Cleaning Thermal Grease Off Your ZWO ASI2600MM-P | High Point Scientific
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มี.ค. 2022
- If you’re the owner of a ZWO ASI2600 Pro camera, or perhaps looking into getting one, you’ve likely heard of the thermal grease or oil leak issue that these cameras can have. If you happen to encounter this issue, there is a way to get back up and running at home!
Read our complete guide to Cleaning Thermal Grease off of Your ZWO ASI2600MM-P here: www.highpointscientific.com/a...
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I have a helpful suggestion for the viewers of this video. When using sensor swabs you should only pass the swab over the sensor one time then turn the swab over and repeat from the opposite side. One sensor swab should only be able to be used for two passes this will ensure there will be no streaking and no contaminants brought back over the sensor. It looks like the sensor swabs you are using are too small they need to cover the entire width of the sensor.
Thank you for the helpful suggestion Michael.
Make sure you save the cleaning supplies since many people have had to do this 2 or more times to the same camera. I love ZWO but they really screwed up on this camera. They should have just recalled the ones that were defective and replaced them.
Thanks. I had to do this already but didn't know about the thermal pad. So I'll keep an eye on it to see if I have to repeat the process.
Thank you, we hope this video helped!
Excellent video. thank you so much.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video!
Very helpful. Thanks!
You're very welcome!
this is good, My 2600mc has an oil leak on sensor, just out of warrenty now, but as Zwo know about it then should recall and replace i think, as cleaning will not cure it and keep coming back :(
Thanks for this detailed video. Very helpful. I purchased the 2600 from you last June - oil leak started about a month ago. This will help me clean it myself.
I appreciate the comment by @MichaelSchneider re: using swab only one pass each way, and comment by @Nik re: cleaning the window while you’re at it.
Will be cleaning my camera soon, before next use.
Thank you, we're glad you found the video helpful.
Great and helpful but you should have cleaned the protector window as well there was a lot of dust on it
Thanks for the feedback!
Thank you very much for your video. But I have a question. In 2020 I bought a new car, in 2021 I had a problem in the engine rpm quadrant, the Brand repaired it by applying a new quadrant at no cost or work for me.
For me as a European this doesn't work. It is under warranty, the Brand resolves and pays, the consumer does not have to intervene/clean the sensor. I am a ZWO consumer I have a 533MC Pro so far 0 problems, an Air Pro and a 120MM Mini guide camera which I have always advised.
What about the four little circle moisture wicking pads. Do you not need to heat them to dry them back out?
Hello Brandon! It's not strictly speaking "needed" but the tablets will be absorbing moisture from the air while they're out, and similarly moist air is getting into the camera; and so we really recommend taking the tablets out as mentioned at 14:41 and giving them a quick dry in the microwave, so they can dry out the chamber once you have this all put back together!
Fortunatey this has not happened to my 2600 as of yet.
But did this cleaning process really get all the remaining oil out of the cracks? Chances are you will see some seepage again over time. But another cause for the oil leak may be excessive temperature, as I have sometimes found the camera very warm to the touch, before or after an imaging run. I wonder if the dew heater is not running too hot, or the Peltier cooler was not removing residual heat from the sensor. ZWO may want to check the driver for these issues too.
But overall I still love the performance of this cam, and the subframes it takes are very nice.
Good question! The pink thermal pad ZWO is using here is a bit spongy, and you can seem to see some additional compounded if you press into the pad. However ZWO's guide only recommends wiping the excess off the pad and rear of the board, and so we would refrain from trying to squeeze this all out as some may be needed for the pad to do its job of transferring heat properly. ZWO's techs are confident this should prevent future issues, however you can always hold onto the extra cleaning supplies just in case!
Regarding the dust, you're absolutely right: we should have blown the dust off. We did mention checking for that kind of thing in the written guide, but missed mentioning or doing it here.
Should have placed the top face up so not to collect dust. Then cleaned it after reassembling.
You're absolutely right, we did forget to mention the importance of cleaning the dust off.
I love ZWO, but this problem is stupid and should not happen on 2000++$ cameras.
I completely agree. It's great that High Point Scientific have shown how to fix this, but there is no way that this should happen and ZWO should be fixing free of charge including postage.
You're absolutely right. Some people save alot to buy these things. Anyone who faces such issues, deserve a straight refund from the vendor. Imagine if someone manages to damage their sensor while doing this cleaning at home, will ZWO provide a reimbursement then?
I have been wondering what happens if you break the camera due to for example ESD while doing this, is the warranty void? The flat cable that connects the sensor board is also a concern, those tend to break quite easy if you are not careful with them. It feels kind of sketchy doing this yourself even if the manufacturer says to do so, probably a good idea to contact them first so they know you are going to clean it and ask about warranty as well.
