# Maxant extractor issues yet again



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Have you contacted Maxant for support?


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## sharpdog (Jun 6, 2012)

Sounds to me you are missing a key (square metal bar) from the keyway in the shaft. This bar would link the shaft to the basket eliminating slippage. I dont have a maxxant extractor so im not certian, but something needs to fix the shaft to the basket. It may be a simple set screw into a flat spot on the drive shaft.


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## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

No have not contacted maxant support. Sat. Afternoon Columbus day weekend, figured they are closed. 

As for the key, good thought but not the case. There is a set screw of sorts that holds something to the metal shaft. That is tight. Slippage is in the motor area and I am guessing a gear is worn. Or maybe a key in the motor. I would rather not open it up but I have frames uncapped and sitting in the basket. Don't want to leave them like that. 

I'm going to,try calling maxant. Can't hurt I guess.


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## Schultz (Mar 9, 2015)

Sounds like the gearbox. They caution in the instructions that the basket *must* be advanced with the motor to avoid stripping the gears. You can remove the drive and spin it with a drill motor until you get a replacement.


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## MAXANT (Sep 13, 2008)

Sounds like the gear box is stripped !
If the basket spin freely, then you have stripped the gears.
You have 2 options,
A: Send me the motor and I will replace the gears
B: Ill send you the gears, you replace. You will need a arbor press

Are you leaving your honey gate open during extracting?
Are you advancing the basket with the speed controller during loading and unloading?

Shoot me a email and I will email you the schematic for the Parvalux motor

[email protected]
PS We will bee here Monday


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## Schultz (Mar 9, 2015)

Wow! Is that customer service or what?!


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## jrshay (Jul 9, 2012)

Dan 

Check the spider gear make sure it's fitting together correctly.


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## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

All good info. And yes that is customer service. Yes I have been advancing using the motor and keeping the honey gate open. Drill motor is a great idea, if only I had one. I'm going to try and rig up something. 

Attached are images for anyone who may find this thread. I removed three Phillips head screws from the base of the semi flat round piece attached to the motor. I am assuming this is the gearbox. Then very gently took a small,skinny flathead screw driver and separated the bottom of the gearbox from the top. It actually came apart very easily. Inside is a ton of grease and this white clear plastic gear, which I am assuming is the issue in my case. It attaches to a splined metal rod. For me, this plastic gear spins freely around the splined rod. I removed it from the rod very easily by simply pulling it. Sounds like the new one won't be easy to put on.


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## umchuck (May 22, 2014)

going to void warranty but if it's like I see it, the exterior surface of the metal drive shaft, drives the interior of the plastic gear, if so, you could drill a hole thru plastic gear and metal shaft and install a roll pin, metal shaft may be hardened so slow rpm with the drill bit. I never dealt much with warranties, when you need something, you need it to work, good luck


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

...or maybe some epoxy, or a couple of small nails driven between the shafts and the gear to snug things up....at least until you get new parts.


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## whiskers (Aug 28, 2011)

Clean everything very well, spray brake cleaner works well. Find a triangular file that will fit through the hole in the gear and use it to file several slots in the inside of the gear (a coping saw could work too). Keep a good part of the circular bore intact between the slots for alignment. Fill the spline and the slots with epoxy. Loctite makes an epoxy for plastics which might be a good choice, but without knowing the type of plastic it's hard to say. Assemble gear to shaft and allow epoxy to cure. After epoxy cures replace grease and complete assembly (you may have to trim any excess epoxy from the face of the gear hub).

This should result in an epoxy bushing that replaces the worn away material. The slots are to provide a mechanical connection in case the epoxy doesn't stick to that plastic. Run the machine carefully although in the best of cases this repair may be quite durable. Order the new parts anyway.

Good luck-
Bill


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## Colby828 (Dec 4, 2013)

Send it to Maxant. 


MAXANT said:


> Sounds like the gear box is stripped !
> If the basket spin freely, then you have stripped the gears.
> You have 2 options,
> A: Send me the motor and I will replace the gears
> ...


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## PeterP (Feb 5, 2014)

MAXANT said:


> Are you advancing the basket with the speed controller during loading and unloading?


