Fix your smoke, snow machine, steam mop solenoid pump.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ย. 2024
- Every year at Halloween and Xmas people dig out their smoke, snow and foam machines and discover that while they are heating up or blowing just fine, there's no smoke, snow or foam coming out. The usual culprit is the pump, a very common solenoid pump used for its cheapness and predictable throughput.
In smoke machines the heater block can also fur up and block any passage of liquid, but it's easy enough to narrow down the fault by disconnecting the pump and seeing if it is actually pushing liquid through. (A blocked heater usually requires replacement of the heater block or whole machine.)
This video shows how to identify, open and clean the classic pump.
Always unplug the unit completely from the mains supply when working on it. Don't trust the machines switch to make it safe to work on. These machines are usually cheaply made, have lots of grounded metal and involve working with wet hands. All a recipe for a zinger of a shock of enough magnitude to ruin Christmas.
If you open the pump and it immediately goes BOING! and all the springs and things shoot out and scatter round your workshop then you can still buy a complete new pump on eBay for a low price. Make sure you get the same style for pipe connections and the correct voltage rating.
These pumps have a rough life, especially in snow machines where they are pumping a mixture of water and detergent, which is tough for most other pumps to handle too. It's made worse by long periods of storage when rubber seals perish, gunk forms and corrosion occurs.
While maintaining your snow and foam machines it's worth cleaning them out too in case goo has grown in the tanks. This is less of a problem with smoke machines due to the sterile nature of the fluid and inherent pasteurising as it passes through the machine.
It does help to flush smoke machines through with some white vinegar in distilled water. Do it outdoors and then flush it through with some fresh smoke fluid afterwards.
The solenoid pumps are also useful for other things too.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.co...
This also keeps the channel independent of TH-cam's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
I bought my smoke machine (a cheapy with the pump rammed into the built-in tank) off ebay with a dead pump, wasn't actually dead, just worn out, took it to bits, thought I'd test it while it was open, the piston shot across the room and to date I've still not found it... :P
Never needed the machine, I'm just obsessed with electricals... :P
You will probably never ever find it. Its long gone.
It probably teleported into another universe where it will meet all the pens and erasers that were dropped in school and never found again
Zaklamp Don't forget socks and gloves. Really, why is it always my LEFT glove that goes missing?
As long as you're looking for it, you'll never find it. The trick is to put it out of your mind, convince it that you're no longer looking for it. Then it will suddenly appear somewhere you're sure you couldn't have missed looking before.
Buying a new one usually makes it show up
You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar! Thank you for the thorough explanation.
Many home espresso machines use these too!
No wonder the things seem to crap out so often. I find the pump makes a ton of noise but nothing happens, and it's almost always the pump that breaks.
That's where I recognised the sound from!
Yeah had one of these pack in and stop my morning caffeine fix. easy enough fix though.
They can wear out on the small coffee pod type machines I think if they are allowed to run dry too often
home ice makers too
This video has come to my rescue for the second year in a row! Last year it was a blockage, this time that pesky o-ring needed a trim (and when my Dremel attachments didn't do the job, my wife's electronic nail file was just the ticket!). Thank you Clive!
My dad used to say of mechanical things: "Son, you can fix most things by taking them apart, cleaning them, and putting them back together."
Yep, exactly.
Good advice!
The mechanical equivalent of turning it off and on.
That was true in the old days, when things were not made shitty and Chinese!
PirateKitty very true sadly.
It started off looking like a crudely simple device but turned out to have more springs and o rings per square centimetre than any device I've ever seen. Especially tiny ones at that.
Thanks for sharing. 😎👌🏼
Clive, I have watched your videos for years out of interest and curiosity. I recently was working on my dehumidifier whose water pump was not functioning properly. I disassembled the machine and found a nameplate on the solenoid pump which I combined with a few key words on Google only to find your video. I should have known you’d have a video on this very topic. The pump I have is similar in construction but not identical. The operating principle is the same. I had to get this pump operational today so I simply cleaned the gunk and lightly lubricated the culprit o-ring (I know eventually the o-ring will swell a bit when in the presence of petroleum oils) and it worked. I appreciate your videos and all of the interesting stuff you’ve put out over the years. Thank you.