Couple other things, the oil is probably not any thermal grease, but oil from the silicone thermal pad that is used here (the pink squishy thing), wonder why they dont source another type of pad that is less prone to letting out oil and sell it as a replacement fixing this issue for good after cleaning. (or ship the 20 cent part to every customer that bought a 2600 as it was expansive enough)
(On that note as well, i always store my camera sensor up to give oil less of a chance in the first place, if it is cooled it should be less runny, so far so good)
(Edit, this video shows the exact same oil problem in a video card, might be worth a shot getting a good brand pad while at it: th-cam.com/video/Ao_3P28U1gU/w-d-xo.html )
As a couple of people mentioned in the chat, if you reuse swabs there is a chance of scratching the sensor with already picked up dirt, get a few more swabs, its not worth the risk. Also a good idea to check for dust before starting with the swabs and get your lens blower out to get rid if it before swabbing.
Might also be a good idea to not put your window with the clean inside glass upside on the table while working as it is collecting dust on the inside :)
Hello!
ZWO does consider opening these cameras up for cleaning routine maintenance, and they have a guide for that as well as this more involved process available publicly. We do understand your concern, and you certainly do want to take care while handling the components here; however in all the cases we've seen, the big issue customer run into is spots or residue left over on the sensor.
ZWO has used both the terms thermal grease and oil seemingly interchangeably depending on whom you talk to; and while we agree oil does seem common for this type of pad, the technician who wrote their cleaning guide does call it a grease.
While working to make sure you have clean working surface should help prevent this from being an issue, these are all good tips! A lot of these cleaning kits will come with more than the two swabs used here, so don't be afraid to use more if set your tool down a bit prematurely like we did here.
Here is ZWO putting that guide out publicly: bbs.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/d/12654-moisture-in-2600mc
Isn't there any sensor tilt issue when I disassemble sensor from camera's body?
Hello, you shouldn't have any issues with tilt so long as you snug the board back into place evenly; but in the event you find a bit of tilt after reassembly, that's what the sensor tilt plate is for. Thanks!
My camera is only 4 months old, bought summer of 22. So, I guess I received old stock, or they didn't fix the issue? Completely unsatisfactory.
You have a blower bulb for the demo, but never use it. As someone else suggested, should blow on the sensor inside window before re-attaching, and then on outside. Also I would not take off sensor window and store the inside part facing up (to allow more dust to settle on it as you perform repair. At least place it it facing down, or place it in an air tight container/bag during repair. USe the correct APS-C sized sensor swabs, and only pass once with wet side, then once with dry side, then toss that swab, grab another, repeat until clean. Its not uncommon to go through 5-7 swabs to clean a DSLR sensor properly so this should be no different.
Dust is in the air at all times, and gravity tends to cause it to settle on flat surfaces, You had the sensor cavity open in a flat horizontal plane as you serviced it. You did not turn the sensor or sensor window in a vertical orientation and blow any dust off upon reassembly. Great tutorial other wise,
To be clear, you need to buy a sensor cleaning kit for APS-C sensors - this video looks like it is using a kit for a Micro 4/3 senor which is why it doesn't cover the sensor properly.
Process should be:
* first use a rocket blower or similar to blow any loose debris from the sensor
* two drops on the swab
* swipe left to right
* flip swab
* swipe left to right
* THROW SWAB AWAY
If you feel it needs more cleaning, repeat the process with a NEW swab. You've spent thousands on this camera, don't get hung up on throwing away a swab worth a buck or two.
I haven't had this issue, until I tried to film the Mars occultation from the moon. I did the fastest frame rate the camera could handle, and perhaps that's what created enough heat to make the oil leak after almost a year without issue doing deep sky photography.
ZWO now does offer a replacement, if it's within 2 years of purchase or a lifetime repair if it's after, BUT they say the wait can be 2 mos. That is unacceptable. They should ship out a new camera immediately and collect your card info, so if you don't return the original camera they can charge you for the new one. But to ask people to wait TWO MONTHS before they can image again, is absurd, when they already dropped 2 grand a long time ago!
I'll see how long this process takes, but I don't really have any interest in trying to take this thing apart and risk damaging it. Also streaking can be a real issue, possible scratching etc, in doing this repair. And as other have mentioned if you somehow damage the camera in the process, I am sure you are SOL.
Trust me, this is a pure manufacturing defect from the ZWO company. They are asking users to do this type of cleaning after purchasing 2K dollar product is total waste of money as well as negative brand value. Better look for QHY or Altairastro variants of this 2600 series cameras.
I don't mean to be picky but it looked like you had an awful lot of dust on the cover plate. I would have cleaned that also.
Good feedback!
I am sorry but this is a joke ! This is a $2400 camera. You should not have to do any of this. ZWO should recall all of these camera and replace them for free with the new units that were made after Oct 2021 that "supposedly" fixed this issue. Nothing against HPS, but ZWO should own up to their screw up !