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Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Ding! POP! Crash! Thud! oops...let's get her all fixed up!
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CrazyCajun
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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by CrazyCajun »

If the elements are in fact in parallel then you could actually disconnect one and the other would still work. Also assuming that the wattage is the same on both elements, then the resistance would be the same or at least very, very close to the same for each element measured independantly. Also disconnecting one heating element in a parallel circuit would cut the current draw in half. Example if the circuit drew say 8 amps and you disconnected one element it would now draw 4 amps. Because the parallel circuit cuts the resistance in half. "This is assuming of course that the wattage is the same on both heaters" and that there is only 2 elements in the circuit, if there are more than two elements in the circuit the math changes a bit! I would say connect one element on the circuit that is blowing the fuse. Let it run for a long enough time that the fuse should have blown, monitor the current draw. And then repeat with only the other element in the circuit. In this way you can determine which element is causing the issue!

Best of luck!
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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by dildoll »

good tips!! Now, if only MD had designed the doll to be serviced...there is not a single terminal block or similar inside the doll. It's all a mystery where they have put the wires and connections / soldered wires together. Dammit.

I wonder if installing my own heating strips through relatively small incisions would work...at least I would know what the hell is in her and what quality! She's definitely been franken-dolled, one more stitch wouldn't add to the damage done...

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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by dildoll »

Quick update: took the heating unit to an electronics wizard that has helped me with all sorts of strange animatronic-related challenges for decades. We tested the transformer, he couldn't find anything wrong with it. As far as the parallel 18V output from the double wound secondary coils...he's thinking there may be a short in a heating element as well (CrazyCajun is damn good at sniffing out heater issues!). BIG QUESTION: when I bought the doll Matt warned me to get some extra fuses as they blow sometimes. That was 2 years ago. This doll shipped with this issue that was for, 2 years, not really a big deal. Known intermittent excessive current draw, over 10 amps. One other big note: even the best silicone strip heater manufacturers offer only a 1 year warranty. That's pretty telling. It would be nice to get some response from MD on what they have in there and where to cut to repair this! Grrrrr.....

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carlys_guy
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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by carlys_guy »

you cut her back open, cut a breast off, is all this destruction worth having a heated doll when you can use a warming blanket and not have to worry about setting something on fire.

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ZZZZ
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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by ZZZZ »

Here's a crazy idea:
1. Finish taking the skin off.
2. Rip out all the original electrical components and wiring, so they don't interfere with anything.
3. Wrap the doll in thermally conductive foil.
4. Put the skin back on, but leave some kind of port to connect a heater to the foil.

That way, all the complicated breakable stuff stays outside the doll.

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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by dildoll »

carlys_guy wrote:you cut her back open, cut a breast off, is all this destruction worth having a heated doll when you can use a warming blanket and not have to worry about setting something on fire.

carlys_guy
YUP.

You are a "doll mentor", you would be the most understanding I would have thought...interesting...your judgement...

Read carefully: breast issue was problem from MD's breasts deflating (silicone oil was leeching out, looked and felt terrible). That was a fix I started years ago as that issue of bad manufacturing happened within weeks of her arriving. Still working on that problem, and have a cup size that is more like what I wanted in the first place. Take another peek:
IMG_2487.JPG
IMG_2487.JPG (52.23 KiB) Viewed 2334 times
For redemption and in hopes that you will shed me some divine light, I submit to you I have been spending $$$ making the new breasts. Not installing them until they are perfect (seriously "carlys_guy", just check my posts before you judge, man. This has been a journey, but good to hear from you for the first time ever)

Thermal tests tonight show promise, although there have to be a few more tests to show repeatability before I dig into her any more. It's not as bad as I thought, so far...

BTW I know there is definitely cause for alarm when you plug in a doll to your outlet.

If you have never spent the time and money to get a full-body heated doll I understand why you would think what I'm doing is somehow morally wrong. If you have had an internally heated doll for years and know what that feels like, folks, you will understand why I'm doing what I am.

Warming blankies are neeeeet, those never cause fires... (seriously, look up the stats, and be at least as careful as you would with a heated doll)

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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by dildoll »

ZZZZ wrote:Here's a crazy idea:
1. Finish taking the skin off.
2. Rip out all the original electrical components and wiring, so they don't interfere with anything.
3. Wrap the doll in thermally conductive foil.
4. Put the skin back on, but leave some kind of port to connect a heater to the foil.

That way, all the complicated breakable stuff stays outside the doll.

AAAAHHHH!!!!!!

You are kidding, right? Ha!

Problem is still there, but I have it narrowed down a bit thanks to some people here and there...

Funny guy.

Cheers!

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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by carlys_guy »

the way you get to be a doll mentor on this site is by making enough posts not by being nice or knowing about dolls.

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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by dildoll »

Ah, that explains your behavior. I accept your non-apology. Seriously...

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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by dildoll »

Well folks out there that care and have knowledge about "dolls":
(see what I did there "carlys_guy"?)

