Advice on cleaning moving head spots

[mpsmith]

Hi can anyone advise me on the best procedure to clean and/or service a moving head spot. We use the Elation Design Spot 300e and I want to create and maintenance and cleaning schedule in order to keep the unit working and increase lamp life.

 

any suggestions, is there a standard guide somewhere. I could not find anything comprehesive enough on google?

 

Many thanks in advance

[ceecrb1]

A basic "service" could be along these lines.

 

Air compressor, get the dust out.. but use something to prevent fans from spinning.. it can damage them... I just shove a zip tie in (without doing it up).

 

Clean anything thats glass/optical, paper towel & elbow grease.

lubricate anything that needs lubricating and make sure you dont lubricate anything that shouldnt be (eg dont lubricate motor belts or they may end up slipping.. but bearings etc might help with fine grease)

 

Look out for any metal that has been bent or warped by heat or misstreatment.. (usually shutters) look over all connectors, check they are well seated and no loose contacts..

Check the wiring from ballast to lamp (via iginitor) and check connectors are not loose so they wont overheat... A regular fault area is the ignitor.. the screw terminals can work loose and the wire starts to overheat.. also check the wires themselves are not being cooked by the lamp.

 

Finally check that any replacible ICs are well seated in their sockets.

 

Move all effect/motors by hand.... Any that are stiff will need replacing or is a sign of something sticking..

if they dont move freely they can burn out the driver chips.

Another more "advanced" form (but be VERY CAREFULL.. I dont recomend it if you dont know what you are doing). is to touch the driver chips after a little use.. any that are hotter than the rest are showing signs of working harder than normal.

[mpsmith]

Thanks for the advice. we did have the moving heads serviced not so long back. So im really only looking to clean them externally, without opening them up and going deep into the unit and its technology. I do not have the knowledge or background to do a through clean.

 

What would you recommend to do without taking the unit apart, or even de-rigging it. I want to be able to do what I can from the scissor lift. Ideally without even taking of the covers.

 

Cheers

 

Matt

A basic "service" could be along these lines.

 

Air compressor, get the dust out.. but use something to prevent fans from spinning.. it can damage them... I just shove a zip tie in (without doing it up).

 

Clean anything thats glass/optical, paper towel & elbow grease.

lubricate anything that needs lubricating and make sure you dont lubricate anything that shouldnt be (eg dont lubricate motor belts or they may end up slipping.. but bearings etc might help with fine grease)

 

Look out for any metal that has been bent or warped by heat or misstreatment.. (usually shutters) look over all connectors, check they are well seated and no loose contacts..

Check the wiring from ballast to lamp (via iginitor) and check connectors are not loose so they wont overheat... A regular fault area is the ignitor.. the screw terminals can work loose and the wire starts to overheat.. also check the wires themselves are not being cooked by the lamp.

 

Finally check that any replacible ICs are well seated in their sockets.

 

Move all effect/motors by hand.... Any that are stiff will need replacing or is a sign of something sticking..

if they dont move freely they can burn out the driver chips.

Another more "advanced" form (but be VERY CAREFULL.. I dont recomend it if you dont know what you are doing). is to touch the driver chips after a little use.. any that are hotter than the rest are showing signs of working harder than normal.

[timsabre]

What would you recommend to do without taking the unit apart, or even de-rigging it. I want to be able to do what I can from the scissor lift. Ideally without even taking of the covers.

 

Gunked up fans is the worst enemy of moving lights.

With a soft brush and a vacuum cleaner, clean all the fan vents. Stick a screwdriver or something into the fan as suggested to stop it spinning.

Also you could clean the exterior of the lens, but that won't make much difference.

[mpsmith]

So really I need to be taking the thing apart, or at least removing the cover. I don't want to mess about too much as im not experienced enough and could risk breaking something, which would be a big problem right before panto time.

 

Perhaps leave the internal thing for a professional service, perhaps after the panto. We did have our lights serviced and sent off for repair not so long ago. They have not been used much since. I just wanted to do a quick clean and blast with compressed air as I was changing some lamps in par cans and fresnels.

 

Thanks for your prompt reply though, very much appreciated.

 

 

What would you recommend to do without taking the unit apart, or even de-rigging it. I want to be able to do what I can from the scissor lift. Ideally without even taking of the covers.

 

Gunked up fans is the worst enemy of moving lights.

With a soft brush and a vacuum cleaner, clean all the fan vents. Stick a screwdriver or something into the fan as suggested to stop it spinning.

Also you could clean the exterior of the lens, but that won't make much difference.

[timsabre]

Perhaps leave the internal thing for a professional service, perhaps after the panto. We did have our lights serviced and sent off for repair not so long ago. They have not been used much since. I just wanted to do a quick clean and blast with compressed air as I was changing some lamps in par cans and fresnels.

 

Personally I would not use compressed air to clean fan vents (from the outside) as it tends to push the collected cack inside the fixture where it causes more trouble. Brush and hoover is the way to go.

[ceecrb1]

For external cleaning....

 

Younger techs may scoff and laugh.... but those of us that are fathers, there are certain surprises to be learned...

I cannot recomend enough baby wet wipes!!!! They clean EVERYTHING!!!

 

they get gunk off and leave a nice clean look and it wont damage any plastics etc etc

 

If you´ve never tried it.. boots sell mini packs for carrying arround... very cheap.. Just try it!

[top-cat]

So really I need to be taking the thing apart, or at least removing the cover. I don't want to mess about too much as im not experienced enough and could risk breaking something, which would be a big problem right before panto time.

 

Obviously the best thing to do would be to hire a moving light tech. Unfortunately what a lot of people who buy movers fail to realise is that when they were designed, it was assumed that they'd go into rental houses where full time moving light techs would be able to look after them. Problem is that smaller companies buy them up, don't have in-house ML techs, can't keep them in good order, and then slate them as unreliable. (Not accusing you of this, just saying, don't fall victim to it).

 

Failing that, Whitelight Ltd do a short, one day moving light maintenance course which might be of interest to you - http://www.whitelight.ltd.uk/services/training/schedule-repair-maintenance-of-moving-lights/ - and might just give you the confidence to get your movers opened up for a deeper regular clean. At £110, it'll soon pay for itself if you're getting in an external company to do the service.

[mpsmith]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I certainly think that taking a course will be beneficial. I have never had any formal lighting training with regards to maintenance and technical operation within the fixtures. Only some very basic training on using our Avolites Pearl Tiger desk and general operation and functionality.

 

I am predominately a sound and music technician and teacher but I think that the school needs to invest either in further training specific to lighting tech, or to hire a specialist company to service our lights at least once a year.

 

 

From what has been said I think at least once a year, maybe twice all our fixtures need to be taken down, cleaned, tested etc, which is a big job imo and something that needs training in order to be done properly.

 

Many thanks for the advice and guidance.

 

If anyone knows of any other courses worth doing regarding lighting maintenance or even general operations and knowledge then please post these, also if anyone could reccomend some suitable lighting servicing companies that you know and trust I will get some quotes and factor in the costing of annual servicing vs training.

 

Cheers