I brough my haze machine home (which is essentially a low output smoke machine and a high output 240 volt fan at the front on a 45 Deg (ish) angle, which disperses the smoke quickly so it doesn't look as frightening when it comes out of the machine) and I was faced with exactly this problem : I knew the pump wasn't working. Lo and behold your channel pops up and the fix of the first o-ring being flattened was exactly the problem the pump was all the way in one direction and wasn't coming back enough off the buffer. Popped in a 6 x 1 mm o-ring (I service air rifles, so I have 1000's in zip lock bags) and would you believe it the bloody thing works again. Now I'm going back to making more Joule thieves (it feels like somehow I'm saying thank you, with the added bonus of keeping the few quid I have in my pocket). Please keep up the excellent work, your channel keeps me going when all around me have failed.
I've encountered the case when diode was blown that I've replaced. Cleaned that with IPA and oxalic acid, washed through with distilled water using veterinary syringe then reassembled. That smoke machine worked at least 8 years after that.Very thorough explanation, thank you, Clive!
Vladimir at first I thought you were saying you could fix a blown diode with IPA and oxalic acid. Was gonna say I've been doing it the wrong way all this time, I've been cleaning my diodes with white vinegar.
Thank you for your comment! Oxalate in the right place for once.
I was having the exact same issue with my smoke machine... the second I saw your tip about that O-ring that gets plump from sitting in glycol over time, I knew what I had to do. I chucked the stainless piston in my hand drill, spun it against some 320 wet/dry sandpaper until the diameter dropped from .160" to .150" and IT NOW WORKS PERFECTLY!!! The piston slips much easier inside the plumpy O-ring!!! Thank You SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! Mine is a Chauvet Hurricane F-800 and the pump is labeled SP-12A but virtually identical to the one you showed!
Thank you. You gave me the confidence to examine my pump and fix the problem. Now it’s working again.
Thank you for sharing!!!! I work in live audio/production and fixed scores of smoke/hazers but never repaired a pump. It was always the case of ring distributor and sometimes get lucky, sometimes not........Didn't realise that these cheap pumps came apart, off to look through the bone yard of dead machines now!....Thank you, love your channel.
Wow, what a great detailed and informative video. It didn't really help me with my issue... but it gave me an in depth understanding of how the pump works, and it was fun to watch.
You Sir are an absolute gentleman! I fixed my FXLABS snow machine using your guide. You will make my sons very happy this Christmas :)
Thank you for this video. Due to your full tear down I was able to determine the plastic housing in the donut hole of the solenoid connecting the piston to the fluid input nipple was broken. I ordered the same pump in this video for my Froggy's Fog F4 Fobble machine. FYI - for those who have my same issue, read on. I had to reuse the black cone shaped o-ring from the output side of the original pump to seal the existing silver metal tubing to the new gold colored nut. I wired it from red to brown and black to blue using Scotchlok UR2 butt splice connectors. I left the diode on the wire. She runs great!
Excellent, thank you so much. I used this to fix my steam mop with a 30DCB in it. I'd already dismantled everything else and descaled it and came to the conclusion the pump was the only other thing. It's now working like a dream.
Thank you for your tutorial.
Today I fixed my snow machine, which hasn't been used for 10 years.
Thank you 🎉
I don’t even have a device with this pump, I’m just here for the video
One day you'll find one of these in a broken machine and remember how to fix it.
Big Clive I sure do appreciate you posting this video. The pump that I had to deal with was in my wife's steam mop. It was a different design but the internals were exactly alike. Save me some money.
Just used this to fix my snow machine, works absolutely fine now, thanks for posting.
I live in Karachi Pakistan and I like your comment
Now that's handy info as the pumps in some very expensive bean to cup coffee machines are almost identical in operation and cost a small fortune to replace
Time to get the fog machine out, last time I ran vinegar thru it I took it out side my son and his friends were playing. They all got ready for smoke and bam vinegar was is the air. I got a laugh.
euuw, yuck 😷 😜
Surly they where pickled.
Must have smelt like a fish'n'chip shop.
Yummy!
Google the part number, you're the first result and I now have a working steam mop. I should have known Big Clive would have a video on this. Thanks!
Have two small smoke machines here that aren't working after running only a short period of time at all. I'll definitely give it a try to fix one after seeing your video. Thanks for sharing!!!
An angry piston is a pistoff
I love your videos! When I saw your video when I searched for fixing my smoke machine pump I knew this one would be the only one I need to watch... Now it's working again - thank you!
I've been rebuilding fog machine pumps for a few years and this was a very helpful video. I didn't know the little red O-ring was subject to swelling, and I don't have any on hand. I was able to get my existing pump running enough to verify the heater wasn't clogged but I'm not getting the volume of fog I expect from a 1KW. All the other parts look good so I have to assume the tiny red O-ring is the culprit. Thanks for the "class".
