Century intermittent preparation to run

[Adam Liberman]

I recently obtained two Century C projectors that probably have not been run for decades. I'm looking for advice on the intermittents -- should they be disassembled, or just flushed with oil and refilled? What oil is recommended? One of them has the older type with the pinned sprocket, and the other looks like it might have Lavezzi replacement parts. Also the upper and lower sprockets -- flush, and with what? / just add oil / disassemble and clean? These will be in a home theatre with very light usage anticipated. Thanks.
proj1-int.jpg proj2-int.jpg

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Fill the intermittents half way up the sight glass with ~SAE 20W oil. Only use non detergent oil! If you can't see through the sight glass... if they are that dirty, then the movements should be dissassembled and cleaned. Note that there is an ultra thin gasket between the two halves that you will need to duplicate, or find somewhere. You might try flushing out the movements, but the oil sight glass is plastic. So keep that in mind when choosing a solvent. Once the solvent is drained back out, fill with oil, run for a couple min., then drain. Do that three or four more times to get rid of any left over solvent. Also look at the movement parts list in the warehouse Century C service manual to get an idea of what's inside. There are also two small set screws that adjust star to cam clearance. Don't touch those!! Also those intermittent shoes suck. See if you can get newer version shoes to replace those. With Estar they can actually cause scratching. Good luck!

[Randy Stankey]

Would Marvel Mystery Oil work?

I don't think it would hurt any plastic parts. Would it?

IF MMO is okay, I think that you could use 50/50 mix with regular intermittent oil and run it for a short time before draining then rinsing with pure oil three times would get the gunk out.

As for the rest of the projector, it looks like it just needs a good cleaning. There is a lot of gunk built up in there. A good, "take-apart" cleaning seems to be in order.

Just from looking at the pictures, it seems like everything else is okay, but for those shoes.

[Adam Liberman]

1) Oil such as this? https://www.truevalue.com/product/sa...-motor-oil-qt/ Is oil sold as "intermittent oil" the same stuff?
2) These may only get run for a few hours per year. Would a synthetic, such as Superlube Multi-Use Synthetic Lightweight Oil ISO 68 be suitable to avoid eventually gumming up?
3) How can I identify the newer version shoes from the ones that I have? Suggestions on where to find them?
Thanks

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Would Marvel Mystery Oil work?

I don't think it would hurt any plastic parts. Would it?

IF MMO is okay, I think that you could use 50/50 mix with regular intermittent oil and run it for a short time before draining then rinsing with pure oil three times would get the gunk out.

As for the rest of the projector, it looks like it just needs a good cleaning. There is a lot of gunk built up in there. A good, "take-apart" cleaning seems to be in order.

Just from looking at the pictures, it seems like everything else is okay, but for those shoes.

MMO is way too thin. Needs to be SAE 20 in a century movement. The oil spiral oil channels are made for that weight oil. Back in the olden days I used LaVezzi oil. But good luck finding that,,,

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

1) Oil such as this? https://www.truevalue.com/product/sa...-motor-oil-qt/ Is oil sold as "intermittent oil" the same stuff?
2) These may only get run for a few hours per year. Would a synthetic, such as Superlube Multi-Use Synthetic Lightweight Oil ISO 68 be suitable to avoid eventually gumming up?
3) How can I identify the newer version shoes from the ones that I have? Suggestions on where to find them?
Thanks

That True Value oil should work ok. I love Superlube products, and ISO 68 is about the equivalent to SAE 20.

The shoes??? If no one here on Film-Tech has them, then try Magna Tech in Miami. Just be sure the curved pressure pieces are not all worn out. Or request new curved pieces. You can see how different the later pad assy is compared to the early version. It also helps image steadiness to some degree...

[Adam Liberman]

MMO is way too thin. Needs to be SAE 20 in a century movement. The oil spiral oil channels are made for that weight oil. Back in the olden days I used LaVezzi oil. But good luck finding that,,,

I think Randy was suggesting using it mixed with oil to flush the intermittent, then to replace it with pure oil (not in place of oil). But I've read other posts here concerned that flushing with a solvent isn't a good idea because you can't be sure that all of the solvent has been drained or evaporated before adding the oil.

[Adam Liberman]

The shoes??? If no one here on Film-Tech has them, then try Magna Tech in Miami. Just be sure the curved pressure pieces are not all worn out. Or request new curved pieces. You can see how different the later pad assy is compared to the early version. It also helps image steadiness to some degree...

Not sure which curved pressure pieces you are referring to. Is this not already part of the new pad assembly?

[Randy Stankey]

Right. I was thinking of using Marvel Mystery Oil to clean the intermittent, not to actually run on.
Use 50/50 mix with your regular oil. Run for a few minutes. Drain, rinse, repeat. Rinse with pure projector oil and drain then refill and use normally.

I wouldn't use pure Marvel at all. I wouldn't let the mixture run for more than a few minutes at a time. I wouldn't let it soak for more than a few hours, if at all.
When doing anything like this, always start by using the smallest amount until you know how things are working. Once you know what happens, decide whether things are working the way you want them to then make adjustments until you get the job done the way it needs to be.

I've never heard anything bad about Marvel if you use it for what it was intended. It's been used, ever since I can remember, to clean gunk out of engines and other moving equipment. The stuff is compatible with the interior and seals of most engines. I can't imagine anything inside a car that isn't comparable to the inside of an intermittent, only on a smaller scale.

That's more about what I am asking. Is it compatible when used carefully. Will it work? What are the drawbacks? Is it even worth trying?

[Ryan Gallagher]

All more aggressive flushing methods aside. I would start simply by doing a couple oil change cycles one after another, manually cycling the flywheel, maybe some running and another oil change or two. It all kinda depends on what the oil looks like and how it is flowing on the drain port. Not draining well at all or seeing things in the oil, flushing with a solvent or Randy's approach might be warranted.

Then there is the question of how well it is holding oil, some leaking is kinda normal on century's, but the status of the thin gasket might be in question.

In Adam's case, I wouldn't take the intermittent apart unless there is real evidence you need to?

[Adam Liberman]

To do the draining, am I to remove the intermittent from the projector and turn it upside down to drain it?

[Randy Stankey]

What's your plan? Do you want to just clean it up and get it to run or do you want to take it apart, clean, lubricate, adjust and replace any worn or damaged parts? You might also just clean it up to get it running then do a full, take-apart cleaning, later on.

If you are planning to tear the machine down, go ahead and take the intermittent out. If you just want to run it, leave the intermittent in place. Or, as above, just leave it in to get the machine working then do a tear down later.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

To do the draining, am I to remove the intermittent from the projector and turn it upside down to drain it?

To drain it, pull the screw that's located at 6:00 on the face of the intermittent. Just place a rag under it to collect the oil.