This thread has been very informative. I've had my Maxant for 3 years and this year I noticed I could back up the basket by hand a few inches to load and unload. Based on the above thread I am assuming the plastic gears are getting worn down. I will be careful to only use the controller in the future. 

Maxant - What causes them to wear down prematurely and what can be done to reduce wear? Unbalanced load. Heat from continuous use with no break? 

I have had no problems so far and hope to enjoy my extractor for many years to come.

Regards Peter


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Sounds like MAXANT already has the original poster all set. 

My guess PeterP is that the splines that hold the gear is the weak link so MAJOR damage does not occur to the unit. I'm sure it was designed this way. However, from an engineering standpoint, the splines could be more aggressive (harder to strip out) AND still function as the weak link.


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Ramping the speed up slowly and ensuring the honey never backs up to the bottom of the frames should increase the life of the gearbox. It doesn't take much of a blowout or chunk of burr comb to back up the honey in the 1-1/4" outlet, so you need to keep an eye on it.


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## BeeMoose (Oct 19, 2013)

I think the fact that Maxant got on here and stepped up speaks volumes for the company and product. I'm glad I just bought the 3100P. Used it for the first time and love it.

Good luck to the OP. I suggest sending it to the manufacturer for repair.


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## MAXANT (Sep 13, 2008)

Mr.Beeman said:


> Sounds like MAXANT already has the original poster all set.
> 
> My guess PeterP is that the splines that hold the gear is the weak link so MAJOR damage does not occur to the unit. I'm sure it was designed this way. However, from an engineering standpoint, the splines could be more aggressive (harder to strip out) AND still function as the weak link.


This is 100% correct. Parvalux designed this so as to not damage the motor. $35 gear set is cheaper than a $229 motor.


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

In 20 years of maxant equipment we have never had a piece that broke down in the 1st decade of hard use. Most of our equipment is older but built like a tank.


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## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

I have owned mine about 3-4 years now. Its been used probably 5-6 times and has not see real hard use. This run was going to be the most honey I have had to date. I think mine was not quite right from the get go for some reason as it just felt off. I am just unhappy I have boxes stacked sitting and no time until Halloween to get to them now. One frame already had wax moths and I had to let it get robbed out. It was a feeding frenzy in this summer weather. Luckily though Maxant is going to take care of the situation which says a ton for their product and commitment. Heres hoping my boxes don't crystalize and don't get destroyed by wax moths..


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Dan,
How did you handle it? Did you send it back to be fixed?


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## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

Yes, shipped it back and am waiting the return. If I had a press I would have done it myself, as its not real difficult. I have been in touch with Jake and he is expecting it to arrive. I have to say I am not happy I had this issue, but if it were to happen again, I would rather have a Maxant after seeing how the issue was handled. A customer cant ask for anything more than what was offered from Jake/Maxant. I would doubt another company would get going on this the way Jake did. I cant imagine a company in China checking the forums. Something to think about on your next purchase. Thanks Jake!


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Note that Jake / MAXANT's first post in this thread was on October 10th, which is a _Saturday_!


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## kincade (Feb 3, 2011)

I've had a similar experience with Maxant. I have one of their uncapping planes and had accidentally stripped one of the allen head adjustment screws. I sent back to Jake to have it repaired and expected 100% to pay for the repair since it was my fault. Not only did he fix it and ship back at his cost, he also cleaned it very well and sent me a pretty nice hat. Maxant and Jake are one of the best companies I've had the pleasure of dealing with. They've earned my business for life.


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## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

I was just going to update this thread. The motor came back timely and with a maxant baseball cap. Nice touch. I was finally able to reinstall the motor and get going. Sadly I ran into more issues. The motor was great but the connections to the basket rod did not line up so well. Many hours of messing around trying to get it right. I would get it and would spin a while and have to redo it. Set screw kept backing out and at times had nothing to connect to. I am thinking a spacer or something is missing, maybe. Seems the basket rod should have been higher than it is. Im going to ask Jake for a diagram and see what looks out of place. 

I was able to extract most of my honey which was good. I still have three boxes left though and will finish this coming weekend.


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## svtkpr (Mar 16, 2011)

Is the little ball in the bottom socket that the basket shaft sits on?


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