# Abrazor tool for LeMaitre Neutron XS



## Radiant (Aug 2, 2008)

I need one - bad. We had our machine serviced a few months ago, and it came back without the abrazor tool. Not coincidentally, it required service because I wasn't cleaning it, with the aforementioned abrazor tool. 

So where can I get one, besides LeMaitre, who wants my firstborn?


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## Van (Aug 3, 2008)

Radiant said:


> I need one - bad. We had our machine serviced a few months ago, and it came back without the abrazor tool. Not coincidentally, it required service because I wasn't cleaning it, with the aforementioned abrazor tool.


What is an Abrazor ? Is that something for shaving your stomach??




Radiant said:


> So where can I get one, besides LeMaitre, who wants my firstborn?


 
No thanks have two it's all I need. 

I'm no help at all this week.


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## derekleffew (Aug 3, 2008)

From the cleaning instructions in the User Manual, *abrazor tool* sounds like an expensive name for *pipe cleaner*: "With abrazor tool in hand, guide it through the service port into the processing coil with an in and out motion." 

This site, under Legacy Machines: *CXP 2467* *Neutron Abrasors* *$5.00*
My advice--throw the thing away and buy this: Reel FX DF-50, the industry standard. You won't be disappointed.


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## BillESC (Aug 4, 2008)

Hummm....$ 5.00 vs. $ 2900.00+

Tough choice.


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## Radiant (Aug 5, 2008)

Somehow, I wasn't seeing the abrazors listed by themselves, just the $170 cleaning kit. Thanks for making me look again, derekleffew. I emailed LeMaitre, inquiring about purchasing a couple of abrazors. They directed me to contact my local theatrical supply house, Tulsa Scenic, as they should stock them. I'll give them a call tomorrow. Thanks for the help! 

derekleffew, is the DF-50 basically an oil crackler? Does it use an air compressor? How noisy is it? I've used homemade oil cracklers before, consisting of a 5 gallon bucket, an atomizer tube, mineral oil, and air compressor. I like the look, and I really like that it's not affected much by air conditioning and heating. It evenly dispersed, no matter what the thermostat was doing. But that even dispersal was sometimes a drawback, in that there was no way to get a heavy saturation on stage for special events. And, a compressor backstage is awfully noisy, which kept me mighty unpopular with the worship team - and Pastor. 

The Neutron XS does give us the effect we're looking for. I can haze our main sanctuary in 15 or 20 minutes with the air conditioners running full bore. In milder weather, with neither AC nor heat running, I can run the Neutron for 5 minutes before service, and bump one AC fan on for a minute to disperse the haze somewhat. That leaves me with a nicely haze-saturated stage, and some haze throughout the rest of the room. When the Neutron is shut off, I kick on one AC fan again, and the haze clears the stage, disperses through the room, and is gone in under 5 minutes. 

That said, we're... or, I'm...... looking for new tools, and a hazer is one of them. What would you recommend that is low maintenance, and as completely silent as possible?


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## derekleffew (Aug 6, 2008)

Radiant said:


> ... What would you recommend that is low maintenance, and as completely silent as possible?


 Appears the Neutron is working perfectly for you, other than the maintenance and that it has been discontinued. Why would a manufacture stop selling something that good? Perhaps it's because you're the first person I've ever heard who likes it!

The DF-50 fails your most important criteria: it's probably the _LOUDEST_ hazer on the market. What many people do is "haze the house" during walk-in, and turn it off for the show. I've never used any brand of hazer that was silent, (except for heater coils and sal-ammoniac--which IS NOT recommended or endorsed!).

I suspect your desire for one level of haze over the stage and a different level over the audience will eventually fog your brain.


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## TimMiller (Aug 6, 2008)

i use the antari fazer and have had really good results. If you run the fans low, its very quiet, but even on full tilt they are not loud.


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## BillESC (Aug 6, 2008)

Le Maitre replaced the Neutron FX with the Radiance. It is very quiet and comes with DMX onboard.


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## Radiant (Aug 6, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> Appears the Neutron is working perfectly for you, other than the maintenance and that it has been discontinued. Why would a manufacture stop selling something that good? Perhaps it's because you're the first person I've ever heard who likes it!
> 
> I suspect your desire for one level of haze over the stage and a different level over the audience will eventually fog your brain.


