My Kerr Injectomatic II wax injector has started leaking wax from
just behind the nozzle tip. I believe the leak is allowing tiny air
bubbles into the wax as it’s injected, causing really annoying random
bubble streaks on the surface of flat waxes.
Does anyone know if the nozzle component comes apart for repairs? The
pot is currently full so I can’t easily take the nozzle off to see if
I can disassemble it. Money’s tight right now. Before I order a $50+
part, I’d like to know if it’s something that can be fixed without
having to replace the entire nozzle component.
Kathy Johnson
Feathered Gems Jewelry
http://www.featheredgems.com
http://www.fgemz.com
The nozzle is most likely clogged with gunk, generally from
introducing dust and debris when adding back wax for remelting.
Shut off and drain the pot while hot and take a paper clip or
similar to it while depressing the nozzle. If need be, unscrew it
from the tank body and clean. Teflon tape the threads and reinstall.
Be careful with all that hot wax and drain it into a container with
sloping sides like a pyrex baking pan, when the wax cools it’ll pop
right out. If you want to reuse it and it’s in a shape to big to get
back in the tank, freeze it and whack it with a hammer.
Does anyone know if the nozzle component comes apart for repairs?
Kathy, I don’t know if ours is the same brand, but it probably
doesn’t matter much. Yes, the nozzle can be disassembled, which may
or may not help. I’ve done it just to clean it out - sometimes you
get a bit of debris that prevents a good seal. Eventually we have
changed the whole thing, too. I don’t really remember it to give a
schematic, but…
You’ll need to drain the pot, obviously - then a wrench will remove
the nozzle. To take it apart use a wrench and a vise - you should
see how it works. There’s a return spring inside, and the whole
thing will be frozen by cold wax, so you’ll need to heat it up with
a torch and work on it hot… After it’s clean it’s easy to put
back together.
Kathy
Almost all Wax injectors have a rubber O-Ring that stops the wax &
the Air from leaking at the Nozzle.
You will have to remove the Nozzle assembly (threaded) and it is
better to drain the Pot and open the nozzle. With the problem you are
describing you are better of changing the O-rings. Just like a water
faucet the O rings seal the passage and get worn out.
You could get the Orings at HomeDepot (Fastner Harware isle) or you
may order on line from kerr. You rarely need to buy the whole wax
Nozzle.
Regards Kenneth
See if Kerr’s site has a Repair guide or a Parts list. That would be
of great help.
You could get the Orings at HomeDepot (Fastner Harware isle) or
you
This comes up under torches now and then, too. O rings is O
rings… Torch and valve makers don’t make special O rings, they
go to the hardware store (so to speak). Aerospace makes their own,
if needed, others rarely - it does happen, I suppose.
But when you need a new one for your torch handle or wax pot, it’s
not going to be a special part - they are commodoties just like
screws and nuts. As long as it’s the right size - ID and OD, which
is determined by the width of the stock, it will work just fine.
They come in a bewildering array - big and skinny and small and fat,
so you need to be careful about the size, especially if it’s gas,
but O rings is O rings…
There are different types of o-rings. There are rubbers that are
adversly affected by different materials. The old Ford and Chev
tranny fluids come to mind…Put in the wrong fluid and it eats the
seals.
I have a “seal” store near me thats wholesale only I’ve been going
to for 30 years that specializes in seal and o-rings…and they sell
several types of o-rings. There is plain old polysulphide, butyl,(I
believe) black rubber rings, then there is another black rubber of
the type that you would see on tailight lenses of the older cars.
Possibly a polyurethane?? I’m really not too sure of the names of all
the rubbers as I’m getting a bit old, but I believe nitrile are the
high temp variety and these are usually brown. And then there is
silicon o-rings (redder brown) for even higher temps. I usually use
the nitrile or silicon on everything that I replace an o-ring on
over the years that even thinks of higher temps, such as a waxpot. My
waxpot wears out an o-ring every decade or so even using the higher
temp rings. And the large seal on the cover breaks down even sooner
as the larger rings are tougher to come by in the high temp range so
I replace with anything that fits since its so easy to get at…
John