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Topic: Maintenance Schedules

Ian Price
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1714
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-24-2001 04:07 PM

My staff is on me to make up a maintenance shedule. But why reinvent the wheel? Do any of you have booth maintenance shedules I can crib from?

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Ian Price
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1714
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-24-2001 04:20 PM

Here is my preliminary list.

Every Show

Check focus
Check frame
Check sound
Check platter behaving

Once a day

Visually check oil level. Half sight glass and splatter on back glass.
Wipe out projector
Wipe off gate and trap

Once a week

Clean all the projectors
Clean port glass
Clean lenses
Clean platters
Clean Rollers

Once a month

Tighten all the screws check for loose screws
Check Dolby tones

Once every six months

Oil the exhaust fans.
Check A-Chains
Check B-Chains

Once a year

Change the projector oil

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-24-2001 06:56 PM

The actual schedule depends on the age of your equipment. If you just installed a new booth in the last 6 months and things are kept VERY clean I'd let it go a year with just a minor check out, and oil change, at 6 months or at your wim if you think something is wrong, or perhaps if the biggest film in history is opening on Friday. I've never sold a customer a service contract on a booth that was less than 5 years old. Its simply wasting the customers money...unless he is completely inept at operating the booth. Then a service contract might be worthwhile, or perhaps a live in projectionist.
The older the equipment gets the more maintainance it will need as breakdowns seem to happen more frequently in equipment that has say 5 or more years on it. The other things you've listred in the booth are very important and should be done at the manufacturers specified interval. Many of the small jobs can easily be performed by someone at the theatre that is qualified.
Mark @ GTS

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Manuel Francisco Valencia
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 151
From: Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 11-25-2001 01:11 AM

Clean blowers and reflectors every six months. Bulb rotation when necessary if you find that it makes a difference.

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Bob Peticolas
Film Handler

Posts: 73
From: Mesilla, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-25-2001 12:00 PM

I would move cleaning the gate and trap up to every show. It doesn't take long for lint or crud to build up. I have my projectionists clean the aprature plate every show, it only takes about five seconds to pull it, wipe it down, and put it back (on a Brenkert, YMMV).

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Dave Bird
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 777
From: Perth, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 11-25-2001 12:39 PM

What do y'all use when cleaning the inside of your projectors? Initially I used alcohol (as I was cleaning a few years of non-use "gunk"), however I realize that this could be harmful to any gaskets etc....

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Aaron Sisemore
Flaming Ribs beat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups any day!

Posts: 3061
From: Rockwall TX USA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 11-25-2001 12:59 PM

Alcohol is fine, as long as you arent 'soaking' the mech in it- a spritz here and there shouldn't harm anything... It probably won't be necessary to use alcohol for EVERY cleaning unless you are super anal about squeaky-clean projectors

Usually once it has been thoroughly cleaned, giving the inside of the film side a quick wipe out between shows is sufficient, and maybe a thorough cleaning one a week or so if its really necessary.

-Aaron

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 11-25-2001 06:00 PM

Its been said on these boards before (I think) that lenses should be cleaned only when they are dirty. The more a lens is cleaned, the more scratches can get on it and the more the protective coating gets worn away-or so I've been told. If I'm wrong here someone correct me, but it's been my understanding that lens cleaning shoud be done on an 'as needed' basis.

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Aaron Sisemore
Flaming Ribs beat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups any day!

Posts: 3061
From: Rockwall TX USA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 11-25-2001 07:59 PM

You are correct. Lenses should require cleaning with lens cloths and a cleaner ONLY if there are oil, fingerprints or debris on the lens that cannot be removed with a blast of air.

any dust accumulation can usually be removed with a 'Dust-off' type of compressed air bottle or you can adapt a CO2 cylinder with a hose and blowgun for more powerful pressure.

-Aaron

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Ken Lackner
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1907
From: Atlanta, GA, USA
Registered: Sep 2001

posted 11-25-2001 08:48 PM

I would agree with Aaron about using compressed air to clean the lenses, but hasn't it also been argued somewhere on these boards that compressed air shouldn't be used near the projector so as to not accidentaly blow dirt or debris into bearings or any other place you don't want dirt?

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-25-2001 08:57 PM

Dave -- naptha is a really good grease solvent which works better (for me, at least) than alcohol or lighter fluid. It's in the paint-thinner section at hardware stores.

I agree about not cleaning lenses unless they actually need it. I've used Kodak lens fluid and lens paper with good results on both projector and still-camera lenses.

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John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 11-25-2001 09:32 PM

Lens brushes are nice for just removing the "everyday" type of dust that gets on lenses.

Watch out with the compressed air idea; don't use something that blows at 100 psi or anything.

Ken is right; if you use compressed air to clean the projector, cover the lenses, or remove them.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-26-2001 02:27 PM

Maintenance schedules are good for things like oil changes and lamp rotations/replacement. But other items should be on an "as needed" basis, with inspections scheduled on a more frequent basis. For example, if the lenses or port glass are obviously dirty, clean them immediately between shows. If they are spotless, leave them alone. Inspect the lamphouse optics on a frequent basis, but clean only when there is dust or haze on the optics.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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Keith Peticolas
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 108
From: Eagle River, Alaska, USA
Registered: Aug 2001

posted 11-27-2001 11:09 PM

Hey Folks, Thanks for the tips. If that handsome fellow in New Mexico had a cleaner and some Film-Guard, he would not have to clean his trap and gate every show. We do ours once a day.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 11-28-2001 07:11 AM

I think the atmosphere and air conditioning (or lack of it) in the projection box makes a difference, too. One place I worked in had only just opened and parts of the building were still under construction: the air was dusty and full of crap, and practically all surfaces which came into contact with the film had to be throroughly cleaned 2-3 times per day. Another had a properly filtered and recirculated air supply, and the only time that would be necessary is if you had a print which was a real shedder.

Depending on the type of projector, whether or not it is belt-driven and how big the blades are relative to the pull-down, I'd add 'check shutter timing' to once every six months or once a year as appropriate.

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