8mm Forum: GS1200 Problem help

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Topic: GS1200 Problem help

Graham Sinden
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1131
From: Kent, UK
Registered: Aug 2005

posted January 12, 2009 05:42 PM

Another new year and a return to that old question "What grease to use on a GS1200 (and ST)?"

The reason I ask this is because mine started to show signs of the old slowing down problem where the machine would slow down slightly after about 20mins use and the speed changer knob would have no effect speeding up. Also the motor would get very hot and was too hot to touch. You could almost fry an egg on it.

I feared the motor would require rewinding but left the machine for a short while as I was too busy. And besides I used my good old ST1200. But last week I took out the GS and un-hooked the motor from the belt and left it running freeley for over an hour twice during the day. And the motor stayed cool throughout, only just barely warm on the top part. And I could touch it after an hour running and it was nothing like it was before and no indication it would ever get hot. So I was mightely releived the motor is not at fault.

So Im assuming (from searching this forum) that it must be just a lubrication job on all the nylon cogs etc. and making sure there is enough play between them. But heres where he problem is as the manual says to use 'Alvania 2' grease and this is not so easy to get hold of. My understanding is that Alvania grease is only made by shell but I cant seem to find any locally. The internet lists it as a Lithium based grease. So I purchased a multipurpose grease which says it is 'Lithium-based NLGI No.2 grease' and it is yellow. Can I use this on the GS1200?

Also I have some Albania RL2 grease (not alvania) and this is brown.

Can I use any of the above on the GS? as I want to get it going again.

Also and how much play should there be between the gears. I dont want to loosen them too much that they fall off during projection?

Graham S

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Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006

posted January 17, 2009 12:50 PM

Hi Graham
Been watching your post getting close to dropping of the bottom of the page without any reply. I was hoping someone could help you more than I can as I cant remember the name of the grease I am using as an equivalent to the Alvania. I bought mine unmarked from a service engineer long ago, I dont think its a multi-purpose grease its white in colour almost like a silicone type. I would be tempted to disconnect the main drive belt and manually turn things over just to get the feel just how much resistance you have "it does sound like something is very tight". Regarding the cogs as long as you have some play/clearance between them that should be fine. I would not give them to much, some types of grease goes hard in time "dries out" and if the wrong stuff has been used in the past this could cause problems. Another important area and one not easy to get to is the the cam and claw, cleaning the old grease and dirt off with cotton buds and applying some fresh grease onto the cam "the white stuff" also I used a syringe to apply a few drops of 3 in 1 light oil onto the main shaft bearings and the claw pivot points as well, in fact I lightly smeared some of that grease there as well. I think its best not to apply to much grease or oil when doing this work as the stuff can fly everywhere when the projector is running. I would make sure you have the 5mm side play on your belt "you dont want it to tight" well cant think much more, hopefully someone will add to this.

Graham.

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Graham Sinden
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1131
From: Kent, UK
Registered: Aug 2005

posted January 18, 2009 08:42 AM

Hi Graham (not me!)

Thanks for your reply. I did change the title of the post hoping to get a reply sometime soon. My GS hasnt been used much latley as I wanted to know more about the correct grease to use before I went in there as it has been mentioned several times on this forum that the nylon cogs can 'crack' if the wrong type of grease is applied. This mabye only be in extreme cases and using specialist grease not the multipurpose cheap stuff.

Yes I was going to apply a tiny drop of light oil to either end of the main shaft. When the motor belt was disconnected I did turn the shutter wheel a few times. It didnt feel tight but then at the time the GS was the only projector I had the back off so couldnt compare it. There is some play between the cogs but it might not be enough.

The 'white' stuff could well be silicone grease. Im sure this would not harm the nylon gears but is probably best applied after the previous grease is cleaned off.

Talking about grease in general, a quick search on the internet reveals thats is a minefield with all different types and different properties like RL1, RL2, RL3, EP ect. The stuff what I bought is just multipurpose grease which is 'Lithium-based LGI No.2 grease'. It may not be proper Alvania, but I believe that Alvania is Lith based so this may be the key point.

I will look at the GS ASAP but for now Ive got a blocked toilet to contend with [Frown]

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Kevin Faulkner
Film God

Posts: 4071
From: Essex UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 18, 2009 05:31 PM

Alvania grease is the one which Elmo recomend. Basically it must be suitable for use on plastics.

You have exactly the same problem I had on another GS1200 about a year a go. Removing the motor from the machine made it run with out any problems.

I eventually stripped down the machine to find that it had dried up grease but the main culprit was the fact that someone had striped down the machine to put in a 2 blade shutter. When they reinstalled the all the cogs etc they never made sure that there was play between all the cogs and those that touch the worm gear.
The cogs which touch the worm gear are on adjustable plates and these need to be adjusted to give some backlash between the gears. Without this it puts too much torque on the motor with its eventual demise.

I still think this is the main reason these motors fail in these machines. The GS I sorted for Robert Tucker over a year a go is still running as sweet as a nut! Given much longer in the state it was it would have burnt out.

I also now use a round main belt (o-ring) as I find this much gentler for the drive and if the machine does become stressed the rubber belt will either snap or jump off. Once again this helps to protect the motor. I will take a pic of the belt in my machine but basically a rubber belt which can just be adjusted to put it under tension when running. The original elmo Vbelt is too tough in my opinion and will not give up at all but pass any bad torque onto the motor.

Kev.

--------------------
GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.

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Graham Sinden
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1131
From: Kent, UK
Registered: Aug 2005

posted January 18, 2009 06:08 PM

Thanks Kev for that info.

Pleased to report that my toilet is now unblocked [Smile]

so will look at the GS next.

Graham S

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