CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[gnnash]

As I eagarly await my new green LCP tube's arrival, I have been trying to prepare for the task of transferring the tube from its Marquee housing into a Barco housing.

The Marquee and Sony procedures are very complete and well-documented, however I haven't found any procedures or experiences regarding Barco housings.

Are there any 'gotchas' that I should be aware of? It is pretty straightforward and obvious where to cut the old silicone and replace it with new once I start digging into the old Barco housing?

[Curt Palme]

Easier than the Marquees.

Take out the two fill screws on the back (assuming BArco 1209s housing!), and drain the glycol into a container. Cover container to prevent crap from getting in, and from your dog or cat drinking it.

Take out the front trim ring and remove the C element. Flush the chamber just to prevent you from getting glycol on yourself.

take off ground strap at the back.

Using an Olfa blade or similar (box cutter), start cutting into the silicone around the tube. Work slowly, don't let the blade snap and nail you in the finger as it did my buddy, who then needed 14 stitches.

The corners are a bitch, and guaranteed you'll break a blade or two. You really need to work the corners though, as that's where the silicone hangs up the blade. The tube will pull right out once it's cut all the way around. You'll feel it getting loose, then you'll know where to cut more.

(play the Cure music while doing so... cutting... bad pun... sorry!)

Don't lose the 4 black plastic spacers that may go flying as you wiggle the tube out. they prevent the tube from touching the metal LC housing, which prevents the tube from imploding. All 4 spacers are mandatory on the new tube. (they sit in the Lc housing, the tube sits on top of them).

Reseal with LOTS of silicone via a caulking gun. Put lots in the corners, that's where I get my leaks most often. I then run my finger covered in paper towel around the tube to push the excess silicone down. It's not nearly as pretty as Barco and VDC do once it's done, but it works. I've gotten better at it.

make sure the tube is the right way around, mark the position of the HV lead before pulling from the housing. (HV lead comes out the right side of the tube when looking at it from the back, with the Schemimpflug adjustment facing up.) If the tube is upside down, you need to redo your work.

Let the silicone sit a week to cure. Make sure the tube is roughly in the middle of the housing, with equal silicone on both sides. if you're in a warm climate (I don't think so, not yet in Mn!), you can get away with 5 days curing.

Put the ground wire/clamp thing back on. I always forget!

Re-install, and you're done.

[Curt Palme]

Easier than the Marquees.

Take out the two fill screws on the back (assuming BArco 1209s housing!), and drain the glycol into a container. Cover container to prevent crap from getting in, and from your dog or cat drinking it.

Take out the front trim ring and remove the C element. Flush the chamber just to prevent you from getting glycol on yourself.

take off ground strap at the back.

Using an Olfa blade or similar (box cutter), start cutting into the silicone around the tube. Work slowly, don't let the blade snap and nail you in the finger as it did my buddy, who then needed 14 stitches.

The corners are a bitch, and guaranteed you'll break a blade or two. You really need to work the corners though, as that's where the silicone hangs up the blade. The tube will pull right out once it's cut all the way around. You'll feel it getting loose, then you'll know where to cut more.

(play the Cure music while doing so... cutting... bad pun... sorry!)

Don't lose the 4 black plastic spacers that may go flying as you wiggle the tube out. they prevent the tube from touching the metal LC housing, which prevents the tube from imploding. All 4 spacers are mandatory on the new tube. (they sit in the Lc housing, the tube sits on top of them).

Reseal with LOTS of silicone via a caulking gun. Put lots in the corners, that's where I get my leaks most often. I then run my finger covered in paper towel around the tube to push the excess silicone down. It's not nearly as pretty as Barco and VDC do once it's done, but it works. I've gotten better at it.

make sure the tube is the right way around, mark the position of the HV lead before pulling from the housing. (HV lead comes out the right side of the tube when looking at it from the back, with the Schemimpflug adjustment facing up.) If the tube is upside down, you need to redo your work.

Let the silicone sit a week to cure. Make sure the tube is roughly in the middle of the housing, with equal silicone on both sides. if you're in a warm climate (I don't think so, not yet in Mn!), you can get away with 5 days curing.

Put the ground wire/clamp thing back on. I always forget!

Re-install, and you're done.

[gnnash]

Excellent instructions, thanks!

Sounds like it shouldn't be a terrible job. The worst part will probably be waiting for the silicone to cure without any movies to watch!

[Francisco]

Just a thing to add. If you scratch the inside of the LC chamber when cutting the old tube out (and this will certainly happen) cover the scratch marks with a little bit of black silicone or heat resistive black paint. It will prevent against corrosion and fungus in the future. One more thing I cut the tip of the caulking gun in on both sides, so he silicone will come out left right and front of the tip. push it down between the housing and tube glass and you are sure to have enough silicone there. After you're done with silicone move the tube around up down left right a little while silicone sits there, and then do the paper finger job. will give best result

[Curt Palme]

That's one hell of an idea, I need to try that!!! Thanks!

[Curt Palme]

That's one hell of an idea, I need to try that!!! Thanks!

[km987654]

[gnnash]

So something like a matte black self-etching primer/sealer? I'd hate to use something wrong that will flake off and float around in the glycol.

[gnnash]

Oh, and do I need to run through any burn-in routine after replacement? Or is that only for remanufactured tubes?

[Curt Palme]

That's only for the tubes with the rust colored necks. If the necks are black, the tubes are new, and you're fine.

[Curt Palme]

That's only for the tubes with the rust colored necks. If the necks are black, the tubes are new, and you're fine.

[km987654]

[gnnash]

Whew, got both tubes out last night.

I have to say, the Marquee was actually somewhat easier. Being able to get a screwdriver in there to pry out the old silicone in large chunks is very nice. Of course, 2010 vintage silicone is also much softer than 1998!

Ended up starting with a razor blade on the Barco housing, then switched to a paring knife. No broken blades, no gashed hands, but a LOT of cutting... In the end, I probably could have stopped a fair bit earlier than I did, It still felt like there was some silicone holding things together, but I figured I'd try to pull it out anyway, and it came right out.

Tonight I'll have to clean out the old housing, and paint over my scratches. Bummer that I'll have to wait another day before putting the tube back in, a lof of the scratches will be covered with silicone, and I'd hate to cover up any paint that isn't fully and completely cured.

Oh, and thanks for the heads-up on the spacers. Mine were clear and easy to miss. In fact, I forgot all about them last night, then was horrified when I remembered in the shower this morning. Turns out two of them had fallen out when I rinsed out the housing, and were sitting in the bottom of the kitchen sink, almost ready to be washed down the drain!