 design. You want that extra top section on your bench. You also want a baffeling system to prevent air from directly blasting on the orifice disk.

If you're considering buying manometers...visit flowperformance.com before you make your decision...

The mercdog orifice disk setup needs to be completely revised in order to seal properly ....GIVE IT EXTRA ATTENTION...then stop and GIVE IT SOME MORE ATTENTION....

These panels need to be removable for maintenance purposes.

Rear Panel - you'll want to get to your motors

Top of the upper plenum [the extra section like the SF600 has] - you'll want to get to your flowdisk

Front angled panel - again...flowdisk access

DO NOT SEAL THEM PERMANENTLY.

Best Regards,

Larry C

[bruce]

[Tony]

Welcome to the Forum Robert.

As others have already said, spend some time browsing through the old posts here. This place is an absolute gold mine of information and great ideas, but you have to dig for it.

[Jesse Lackman]

I'm working on a Mercdog bench right now.

I plan on using an external (pitot) flow element, there will be no orifice panel in the bench. There is more information in the pitot section of this forum.

I made the decision today to add 7 3/4 depth to the back of the bench. This will allow three more motors if desired, more space behind the manometer panel for the flow element piping, and a removable back modification.

The top will be removable too.

The non-removable panels got glued and screwed today.

[Trebor]

Thanks to all whom have responded. I plan on digging through the old posts as soon and often as possible. I have purchased 8, 125 cfm motors. Should that be enough? I also plan to make the cabinet accessible internally because I am hardly capable of leaving well enough alone. It seemed to me after I began building this unit that I could make many improvements. I would like to use it sometime in the near future also so I do not want to go overboard. I do however want to have a flowbench that could be considered a proffesional unit capable of working on small and large projects.