If the heater core is furring up then white vinegar may clean it.
My innuendo warning buzzer has just gone into overload.
Mine's just exploded everywhere - AND so has my innuendo buzzer! 😉
Reciprocation at 50 times a second. That's fast.
after 6 hours of trying this video showed me what step i was missing! thank you
Hi you need to change the description as this is the same pump used in the H20 x5 steam mop that often fails because of a blocked pump. Your video saved me buying a new mop.
I've added that in. These common pumps are used in a lot of appliances.
Well i took it apart again and sure enough the solenoid plunger was sticking on the rubber seal. I flied the inner of the seal but although it improved it was still sticking so I used a blade and gently scraped the plastic where the outer par of the seal goes. Its working perfectly thanks. Its an H2O Steam Cleaner. Thanks again.
WOW! You are the man! I had a steam mop just sitting around for over a year because it wasn't producing any steam and your video was just specific enough to help me fix it. One of the springs was not lined up properly so I think the pulsating part wasn't moving as it should. THANKS for this video.
Chris Kyle died in the battle rip
Brilliant video. Exactly the same pump as in a floor mop that I'm trying to repair. The whole heater was blocked with scale. Ive cleaned it and descaled everything. It worked brilliant at first but then stopped. I rechecked and no blockages so i took the pump apart, I can hear it trying so I'm at a loss. Now seeing your great video Im going to bench test it and check that seal is not too tight. Thanks.
You can get replacement o-rings. A dab of silicone grease can get things going again.
As long as you thoroughly flush it with distilled water afterward, there's no harm in using an acid for cleaning. I use citric acid, as it's more aggressive than vinegar, and less expensive per unit volume if you know where to look. Also, it dissolves solid deposits MUCH better when it's HOT.
Thanks for the tear-down and explanation of how it works, Clive! :)
Thanks, had a fog machine that stopped working after a single season again. Pump hummed but didn’t work. Disassembled and it turned out to be an issue with that very small gasket you were talking about. In this case, the gasket was rubber and didn’t allow proper travel of the metal piece. Scrapped the inside out a little in place with a utility knife. It started working again. To test, you remove this gasket put the pump back together without it and see if it runs.
I loved it the way you said it’s coming up to Christmas not long now
I knew it! Piston return springs were real!
England -- the land of spicy volts
That was why early scientists dressed so nattily. Respect for the voltage.
and England was concerned where?
Not forgetting The People's Republic of South Yorkshire ...
@@johnbouttell5827 where men are men and sheep say nothing
Bravo! You just saved me from buying a whole new snow machine. Thank you!
Thank you so much for making this video - just as you described my pump needed a thorough cleaning. I didn't realize they came apart. My pump is working perfectly again thanks to you!!! Pump was from a Bubble Fogger machine - just in time for Halloween. ;)
Excellent video. I had issue with my pump which is very similar. Yes the O ring had swollen preventing the plunger to move back and forth. I too had problems sourcing the correct O ring. I found one that was slightly oversize on the inner diameter and slightly larger on the outer diameter. When fitted it was too tight on the inner. I gently slid the O ring over the shank of a drill bit and with a needle file ran it over the outer whilst spinning in a cordless drill until the fit was perfect. It's now working better than when the smoke machine was new. Thanks again for the tip.
Another thing that helps is a dab of silicone grease on the plunger.
Thank you so much. I found a Shark steam mop that someone was throwing away. I took it to pieces and thanks to your video it's now working brilliantly. :-D
Thanks Clive. Now I know how to take the pump apart in my coffee machine, it's been on a go slow for ages. I might try disconnecting the heating element and put white vinegar through it first.
Some coffee machines have a cycle for descaler.
Thanks Clive. My machine works like new :)
Thank you. Got her going using the o-ring delete trick. Haven't tested with juice yet. We'll see how she holds up!
Friend! You saved me! It was this damned ring - exactly this tiny shit! I've just enlarged it a bit - and now it works great! Thank You!
It's _awfully_ similar to the pumps found in espresso machines too!
Thanks so much! This video revived my smoke machine. Much appreciated! I especially liked the o-ring cheap fix to remove a tiny segment.
I enjoyed the subtle innuendos. Excellent video!
Ah, Innuendos. Italian suppositories.
@@TheAmpair 😂😂😂
Excellent video, it helped me solve a problem with a smoke machine...
Thank you so much great information. I am going to my Repair bench right now.
