Many of the generic Chinese effects machine brands like Antari and Soundlab use a standard solenoid pump to feed the liquids into the effects units. In the case of a smoke machine the pump will be pushing the liquid into a heater block, while in the case of snow or foam machines it will be delivered to the blower head.
The pumps are notorious for gunking up over time if dirty liquid is used or if they are stored for very long periods of time. This video shows how to disassemble one of the most common small solenoid pumps for cleaning, although many larger solenoid pumps are very similar. Be aware that these things have spring loaded plungers that will happily scatter the entire contents of the pump into random corners of your workshop, so disassemble with care.
I should also mention that a common problem with smoke machines is blockage of the heater block, and if that happens then even a fully functioning pump will not be able to push liquid into it. (it usually requires a new block or complete new machine.)
For snow machines there are only two components. The pump and the blower. The most common fault is the unit running and blowing air out the front as normal, but no snow. It's inevitably the pump that has seized due to the intense degreasing effect of snow fluid which is basically diluted detergent. Snow fluid can also go rather yucky in storage so there's a good chance that cleaning the pump will get it working again.
The solenoid pumps work by driving a small piston/plunger back and forth in a cylinder with a one-way valve on the plunger and cylinder outlet. This means that for every excursion of the plunger a fairly precise amount of liquid will be pushed through the pump. The solenoids are often mains voltage and usually have a diode in series with them so they operate in distinct pulses on one half of the mains sinewave.
Cleaning the pumps involves careful disassembly as shown in the video and equally careful cleaning of the components by rinsing them in a bowl of warm water. If you wash them at a sink then put the plug in so you don't lose components down the drain.
Don't get the solenoid body itself excessively wet as it may penetrate into the windings inside. Careful consideration should be given before applying any form of oil to the assembly. The components are all designed to operate in the pumped liquid so any lubricant could contaminate the fluid as it goes through.
Always unplug the machines from the mains supply before doing anything inside them. Many have exposed mains voltage connections on contacts or circuit boards.
If all else fails, these pumps are so common that you can often find them on ebay if you search for "smoke machine pump".
The pumps are notorious for gunking up over time if dirty liquid is used or if they are stored for very long periods of time. This video shows how to disassemble one of the most common small solenoid pumps for cleaning, although many larger solenoid pumps are very similar. Be aware that these things have spring loaded plungers that will happily scatter the entire contents of the pump into random corners of your workshop, so disassemble with care.
I should also mention that a common problem with smoke machines is blockage of the heater block, and if that happens then even a fully functioning pump will not be able to push liquid into it. (it usually requires a new block or complete new machine.)
For snow machines there are only two components. The pump and the blower. The most common fault is the unit running and blowing air out the front as normal, but no snow. It's inevitably the pump that has seized due to the intense degreasing effect of snow fluid which is basically diluted detergent. Snow fluid can also go rather yucky in storage so there's a good chance that cleaning the pump will get it working again.
The solenoid pumps work by driving a small piston/plunger back and forth in a cylinder with a one-way valve on the plunger and cylinder outlet. This means that for every excursion of the plunger a fairly precise amount of liquid will be pushed through the pump. The solenoids are often mains voltage and usually have a diode in series with them so they operate in distinct pulses on one half of the mains sinewave.
Cleaning the pumps involves careful disassembly as shown in the video and equally careful cleaning of the components by rinsing them in a bowl of warm water. If you wash them at a sink then put the plug in so you don't lose components down the drain.
Don't get the solenoid body itself excessively wet as it may penetrate into the windings inside. Careful consideration should be given before applying any form of oil to the assembly. The components are all designed to operate in the pumped liquid so any lubricant could contaminate the fluid as it goes through.
Always unplug the machines from the mains supply before doing anything inside them. Many have exposed mains voltage connections on contacts or circuit boards.
If all else fails, these pumps are so common that you can often find them on ebay if you search for "smoke machine pump".
Thanks Clive , just repaired an old sound lab snow machine , found the pump was seized , remembered watching this video , so a quick search , dismantled the pump, cleaned off the corrosion with some scotchbrite, back together and working – cheers
(1) Watch video. (2) Disassemble pump and clean it out. (3) Attempt to put it back together and get confused. (4) Watch video again and discover your pump has a very similar yet different set of parts than bigclive's.
Using the terms from bigclive's diagram, mine has no distinct cylinder nor valve. The cylinder seems to be integral to the elbow-shaped outlet. The noise suppression o-ring's inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the cylinder retaining washer, and is nearly indistinguishable from the larger seal. Maybe I'll try to find a replacement pump. Unfortunately, the ones I've seen so far all use a smaller diameter input hose and output tube (like many of the 400 Watt fog machines I've looked inside).
Despite all this, I still appreciate the video!
Cannot thank you enough, Clive! This exact pump was in my Pelonis dehumidifier here in the US. It was less than a year old and was leaking on the floor. The pump was stuck, and your take-apart-put-back-together diagrams gave me the info I needed to clean and reassemble. Problem seems to be solved. You saved me like $200 by repairing, and kept it out of the landfill. Thanks!
I have wondered about using these things to pump common petroleum-based oils, e.g. lighter weight gear oils in machines, or automatic transmission fluid for bandsaws (as a source of lube for the blade.)
The volume of fluid needed is modest, about 50 cc per minute or so.
Buenas tardes
Tengo una duda, una bomba usada con todas las piezas puestas y en su orden, suena al energízarla pero no chupa líquido; Cual puede ser el problema. Gracias
What a guy, I got myself into trouble by stripping it down after 6 pints then couldn't put it back together😅. Thank god I stumbled across this video.
Your hands look so young.
Thanks Clive. I've followed your videos for some time now but didn't dream that the help I needed on this project would actually come from yourself (from nine years ago no less). I will continue to follow your vids and who knows, you might pop up out of the blue to help me again. Greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the excellent video
the diode?
Video really helped me out went to bed after 1 this morning
Грамотно! Молодец, мужик!
How bout if you remove the spring valve so that the fluid will just go straight to the heating component? What could possibly happen?
> thanks Clive excellent vid
восхитительно , среди десятков видео от русских "мастеров" ни одного адекватного ответа не нашел, а тут даже схему нарисовали . спасибо =)
Just saved me $60, thanks!