[I have an Omnitech model OT-EXC6A that's well out of warranty. It still works well, but I've noticed lately that it's inclined to run roughly and labour at times. I looked at the underside of the shredder head, and could see evidence of stuck bits of paper in the cutter bars' teeth that weren't clearing out. (I suspect that shredding paper with adhesive tape on it contributes to this.) Picking out those bits would probably clear up the trouble, but how to get at the full circumference of the two cutter bars? By 'bumping', of course.]
- - -
In automotive mechanics, 'bumpimg' an engine is to operate the starter for a brief instant, in order to rotate the engine to a more favourable internal position for some work to be done on it. With paper shredders, a similar method allows you to thoroughly inspect the cutter bars, and pick them clean of stuck matter that's making the shredder run roughly.
In a nutshell, here's how it's done:
- Fwd/Auto/Off/Rev switch set to Fwd.
- Shredder head upside down on a work surface.
- Shredder plugged in.
- At the centre-rear of the shredder head, there's a bin interlock microswitch button visible. Poke that button with a small screwdriver, and you can 'bump' the shredder's mechanism around little-by-little to inspect and get at all of the cutter bars' teeth. Pick out the bits of stuck material with a mechanic's pick and pointy tweezers.
- - -
Or not. The apparent improvement in performance that I observed from picking out stuck bits of paper from the shredder's teeth was short lived. I've since been told that oiling the shredder's cutter bars is hugely beneficial. We'll see.
# # #
# # #
No comments:
Post a Comment