Hey, it really works! But, only if the heat and A/C are off. On a few occasions I've been able to get a chokingly thick cloud on the stage, which tapers off to a reasonable bit of haze over the crowd. When the band is done, we usually watch a few minutes of video announcements with the house lights dimmed, during which I'll kick in the A/C fans to dissipate the haze. When the lights come back up, the air is almost entirely clear. Works like a charm! 

Maintenance is a pitfall of the Neutron. When we first got the machine, we weren't aware that it needs to run a self-cleaning cycle when powered down. We were simply unplugging it when finished (no DMX or remote controls), which bypassed that cleaning cycle. Also, I didn't have a manual for it, so I didn't know to manually clean it. We didn't realize the error until it was in it's death throes, and had to ship it to LeMaitre for refurbishing. That was costly. But now, we diligently run the self-clean, and when I get some abrazors I'll ream the thing out. 

TimMiller said:


> i use the antari fazer and have had really good results. If you run the fans low, its very quiet, but even on full tilt they are not loud.


 Is the Fazer actually a fogger posing as a hazer? I forgot to mention, we used to use an F100. The adjustable output is a boon, all the way from mild to wild. But the fog juice irritated the singers' throats, and there is a noticeable odor. (From the F100, not the singers. Well, definitely from the F100 anyways.)


BillESC said:


> Le Maitre replaced the Neutron FX with the Radiance. It is very quiet and comes with DMX onboard.


 That might be just the ticket! I'll look into it.


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## Sean (Aug 6, 2008)

> That said, we're... or, I'm...... looking for new tools, and a hazer is one of them. What would you recommend that is low maintenance, and as completely silent as possible?




Look Solutions Unique2 Hazer. Excellent output, VERY quiet. The guys from Look are really helpful.

--Sean


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## Radiant (Aug 10, 2008)

Wednesday night the Neutron failed during our second service. The output dropped way down for a while, then it totally shut down and gave an error code. I was expecting this would happen soon. I got a substitute abrazor tool from Tulsa Scenic this morning, a spiral tooth scroll saw blade. Keith at TS said that's what he uses every time their Neutron comes back from a rental, and they've not had a problem with it in three years. I ended up using a dental pick to start the cleaning, as the saw blade would not start into the hole. After twenty minutes of scraping, sawing, and a smidgen of buffing with sand paper, the Neutron is back in service! 

So, lesson learned. I'll begin *regular * cleaning of the machine, not just waiting until it's hours away from failure.

(Also picked up a roll of Apollo Foil, a half dozen sheets of Roscolux, and a sheet of Apollo "Fatherless Amber". I think. It didn't have a number on it. Meh, it's for an amber front wash - I'm not picky. One sheet of Roscolux is "Congo Blue", my first time with this color. I like shopping!)


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## Van (Aug 10, 2008)

Radiant said:


> ... I got a substitute abrazor tool from Tulsa Scenic this morning,


 Is there still a company in Tulsa called "Ford.... " something or other ? Seems to me I remember going there to pick up gelsand such whenI lived there. 'course that was in the dark ages.


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## derekleffew (Aug 10, 2008)

Van said:


> ... Seems to me I remember going there to pick up gelsand...


 You actually used gelsand? Wow, you ARE old. I've only used sand having a crystalline structure, never of a colloidal suspension nature. Is this it?


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## Van (Aug 10, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> You actually used gelsand? Wow, you ARE old. I've only used sand having a crystalline structure, never of a colloidal suspension nature. Is this it?


 
Derek, forgive me if I don't spell this exactly right as there are several variations , pbbbbbbbblpblbplbbbpbpppbpbpbpbpbpb! < raspberries to you my friend>


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## derekleffew (Aug 10, 2008)

Van said:


> Derek, forgive me...


Gosh, if only there we're some place we could chat, and not waste the precious resources of, or clog with this drivel, CB.


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## Radiant (Aug 10, 2008)

Van said:


> Is there still a company in Tulsa called "Ford.... " something or other ? Seems to me I remember going there to pick up gelsand such whenI lived there. 'course that was in the dark ages.



Yup, Ford Audio/Video. I've been there a couple of times, quite a few years ago before I was involved in lighting. My parents' church had their sound system installed by them, and might still use them as a vendor for gear. I wasn't aware they offered stage lighting products, but that makes sense to me. To Ford, offering stage lighting products makes cents.