Came for fog machine maintenance, left with a new asmr video
Can add counter top ice cube making machines to the list. My mother has one with a pump nearly identical to this one, only difference is a strapped down connector on the output instead of a compression fitting. Been meaning to open it up and see if the pump is crudded up, it doesn't fill properly anymore which is a real shame considering that thing has incredibly good cooling pipes.
In my case the pump was stuck, but I just opened it up as in this video, cleaned it a bit and then tightened the valve part, but maybe 3/4 way through. Turned the pump on and it rang like crazy. Then I disconnected the pump and tightened the valve a bit more, turned it on, it worked and was more quiet. Then I disconnected it again and tightened it fully. It works.
Your detailed instructions just made my smoke machine work again :D
5:45 dat bugger o-ring was too tight. very common problem indeed.
thanks
This is most excellent, Explained this pump wonderfully.
We like BigClive! Thank you for sharing your video and teardown. Things just got a lot simpler. I'll try it!
Excellent video and the perfect fix for our sandwich steamer. Thanks for sharing!
Quite complex little buggers.
Hello Clive. I hope you are well. I've been given some of these that don't work and all have been a case of blockage. I'm sure my method of clearing it would not be "Clive Approved" but worked. I had no clue the pump would disassemble that easily.
Thanks and have a great weekend.
I'll guess forcing fluids through it? That works.
Pumping fluids at enough pressure to force cleaner to bypass the 2 check valves. There's a magic point in which the valves neither block or pass and that allows water to chase enough blockage through to clear it up.
Thanks for this video! I was able to fix my steam mop because of this.
Yes i fixed my K cup based coffee machine which used an almost identical pump. Excellent vid. As usual. Thanks bog C.
That is brilliant! Thank you so much for your time and help!
Also used in carpet wet extractors as a water/detergent pump as well.
These are also commonly used in freestanding dehumidifiers that have automatic pumps for draining.
Yeah, I've heard their distinctive sound in condensate pumps. I'd have thought they'd gunk up quite quickly.
@@BigClive That is an accurate assumpion. There are three wire mesh screens prior to the water reaching the pump in the one I have. The entire unit requires disassembly and cleaning 2-3 times per year. Cheers Clive.
I wonder if a peristaltic pump would work better, and maybe some kind of sterilising device.
Flushing with alcohol did it for me. Just make sure with fire that all of it gets flushed.
back in the days of the old coffee machines with paper filter and ground coffee I remember the smell of hot vinegar sputtering out from the coffee machine during descaling maintenance. Its a foul smell indeed.
Would love to see some of these teardowns in 3-D. Maybe we could Patreon fund "Big Clive: the 3-D Experience." Beverages supplied by Ralfy.
(⚠️Innuendo warning!)
The last thing you want is a puffed up ring round your shaft!
I had an old, cheap air conditioner with one of those pumps for the condensate drainage and it sounded like a woodpecker on speed!
this video came right on time, had a zr44 that needs a date with the screwdriver this weekend...
Thank you sooo much you've earned a subscriber. Before we found your video me and my dad was having a hard time trying to fix ours and we found this video and helped us a lot thank you!!
A touch of silicone grease on the o-ring is also a good idea. Once you understand how these things work they are easy to take apart.
Thank you for this video. That puffed-up o-ring is exactly what got me wonder 🤔
I'd need a 2 cents part to get smoking again, yet can hardly find any offer below €5 ... for 10 or more of those buggers.
I need to find the nearest repair shop and talk rubber seals 🦭
... Also, your video is awesome 😎👍 - nicely done, friend.
Thanks to the sound i now know what kind of pump is beeing used in my steam assisted oven in case it breaks down :)
It's a very common style of pump used in many applications. Another common one is some condensate pumps in air conditioning systems.
Thanks. Helped me confirm the problem with my pump.
I've heard these called 'shuttle' or 'shuffle' pumps as well.
I got a variety of silicone O-rings from Amazon, very reasonable. The ones I got were not metric; not sure if they've got those but probably so. It might help with the stiicking issues.
With internal combustion engine carburetors, the float bowl gaskets like to swell in the presence of gasoline. One way to try and get it to go back to shape is to either leave it out to off gas or to boil it in some water for 5-10 minutes to drive off all the gasoline. Maybe that would work with those 6mm rings??
Here it's the crap alcohol they water down the gasoline with.
Thank you. A very helpful video
Alternative use is the pump for a flamethrower...
Thank you so much for creating this!
