Rosco 1600 Fog Machine Troubleshooting

[jmdesper]

Greetings!

Do you have a Rosco 1600 Fog Machine that you have taken apart? I need to compare the one I have to a working one to see what the issue might be.

I have taken this unit apart down to having the pump out separately. This unit had a peristaltic pump, which involves rollers on a gear motor pinching a rubber tube.

1) Does anyone know how fast that motor in the pump should be turning when set to the full speed? I'm getting maybe 60 RPMs at best.

2) Does anyone know if there is supposed to be play in the gear motor shaft? When I pulled the rollers out there was a lot of play in the shaft, but there doesn't seem to be anything except a small rubber washer to help keep grease from leaking out from around the shaft. I thought maybe a bearing or something.

3) There is a small filter in the inlet line, on the side of which is an arrow. I thought the arrow was an indication of flow, but mine was pointed away from the pump. Is this normal?

Thanks for your help!

Michael

 

[Oliver B]

Greetings!

Do you have a Rosco 1600 Fog Machine that you have taken apart? I need to compare the one I have to a working one to see what the issue might be.

I have taken this unit apart down to having the pump out separately. This unit had a peristaltic pump, which involves rollers on a gear motor pinching a rubber tube.

1) Does anyone know how fast that motor in the pump should be turning when set to the full speed? I'm getting maybe 60 RPMs at best.

2) Does anyone know if there is supposed to be play in the gear motor shaft? When I pulled the rollers out there was a lot of play in the shaft, but there doesn't seem to be anything except a small rubber washer to help keep grease from leaking out from around the shaft. I thought maybe a bearing or something.

3) There is a small filter in the inlet line, on the side of which is an arrow. I thought the arrow was an indication of flow, but mine was pointed away from the pump. Is this normal?

Thanks for your help!

Michael

I haven't taken apart a Rosco 1600 in years! But, I do seem to remember that the pump motor was working at about the speed you are getting. I never looked at the gear motor shaft, and while I remember the arrow on the filter, I can't remember which way it pointed! Hope this helps you at least a bit!

 

[jmdesper]

Oliver- Thanks for the reply. I hate to get a replacement pump (the whole unit can be had for $120 from Full Compass) when it mostly seems to be working correctly.

Maybe I'll try replacing the tubing in the pump. Something new and super flexible might be all that is needed.

 

[jhochb]

Good Morning

Be careful, the tube Rosco uses is Tygon tube. It is made for rough duty.
A super pliable tube may not hold up to the abuse.

 

[jmdesper]

Jack- Thanks for the heads up. It looks like the yellow tubing is typcially used for fuel lines, but there is a Tygon tubing specifically for peristaltic pumps. I wonder if I should upgrade...

Any thoughts on the other issues I'm having, specifically the gear motor shaft? It just seems to me like there is too much play to get a good crimping action on the tubing, which I thought might be improved by a new, theoretically more pliable tubing.

 

[Dionysus]

Also been ages since Ive been inside a Rosco 1600.
Don't remember what way the arrow points either, however yes in most cases it points in direction of flow.

You never stated this, so I'm simply asking for clarification; You have tried to run the pump with tubing in place, and got NO FLOW? Even with the other end of the tube disconnected from the system?

I don't think replacing the tubing would fix anything unless it was leaking, but you may be right about the pump not squeezing the tube enough (assuming there is indeed no flow).
Have you tried passing fluid through the filter (is it clogged)?
Attempt a solution to get a better grip on the tube from the pump?

When was the last time the unit was properly cleaned (90% of the time I remember a Rosco 1600 not working, it hadn't been cleaned in far too long. Worked fine after an extensive pulling apart and cleaning)? once the heat exchanger is completely clogged cleaning it is far less fun as I recall, there is a reason you should regularly clean them.

 

[MattRosco]

Michael,
Rosco still performs service and has parts for Model 1600's. We would be happy to help out or send over some service documentation.

-Matt @ Rosco

 

[jmdesper]

Dionysus- Sorry for the delay... I was on vacation.

So far on the unit, in vaguely chronological order, I have:

1) Used the cleaner port to blow air through.
2) Pulled the nozzle off the front, reamed out the inside and used a safety pin to open up the front.
3) Opened up the unit, disconnecting the tubing from both sides and ran the pump with just the tubing in place with distilled water. It didn't seem to be moving the water at all.
4) Opened up the pump itself, noted the play in the pump shaft, and noted the out of round nature of the tygon tubing. I pulled the tygon tubing out and reversed it so the part that had been outside the pump housing was now inside.
5) Tried pump again with no real improvement.
6) Opened up the gear motor on the pump to see if there was a bearing missing or something that would hold the shaft more securely. I did not see anything.
7) Attempted to line the interior of the pump housing with material to help compress the tubing more fully. The material I had was to thick so I removed it.
8) Decided to re-assemble everything (including the filter) to see if a miracle had happened, or to see if the system needed to be closed to work.

Currently, the unit is partially re-assembled. When I tried to run it, I watched the fog fluid very slowly creep up the tubing and into the pump. It eventually started producing fog, but at the highest setting it was very loud and pulsing with each turn of the motor.

I've only been here two years, and the unit up until now has worked fine for the two shows it was used for. It was flushed out with distilled water before being put away each time. The last time was last fall.

Michael

 

[jmdesper]

Michael,
Rosco still performs service and has parts for Model 1600's. We would be happy to help out or send over some service documentation.

-Matt @ Rosco

Matt- Thanks for the offer and for watching the boards. Any service documents you have would be useful. I could not find any for this exact unit online.

mdesper AT ashland DOT edu