ViewSonic Pro8500 DLP Projector service/repair?

[Robin D]

Our village hall has a ViewSonic Pro8500 DLP projector now almost 10 years old. It is ceiling mounted (4 metre) and used for film nights, presentations etc. Last film night (that I was not present for) they had problems. Annoyingly I am on crutches at present so I have had to rely on others to go up to sort it out. The guy concerned is very technical but more on the electricity supply side. He reports as follows:

'It initially failed during the last FITS (Flicks In The Sticks) evening, was allowed to cool for 15mins and it restarted and ran for one hour when it failed again.  A further period of cooling followed by a restart and it ran for a further hour.

On Monday I started it up and it ran for about 5 minutes before shutting down.  It was noticeable that the fan control (I was up the tower) was somewhat intermittent and slowed completely prior to switching off.  After de-installation and maintenance at ground level (New lamp and a good hoover) the unit steadfastly refused to fire up.  What was interesting is that the on-line handbook claimed that there was a filter assessable through a removable side panel which is not present on our unit. (The panel that is)

As a committee we have decided to buy a replacement that is now in hand. However, we occasionally get asked for a second projector or one pointing elsewhere in the building, and as the image quality on this unit is still very good, I have been asked if there is anywhere that will service/overhaul the unit for a reasonable price? We are based in Suffolk near Ipswich, but are happy to ship anywhere sensible. Any recommendations from Blue Roomers please?   

Thanks in anticipation. 

[timsabre]

For your replacement, buy a laser source projector, they are a bit more costly initially but much less trouble in a village hall type setting.

I have used "JustProjectors" https://www.projectors.co.uk/repair once before, but be warned that all projector repair seems to be really expensive. Have you checked that all panels / access hatches have been correctly refitted as projectors often have lockout switches on the panels. Also try refitting the old lamp?