Progress has been made. Big tip of the hat to CrazyCajun. It turns out he's not just some crazy bullsh** spewer ;) He's really knowledgeable, and I appreciate his help.

Here's the long and veiny of it:

Biggest problem of this system's failure was the thermocouple and controller. Contributing to that failure was an overheating element. Unfortunately MD's Matt or Ron Werner never told me where the thermocouple was located (or actually anything). Total silence. So, the best guess is the thermocouple was located close to an element that overheated and killed it. OR it died on its own. Turns out after repeated testing the left pelvis and left upper thigh elements are gone, everything else (save the back element that I sliced through blindly) is seemingly OK. Transformer checked out, running 1 hour at full load it did raise outer case temps to about 50 deg C, shut it down after 1 hour, so don't know what would happen if left on. Fuses held tight (slow blow), but did get warm about 45 minutes in. Load on each secondary parallel 18VAC being so different (3 ohm and 12 ohm) did not cause a big issue in transformer's performance.

Rebuilding her now. Giving up on replacing elements as they do not seem to cause system failure...I think...

I am going to leave some details out in further posts as I do not want to give information that somebody could interpret as advice, but I will say Kapton tape, thread locker, thermal grease, and some other important items I will not mention are involved in this rebuild process.

Stupid basics you already know (if you have a heated doll) but have been confirmed:

- DO NOT leave her plugged in unattended
- Unplug her when play time happens as you may blow off your dong (still have mine, lucky)

This system could have been shipped with critical safety items that would shut down over heating and charring of foam. I was lucky.

Be careful anytime you plug in a blanket or doll!

Cheers

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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by dildoll »

...closing up the cut after surgery takes....a....long....time....

Been testing the heating system after controller and thermocouple replacement, stable. T-couple in a different spot, I have removed charred foam and silicone (come on MD, the changes I made to your design cost almost no $$ and could have prevented this). I have added other materials in their place. You will see this does slightly deform the back skin. Silicone is a bitch. Patching it is no fun and is always visible. So the game is try to match the original form as close as possible, doing the best I can.

Final pics coming shortly. She's a hell of a lot more safe than before.

Next: still fixing the MD defective breasts. May have finally made a breakthrough...

Cheers

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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by dildoll »

Hey Folks,

For what it's worth here's the final update. She's closed up and running again (minus the right thigh and pelvis elements and the upper back element).

Culprit was a bad thermocouple. What killed it? Not sure.

I did some internal mods re. the way heat is conducted through the chest to the back, the back heating element is no longer necessary.

I give MD a lot of SH**, and they have screwed up a bunch of things as I dig in further to the inner workings of the doll. BUT I have to stop and look at what they did get absolutely right. Also, stop and ask yourself "do I make dolls for a living? Do I design dolls from scratch?" NOPE. So in many ways I'm the mechanic that bitches about the engineers screwing up the design of the car. You try making a car. Here's the best parts of a MD doll:

- SKIN. Nothing I have ever seen in TPE or silicone comes close to what they have. I have had other silicone and TPE dolls, I know first-hand what the other materials feel like. Somehow MD has a skin that is durable but more importantly has a tiny pore structure on the surface that feels real, never has that tell-tale fake sheen to it, conducts heat well, and is fairly soft (not as soft as TPE, but still). And the best part in this case: silicone is a thermal-setting rubber (in most cases). Luckily this over heating episode didn't cause any external cosmetic or structural damage. Warm up a TPE doll past 120 deg F or so and you have a permanent deformation. Go higher than that and you have a real fire-starter on your hands.

- Gel butt. Unlike the very crappy situation with the deflating gel breasts somehow they nailed the butt design. It is perfect and is the softest silicone gel implant I have seen. Extremely realistic and has held up well.

- I'm pretty sure there are not thousands of MD dolls out there, chances are yours is at least slightly unique and Yves has had some part in making it (like to think that anyways)

Finally have found the best solution to remaking her breastages move like real breasts. It took about 8 iterations of designs to make small breasts jiggle realistically and have extreme durability, but I finally got it...more soon...

Cheers

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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by CrazyCajun »

Great news and good luck, some photos would be nice; Thank You for the update!
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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by dildoll »

CrazyCajun wrote:Great news and good luck, some photos would be nice; Thank You for the update!
But of course. I'm holding back pics until I have her tits back online. "Doll Mentors" might have an issue with a thermal surgery repair but breasts don't look good! Honestly, shouldn't a "mentor" in any field care and know more than most about that field so as to "mentor" students in said field? I think the title and rating system to get it here is a bit off.

As this is a hobby and a crazy time right now I take it one 3/4" inch at a time (15-20 mins using silpoxy)....this could take a while...

Cheers

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Re: Mechadoll charred foam, broken thermocouple, help!!!

Post by Sandra »

I'm disappointed to find that Mechadoll makes no effort to be helpful.

I imagine one of the manufacturers would give advice on how to get the silicone to adhere to the foam.

Your work impresses me.
Hi! I don't do laundry.

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