Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Oil change on a Century SA

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Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 08-02-2004, 12:29 AM:

The oil fill cup on a Century SA sure isn't conveniently located. And it's so tiny! Any suggestions on how to get the oil in the cup, and not all over the intermittent like I did tonight? [Big Grin]

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 08-02-2004, 01:28 AM:

Ken:

Check out your nearest auto parts or Grainger's/Johnstone supply house. They'll have oil cans with an extra-long and flexible spout to help get into that blasted cup! As a bonus it'll usually only take one squirt to top off the movement. [beer]

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 08-02-2004, 02:58 AM:

Granger didn't have an oil pump with a flexible spout so I just bought two pieces of plastic tubing, one with a diameter that fit tightly over the end of an oil can pump spout and the second smaller tube that fits over the first one so the final size fits the oil intake. I then bend the smaller plastic tubing so it makes a right angle. It still takes a bit of dexterity to push the spring loaded cap open & then getting the tube to sit correctly over opening.

You have no choice but to improvise if you can't get your hands on an oil can with a flexible spout because as Ken points out, a straight spout simply will not be maneuvered into the idiotic fill hole. Still, have plenty of paper towels handy because it oil inevitably spills all over even with the improvised tube.

For all the whining about how Simplex leaks oil, I am sure that if you could measure all the oil that you spill trying to fill a Century SA, and all the oil that Simplex leaks, they probably will come out dead even.

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 08-02-2004, 03:26 AM:

Moving the intermittent to the bottum of its travel help, but I'm sure you've already done that.

If you are really having a problem you can always remove the trap and then the metal sheild that is held in place by two screws and covers the fir shutter. This would remove all obstacles to getting at the fill hole. It might seem inconvenient but the oil in an SA shouldn't have to be changed/topped off all that often.

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 08-02-2004, 05:19 AM:

The EASY and LESS MESSY way to fill the oil on a Century is to tackle it from the rear:

Open the gear side door and look just behind the intermittent flywheel. You will see a little vent hole. Place the tip of the oiler against this hole and give it a few pumps. Go around to the film side and check the level, and repeat if you aren't at the proper level.

-Aaron

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 08-02-2004, 09:18 AM:

Thanks for the suggestions.

quote:
Check out your nearest auto parts or Grainger's/Johnstone supply house. They'll have oil cans with an extra-long and flexible spout to help get into that blasted cup!

We have cans with flexible spouts, but not flexible enough. I can't get the tip exactly where I want it to be able to give a good squirt. I still have to be extra careful not to spill the oil.

I did remove the trap, and moved the intermittent to the bottom.

quote: Aaron Sisemore
The EASY and LESS MESSY way to fill the oil on a Century is to tackle it from the rear....

Did that too. But that hole is so tiny, too. Some oil still spills out, but but I guess it's better to have it inside the gear compartment than all over the intermittent.

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 08-02-2004, 11:52 AM:

Or remove the big silver screw in the middle of the intermittent on the operator side (it's really the cover for the input shaft endfloat adjuster)and fill through there.

Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 08-02-2004, 01:16 PM:

I second Aaron, I was always taught to fill oil from the gear side, not the operating side.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 08-02-2004, 01:26 PM:

On the "C" intermittent, the oil fill tube is conveniently located next to the outer bearing of the intermittent sprocket. Why did Century decide to move it to a less-accessible location when they were designing the "SA" models?
[Confused]

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 08-02-2004, 04:08 PM:

Ken, just removing the trap isn't going to give you all that much more room. Did you remove the metal shield I was talking about too?

As a side note, I must be lucky enough to have the perfect oil can, never had a problem filling from the operator side myself.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 08-02-2004, 08:08 PM:

Ken, you are just starting out in the tech biz and the best advice to you is to have the right tools for the job.

It's worth it to go out and get an oil can with a flexible neck. They aren't THAT hard to find. Mine came from the local NAPA parts store.

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 08-02-2004, 10:16 PM:

Dustin, I'm not sure what metal shield you are talking about.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 08-02-2004, 10:35 PM:

To remove the gate/trap assembly, you have to slide it out toward you. The metal shield Dustin is talking about is the part the the gate/trap assy slides out of (and will slide back into). It is held in place by two screws near the top. On my units, these screws were "captive" and did not separate from the shield.

Posted by Mike Pennell (Member # 1692) on 08-03-2004, 12:19 AM:

You could also invest 2 bucks at your nearest Ace Hardware and purchase a "Zoom-Spout" bottle of oil. Dump their oil and replace with the oil of your choice. It has a very flexible tube that fits perfectly in the oil "can".

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 08-03-2004, 12:37 AM:

Gooseneck oilers that you buy at hardware stores are usually disappointing - the gooseneck often isn't flexible enough, it's too springy, it's too short, they start to leak after a while, etc.

