Sephra Seal and Bearing Replacement Video

Follow along as we will demonstrate how to replace the seals, bearings, and drive shaft on your commercial grade chocolate fountain. Let's look at the tools required to install a new seal and bearing kit. You will need a small, flathead and Philips screwdriver, hammer, and crescent wrench. A seal puller is optional and may make the job much easier. Paper towels are necessary for clean up. The first step is to unplug your chocolate fountain. Next. unscrew the bowl from the basin by turning the bowl in a counter clockwise motion. You may need someone to hold the basin when initially unscrewing the bowl if it has been screwed on too tight. With the bowl removed, turn it over so you can see the six-plated metal driver which looks like a fan. The metal driver is reverse threaded. To remove the metal driver, turn the bowl upright 90 degrees so you are holding it on its side. This gives you access to the square spindle. Adjust your crescent wrench so that it fits over the spindle and secures it in place. Using the stem of the screwdriver, place it in-between the cogs of the metal driver and turn it in a clockwise motion to remove the metal driver. Once the metal driver has been removed we will be removing the bottom plate by unscrewing three or four Phillips head screws. Sephra's 23" Cortez and 27" Aztec have three screws. The 34" Montezuma and 44" and 54" Sephra have four screws to remove. To remove the bottom seal bearings and drive shaft from the bearings seat, tilt the bowl so that the bearing seat is not resting on the table and begin tapping the top of the drive shaft with a hammer until it comes out. If the two upper seals did not come out with the drive shaft, you can use a modified seal puller to pull them. If you do not have access to a seal puller, a small flathead screwdriver will work to remove the seals. If chocolate has penetrated the seals, the chocolate may have solidified and can make it difficult to remove these two seals. To help loosen the seals up, you can screw the bowl back onto the basin and turn the heating element on for a few minutes at a low temperature. This will loosen or melt the solidified chocolate, allowing for easier removal of the seals. To remove the seals using only a flathead screwdriver, carefully place the head of the screwdriver under the edge of the bowl and on the top of the lip of the seal and begin tapping. If you are using a flathead screwdriver to remove the top seals, be very careful not to scratch or gouge the inside of the C&C aluminum bearing seat. With the bearings, seals, and drive shaft removed, you want to clean out the inside of the bearing seat using paper towels. It is essential to remove all old grease or chocolate found inside the bearing seat. The seals, bearings, and drive shaft have come as a preassembled kit. To install these, you will want to only remove the seals keeping the drive shaft and bearings intact. You will notice when removing the seals that the two cavities face each other. Install them in the bearing seat in this same fashion. Press the seals one-by-one into the bearing seat. The seals, bearings, and drive shaft kit have a white food grade grease applied to them. Some of our kits have come with a washer that acts as a spacer in-between the seals and bearings. If your kit did not come with the preassembled washer, then you do not need one. After installing the washer over the seals, you will want to insert the shaft kit which has been pre-lubricated with white food-grade grease into the bearing seat assembly. Next, place the Viton bottom seal over the bottom of the drive shaft. Place the bottom plate over the Viton seal and secure it by screwing in the three or four screws into the bearing seat. In order to ensure a good seal, be sure to tighten each screw securely. Once they are all secure, tighten down each seal the remainder of the way using only a little bit of force. The last step is to install the metal driver by hand. Since it is reverse threaded, the driver will tighten as the motor turns the auger. With your bearing kit now properly installed, your bowl is ready for use once you screw it back onto your base in a clockwise motion. As you use your fountain, be sure and take twenty seconds to check the seal and bearing kit at the end of each night. This quick check will ensure that your Sephra fountain performs flawlessly for thousands of hours to come!