northernman Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Does anybody have any tips for cleaning/flushing through a DF50 hazer? We have 2 that have come back from a job with very low output.
ramdram Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Do a search on BR and I think you will see a suggestion that running distilled water through the kit and doing the heating cycle will help to flush out any sticky residues. HTH and anyway distilled water is cheap and comes from Halfords...ie it is not difficult to obtain.
csg Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 no no no !!! im afraid you don't know what a DF50 is, and how it differs from a glycol smoke machine. The DF50 is a mineral oil cracker - using compressed air to "crack" the oil into a mist that creates the haze. Anyhow, to answer the question, I would check that the water traps inside the machine behind the oil tank are clear and drained and that all the hoses are seated correctly, without splits of holes. Also check that the oil level is not below or above the range in the view glass. Do the compressors sound " normal"? Of not, and you are suffering from a lack of output, then the seals might be on their way out. Unfortunately all DF50 compressors suffer from this in the end. In this case, you will need a swap out compressor from AC lighting or similar as reel FX don't like selling seal kits on their own.
niclights Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 I'd bet on a split on one of the hoses if not the compressor. It should be fairly obvious once you gain access. But good luck - they're not much fun to work on! I highly recommend having a bowl of hot soapy water to hand.
GridGirl Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 Moderation: Moved to Effects and Pyro where it belongs!!
ramdram Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 The manual says nothing about not using water to clean it out, in fact it advocates soapy water. You can use compressed air to blow dry the pipes afterwards. www.blinding-light.co.uk/DF50.pdf It suggest also that any blockages may have been caused by overuse.
niclights Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 The manual says nothing about not using water to clean it out, in fact it advocates soapy water. You can use compressed air to blow dry the pipes afterwards. www.blinding-light.co.uk/DF50.pdf It suggest also that any blockages may have been caused by overuse.The cleaning with soapy water and pipe cleaning refers to the water trap only. This is a small glass bowl at the rear of the unit next to the air filter and above the fan. Filling the machine with soapy water and running it is not a good idea. There is no need to do any sort of flushing. Cleaning the air filter & water trap may help but otherwise the unit relies almost entirely on compressed air. It will not block up like a vapouriser on a water/glycol unit. Instead you either get compressor failure or high pressure hose failure (that run from the compressor). Note that in regard to the water trap the design changed and I'm fairly sure it is not necessary to drain them unless particularly old type.
northernman Posted March 1, 2011 Author Posted March 1, 2011 The manual says nothing about not using water to clean it out, in fact it advocates soapy water. You can use compressed air to blow dry the pipes afterwards. www.blinding-light.co.uk/DF50.pdf It suggest also that any blockages may have been caused by overuse.The cleaning with soapy water and pipe cleaning refers to the water trap only. This is a small glass bowl at the rear of the unit next to the air filter and above the fan. Filling the machine with soapy water and running it is not a good idea. There is no need to do any sort of flushing. Cleaning the air filter & water trap may help but otherwise the unit relies almost entirely on compressed air. It will not block up like a vapouriser on a water/glycol unit. Instead you either get compressor failure or high pressure hose failure (that run from the compressor). Note that in regard to the water trap the design changed and I'm fairly sure it is not necessary to drain them unless particularly old type. Cheers mate.The compressors dont sound too noisy ( compared to some of our other DF50`s) The is no sign of any leaks on the compressor pipes, no leakage or sound of air rushing out. Maybe the leak is internal, some of our machines are quite old.
csg Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 in my experience, if the compressor seals are leaking, the compressor tends to get quieter.
niclights Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 If you haven't already, I'd test for hose leaks with soapy water (on the surface of the hoses!) If there is a leak it might not be so obvious.
Paul Turner Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 Hi Simon Please feel free to give our technical services dept a call on 01494 446000.We carry DF50 sapres in stock and service the machines in High Wycombe. Many thanks
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