The best appliance for difficult small oiling jobs is the bottle that Ace Hardware's Zoom Spout oil comes in
Ace Hardware's Zoom Spout Oil & oiler bottle

The web site lists a price for a package of 12, but they are sold singly (& inexpensively) at local stores.

The body of the bottle is about 4" high, & inside the neck is a plastic pull-out tube that extends to 14"! The tube & its opening are only a couple of millimeters wide. It gets through the long paths, tight crannies, & into very small holes.

The oiler is so handy it's crazy. I've wound up buying more just for the bottles, unscrewing the top & transferring the oil to an oiler for general lubrication, & washing the bottle & refilling it with other fluids that need the bottle for application (label them, or confusion results).

With plastic containers, you've got to be careful about refilling with different contents, because plastics tend to be specialized to withstand particular solvents. So often, a container which held an alcohol-based product will break down when refilled with a petroleum-based product, & vice versa. The Zoom Spout container has maintained its integrity when filled with methanol solutions, but it's best to leave one out in a pyrex dish for a week or so for experimentation with different contents.

I've only been able to find them at Ace Hardware franchises, not Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 08-03-2004, 10:30 AM:

I have never been comfortable with the idea of refilling a pre-labelled bottle with any other liquid besides the one indicated on the labelling.

A proper oil can is really NOT that hard to find.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 08-03-2004, 11:38 AM:

William, great little tip. I definately will need to grab a supply of these things. Just the other day I found that a squirrel had gotten up into our projection booth (in the park) an chewed through the handle on the plastic gallon container of ECCO 1500 solvent, as well as the electrical cord on a work light -- gave me a nasty shock too. What the little bugger was going for I can't guess, but luckily the fluid level was below his efforts and didn't leak out all over the place.

Now I need to transfer the stuff to another container, but there is always the question as to what plastics will hold up to that chemical. Glass is impervious but not safe for the rough and tumble of this peculiar temporary setup. For the time being I just taped up the holes with gaffers tape rather than put the cleaner in some plastic bottle of unknown resistance that might eventually melt. I'll see if these little bottles can withstand ECCO 1500 -- they would be perfect applicators if they do.

BTW, last year the squirrles climbed up the three story stage truss and got to the movie screen -- chewed a 6in x 6in hole in it. Harkness sent us a repair kit -- a swatch of screen and some glue. Luckily the screen is not too old so the difference between the patch and screen surface is not that great and if you don't know where it is, you can barely see it in daylight. It is invisible with the picture on it.

An old timer once said that when you buy screen, you should always by a big piece of patching material and hang it on the rear of the screen so that it ages the same as the screen does. If you ever need a patch, it will not be as obvious as would a piece of new screen material patched over old.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 08-03-2004, 10:04 PM:

For the ECCO 1500 solvent, a polyester bottle (PETE) should hold up very well, as it's the same material as ESTAR film base. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) should be okay too, but may allow more evaporation during storage.

Be sure you label the bottle properly, ideally transferring the label from the original ECCO 1500 container.

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 08-04-2004, 02:13 AM:

quote: Manny Knowles
I have never been comfortable with the idea of refilling a pre-labelled bottle with any other liquid besides the one indicated on the labelling.

That's a good first thought always, but if it's reasonable otherwise, it shouldn't be such a big deal to use the container for other contents.

There's no problem with putting mustard in an ketchup bottle that's been cleaned & re-labelled. The big things to watch out for are the container's material being attacked by the contents, or contamination.

The contents of the Zoom Spout container are light oil with no additives, so after a reasonable cleaning most other light petroleum-based lubricants won't be a problem. Wash it out if paranoid about diluting the mystery Century oil with .0000001% turbine oil. Detergents (not soaps) are what you want, many dishwashing detergents are very good at cleaning up petroleum-based products (I like Dawn detergent for that & greasy fingernails).

Everybody should have a bottle brush or two:
http://www.labdepotinc.com/category_details~id~105.aspx

not just Joe Redifer, who certainly keeps them on hand to treat his chronic Jacquet's dermatitis.

When washing containers which held petroleum products for not-extremely-critical reuse, they can be inspected visually. Fill them with water. Water & oil are immiscible (they don't dissolve one into the other), & check for an emulsion or separate layers (or blobs).

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 08-04-2004, 11:24 AM:

Just a government word of caution about filling containers with other products make sure they are labled accordingly in a fashion perscribed in your local codes Whimis up here (like OSHA in the US) is very fussy and rather punative over things like this so if a container is labled in a non removable fashion sticking another label over it would not be acceptable

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-05-2004, 07:02 PM:

"On the "C" intermittent, the oil fill tube is conveniently located next to the outer bearing of the intermittent sprocket. Why did Century decide to move it to a less-accessible location when they were designing the "SA" models?"
__________________________________________________________

To get back to Scotts question which I thnk went unanswered, They moved the oil filler back because the outboard bushing and arm are removable to allow field replacement of the sprocket without tearing down the movement which you have no choice but to do on the C.

Mark @ CLACO