Smoke and snow machine pump maintenance.

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".

Видео Smoke and snow machine pump maintenance. канала bigclivedotcom