Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Oil changes made quick and easy

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Posted by Christopher Meredith (Member # 3767) on 08-07-2006, 04:51 PM:

It became oil change time at my theater and since we use Strong 1050 (and some 1060) projector heads, draining the old oil is a nightmare. I had to remove the belt cover and jam an old cup under the drain valve in attempt to catch at least half of the oil coming out. Most of it drizzled down the side of the head and got everywhere, on the flywheel, on the belts, all over me... yuck. So I took the opportunity to make a modification that should make it super simple to do this in the future.

Once I got the oil out, I removed the drain valve completely and replaced it with a 1/4" PVC shutoff valve with a John Guest fitting on the other end. This way, all you have to do is press a 1/4" vinyl or plastic hose into the end of it until it bottoms out, then open the valve. You can direct the oil anywhere you want. Then just shut off the valve, press in the valve collar, and remove the hose and the fitting is perfectly clean and dry.

To do this all you need is the fitting (Home Depot calls it a 1/4" quick connect valve), some teflon tape, and a 1/4" hose.

BTW, this is what you need for heads with the drain valve on the non-op side of the projector. We have some 1060s with the valve on the front. In this case, I also had to buy a 1/4" threaded 2" male-male nipple and a 1/4" female coupler to extend the valve since it can't thread on directly due to an obstruction. Photos of those are forthcoming...

Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 08-07-2006, 07:18 PM:

Nice. Thoguh I normally just take off the gearbox window, since the oil level is below, before the projector is run in the morning. Then I take a rotary hand pump, stick th inlet tube in the oil at the bottom, and the outlet into my desired recepticle. I wouldn't do a 20plex in one day though, because the oil is think, and it takes some small effort to turn the pump. I want to get me an electric one. Anyhow, I don't have to remove the gearbox or anything. Pour a little fresh oil at the bottom, and suck it back up to get any residual dirt at the bottom. Then you just refill from the opening.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-07-2006, 08:34 PM:

Congratulations for even changing your oil! Its obvious that you care about your operation and the equipment. I just wanted to mention that its a good idea to pull the oil pump out and clean the intake filter once a year.... They can become partially plugged cutting down on normal oil flow.

Mark

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-07-2006, 09:51 PM:

I've been using a cow magnet for about two years, now.

It does a good job of keeping all the metal particles in one place where they don't do any harm. My oil stays a lot cleaner for a longer time.

The only caveat is that you have to make sure you put it in there so it doesn't catch on any moving parts and jam things up.

That would be a bad thing... [uhoh]

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 08-07-2006, 10:52 PM:

(at least he's still using the automatic turret/aperture changing units on his 1050's - I miss those..)

Yea. neat trick to learn and do agree fully: if your spray is getting to look tired and a bit on the drippy side, take the cover off, and remove and clean the strainer assembly - and it can be done without removing the pump..but can be a bit of a trick to do.

Yet, the advantage in removing the pump is to clean out the sump. And with that drain retrofit, one can actually now make it easy in doing that with flushing out the sump with using clean oil to help push out the old oil and some gunk in the process - like doing a tranny fluid power flush change.

-Monte

Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 08-07-2006, 11:45 PM:

Good point. I usually let out the stopper a bit when it's empty ad 'm doing the wast with the fresh oil, just to make sure it's clear. But for the small amount of oil I need to let out, a curtesy cup does the trick in catching it. Good thinking with the magnet, I'll have to try that one, though I don't belive there's much in the way of floating metal in ours, it couldn't hurt, and may suprise me on what it catches. I need to do the oil at where I work now. It's a tad low, and no one ever remembers it being changed. The lobby projector over at the other theatre has milky oil, and alot of rust. It'll need its oil changed amongst other things to get it fully operational. The rust and moisture cam from a faulty roof fan/flap. The fan wasn't running and the anti backwash flap wasn't closing right, so with out humid weather, it'd come straight down the exhaust pipe.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-08-2006, 12:25 AM:

quote: Charles Greenlee
Good thinking with the magnet, I'll have to try that one, though I don't belive there's much in the way of floating metal in ours, it couldn't hurt, and may suprise me on what it catches.

If you look through the window, into the gear case, and watch the oil draining back down into the sump you might see a muddy, grey precipitate streaming through the oil. You are probably seeing microscopic particles of metal floating in the oil.

The cow magnet does for the projector the same thing it does for the cow. It collects all those little bits of metal in one place where they can do no harm.

For the first several years, I saw that grey junk floating in my oil and wondered what it was. Now that I use the cow magnet, there is NONE of it floating in the oil.

The projector runs a whole lot quieter, too.

But, like I said, you have to be very careful how you put it in there so it doesn't jam up the gears. And, when you change the oil, you have to make sure you pull the magnet out of there and clean all the junk off it before you refill the oil.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 08-08-2006, 12:29 AM:

...and you can prob head to any farm/produce store to find these cow magnets.. - Monte