Used this to fix smoke machine I found in the trash
Free and now it works !! Ohh yea
Scotsman Icemakers use a similar pump design - slightly more robust (larger volume) but the guts are near-identical. That tiny spring-loaded check valve is a real sod to resite should you "inadvertently" pull it out too far!! :-D
Very easy to get the tiny one way check back on the spring. Use a sewing needle. Takes 3 seconds.
If I have Springs and Grommets Pinging Everywhere - Then I know I've taken it to bits! =D
That inlet check valve: is it opening via water pressure or inertia? I'm guessing the latter, since the pump is drawing water up into the mechanism.
Clive, how can I send you something? I have a couple of LED light bulbs I have use with a dimmer, and over time, they started to glow yellow and a mysterious brown liquid has appeared within the bulb. I figured you would like to take a look.
If there's a dribble of liquid then it's possible that an electrolytic capacitor has failed and leaked. If it's a lot then a possible scenario is that water from above the ceiling has entered the lamp in some way and caused discoloration and corrosion.
I'm thinking its an issue with the capacitor. The lamps were originally bright white, but after about a month, the lamp decreased in brightness and started to glow a warm yellow light. I replaced it, and the new lamp has the same issue.
I repaired my smoke machine by using a better pump. What you got there is the cheapest available.
It never failed since then.
Would you show us a professional pump?
Sometimes the heater gets clogged, too.
If you use a thyristor you don't need the diode.
When servicing hot pressure washers, one must descale the heating coil, which is a coiled steel tube, forming a drum shape into which diesel is sprayed ignited and air forced in with a fan. It gets very scaled quite quickly - a bit like a monster kettle, but angrier. We use hydrochloric acid for this task and it is a pretty scary process, as you are basically dealing with over 100°C steam/water at around about 2500 PSI and so you can imagine what happens when we pour in HCL to this mix! By comparison, a small bit of vinegar in a small copper pipe, well...
Thank you again for this vid clive. I run a fj set in my garage every halloween and i got a fogger last year. Last night it wasnt having it but thanks to your vid, you saved my ass and it is working perfectly now. Happy Halloween!
Just out of curiosity, out of all your 434 thousand subscribers, how many of them do you think would ever have to deal with this problem in their lifetime?
A surprisingly high number. Smoke machines make great toys.
Where lifetime?
I was high
Hi
Since a week I work to bring steamer cleaner back to life.
All you said was mega helpfull ,expecially the O-ring which cause pump disfunction.
Also you said it's difficult to find replacement.
I think I have found solution how to safe it by making it functional.
If you want to know we can talk.
Regards
Miro
Your videos are always interesting. .. tanx...
Hmmm vinegar steam... Does that kill weeds? This is a terrible idea where I live though, thinking of the neighbors and their outdoor pets. I do actually have a fog machine completely clogged and full of fluid, just as it was when I found it on the street 10 years ago. Maybe it's rubber is totally wrecked but if it's fixable maybe a long pipe on the output could be used to condense and control the steam.
TY so much you are my hero saved Halloween .
The vapor juice in fog machines is propylene glycol, which is the same chemical in liquid cough and cold syrups, and is totally safe to vape, breathe in, and consume.
A few different glycols are used including triethylene glycol and the rather shady sounding butylene glycol. In some haze machines a glycerol fluid is used.
You can also try to boil the o-ring in clean water and in most cases it'll return to its original dimensions. I use that trick for o-rings that touch fuel in automotive applications. Just don't let it touch the bottom of the pot or it may melt to it.
I'll have to give that a go.
Thanks Clive! My old smoke machine has a second live thanks to you! The old o-ring was so puffed up I could never have guessed the size. 6x4x1mm was bang on!
😊😢😂😢😢
It sounds like the o-rings are the biggest problem in these machines, almost a design defect. Couldn't there be an improvement to the original design by the pump manufacturer, or a repair option, using some kind of "self-lubricating plastic" such as Teflon or Delrin for the o-rings?
many thanks, i followed your vid, removed my pump from my fog/bubble machine that had stopped pumping. Striped it down, put it back together and it then worked again.
the metal brass 'o' sleeve i soaked in Cilit Bang, to clean it up. Not sure if that made any difference though lol
Thank you so much for the video. It really helped to understand the issue and fix it with some other gadjet! :)
Thank you so much! This 100% solved our issue as well.
Thanks man...so very informative..i have some fog machine.i do some repair/maintenance on the pumps when it doesnt working properly,like it doesnt suck the liquid from the source...anyways..learned alot..thanks..from 2020..
The other common problem with fog machines is heater blockage caused by using impure liquids. As the liquid evaporates it leaves residue in the block that can be hard to remove.