> 'course that was in the dark ages.


When exactly were the dark ages? Before the HPL lamp? Before Century-Strand? Before limelights? Or are you speaking more broadly - the dark ages before a techie is born, when he can to to the theater and enjoy the entertainment, without looking up to note gel colors and beam angles. The dark ages for some might be the silent ages for others, the years they spent innocently enjoying a play, and didn't note mic positioning and stray reflections.


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## OnWithTheShow (Aug 14, 2008)

I love my Neutron...Been running strong for 5 yrs. ( i did have to replace a failed pump recently). It runs pretty durn quiet.


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## pmgpriebe (Aug 16, 2008)

We have, for the most part, sold the 6 Neutron's that we have had in our rental department over the past 3 years and replaced them all with Radiances. One of the biggest pet peeves that people had with the Nuetron, was the auto-cleaning mode when you start it and that they had to let it auto-clean before they turned it off. The only problems I have ever seen personally over the years with the Neutron was that the element is real touchy and the pump occasionally goes out. Neutrons are not bad hazers for your average, run of the mill theatre. By all means an outdoor production it might take a few of them to get the results that you want, but I HIGHLY recommend the Radiance. As mentioned prior, it does have on-board DMX as well as you can set your on-board dmx wheels to run by itself while adjusting the output and the fan speed. The Radiance is very quiet if you want it to be while producing still a great amount of nice, even haze.

We have a few DF-50's as well, and by all means those units do just fine, but they are pretty loud for a few of the smaller venues that we do. I remember how amusing I found it the first time I took the reservoir cap off the top and haze started pumping out of it.

Also, the Unique 2 Hazer is also pretty good. The first time we got to see it was last year at LDI and then we quickly applied for our dealership. I would recommend either the Unique 2, or the Radiance, they are about the same price. (I defiantly lead more towards the Radiance). 

The great thing about the Radiance is that about 75% of them serviced at our location is for the cleaning of the aluminum middle plate with ports that get clogged over time which is as easy as soaking it in hot water for half a day and simply wiping clean the ports. No need to replace it. The other 25% is the element that is in the bottom plate but we honestly don't get that problem to much even with units we have had sold for 2 1/2 years that use it at least 3-4 a week for about 3-4 hours a day. I by any means am not saying that it will never happen, lol. We have just had great experiences with the Radiance and have turned a huge number of our clients and touring bands onto them after letting them demo the units for a few weeks.

If you need more detailed information about these units, just let me know and I can post up the major differences in the units, videos we have made for customers and reviews we have had over the units.


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## pmgpriebe (Aug 16, 2008)

Also, there are 2 Blue IIRC Wheels on the circuit board that you can adjust on the Neutron to increase or decrease the output. This is not in the manual, and this is not widely known to my knowledge. If you increase the wheel (I believe by turning it clockwise) it will pump out a noticeably more visual amount of haze, but it will cause it to 'spit' a little more than it use to. We did this for a few of the clubs we have done installs in to help them get the most bang for their buck. You don't have to adjust it much, as if you go to far, it almost puts it at zero.

I don't know if its recommended by Le Maitre, as I have never asked Jim if it damages the unit, but they have no problems that I have seen other than your average element and/or pump replacement over time.


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## Radiant (Aug 16, 2008)

A while back I found a service manual for the Neutron. It comes in pretty handy. It lists the adjustment you mentioned, which I did turn up slightly. It also gives the meanings for the LED fault indicator, details how to clean the air pump (which is a $10 fish tank aerator, by the way), lists pin voltages, etc. Very handy manual to have. I'll try and upload it.


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## pmgpriebe (Aug 16, 2008)

Nice.. Yea, I have never seen the service manual, i just meant the user manual in my post, but I am sure it has alot of neat tips like that in it.


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## Radiant (Aug 16, 2008)

Here's that service manual. Enjoy!


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## Radiant (Oct 25, 2008)

Our Neutron failed again. It was remarkably clean. The output just trailed off to nothing, then the LED flashed with an error code. The thermocouple became detached from the haze tube. At least, that's the problem I noticed. Who knows, there could be more. It's at Tulsa Scenic over the weekend, then off to LeMaitre.


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