The first step to cleaning your soft serve air pump machine is drain the product. Press the reset button and relieve the pressure in the cylinder by pulling down on the dispensing handles. Next, remove the air pump injection tube from the air pump assembly and take it out of the hopper. Press the wash button to dispense product from the freezing cylinder in the hopper. Dispense all the product. Then add cold, clean, or sanitizer water. You should use a brush to help throughout clean the inside area and remove debris. Drain the waters, rinse and repeat. You can continue this process until the water is flowing out of the dispensing door clear.
Now we'll dissemble the machine. First ,switch the power to off or press the reset button. Push it and rotate air pumps a quarter-turn clockwise and pull to remove. Remove the hopper agitator. Disassemble the air pump assembly beginning by rotating the suction tube to unlock and remove the suction tube. Remove the spring and stopper out of the air pump. Unscrew the bolts on the air pump housing and separate the air pump cover from the shell. Remove the O-ring from the suction tube. Remove the spring from the stopper. Remove the shell gasket and the gears from the shell. Take apart and disassemble the injection air tube completely by removing both connectors. Take out the check valve and take off all 4 O-rings. The first O-ring is found on the end of the tube. The second is on the check valve. And the 3rd and 4th O-rings are on either of the two connectors.
Confirm the machine is in the off position. Next remove the dispensing door, remove the dispensing door from the cylinders, and disassemble the dispensing door by first removing the bearings from the door assembly. Remove the gaskets from the door assembly using the O-ring removal tool. Remove the prime plugs and the prime plug O-rings. To remove the handles, first remove the retention nut and then slide out the retention pin from the handles. Then remove the draw handles, pushing down first to pop up the draw valves, then pulling out. Remove the draw valves and twist while removing to prevent damage to the O-rings. Note the center valve has an "H" style O-ring. Remove the O rings, you can use the O-ring removal tool if it's helpful.
Next, rotate the star caps so that the tabs are accessible and snap off the caps. Now remove and disassemble the beater assemblies. Take the beaters out of the freezing cylinder. Remove the blades from the beater assembly. Remove the drive shafts from inside the cylinder using a dry towel. If you're unable to fit your arm in this cylinder, you can use the provided drive shaft removal tool. Separate the gasket from the drive shaft. Remove the front drip tray. Remove the side internal drip tray. Now I'll wash the machine.
Verify that the switch is in the off position and use the large provided brush and cool water and thoroughly clean the inside of the cylinder. Use a brush to clean inside of the drive shaft bearing, removing lubricant and debris from the back. Clean the back well. gently clean and wipe down the outside of the machine. Use one of the provided brushes to clean out the inlet hole in the hopper. Ensure all external surfaces on the machine are clean, then you can wash the parts.
Carefully and thoroughly clean all gaskets from the machine; be sure to wipe gaskets and O-rings to remove excess lubricant. Verify all parts are clean prior to re-assembling the machine.
Now we'll reassemble the machine. Never force installation of any parts. First we'll install the drive shaft seal. Put the gasket onto the drive shaft and lubricate. Pack lubricant into the gasket and up the length of the drive shaft but don't get lubricant on the top key area or the square area. Insert the drive shaft into the rear shell bearing and turn until the key engages firmly into the socket. Gently place both scraper blades onto the beater assembly. And then, insert the beater assembly into the freezing cylinder. Rotate the beater until it engages the drive shaft and no longer turns.
Dispensing door assembly. First, we'll install the O-rings on the prime plugs. There's two O-rings per prime plug. Next, we'll install the O-rings on the dispensing valves. Start with the side valves which have 2 O-rings each and then move on to the center valve with the "H" O-ring. Coat all the O-rings with space spin lubricant prior to placing in their position. Put the prime plugs into the prime plug holes and then place the valves into the valve holes, starting with the center valve so that you don't forget where it goes. You can use your finger as a guide to allow room for the handles to go in later. Rotate the valves while pressing in so as not to cause damage to the O-rings. Set the draw handles into the slots on the dispensing door and valve area with the adjustment screws on the handle facing down. Slide the retention pin through the draw handles and secure within that. Fit the door gaskets into the grooves on the back of the door, flat side out. These go on one way only. Then you can slide the beater guides over the beater rods with the flanged edge against the door. Snap the star caps onto the bottom of the dispensing door. Insert the dispensing door assemblies into the cylinder beater rods first, pushing the handles all the wat up as you insert. Secure the door assembly in a cross pattern using hand screws with the long hand screws on top.
Assemble the air pump assembly by first installing the gears into the shell. They only fit in one direction. Next, insert the gasket into the ridge and apply a very small portion of space man lubricant. Connect the covers in the shells ensuring they fit flush, and secure with the hand screws. IT's important to have a flush seal in order for the air pump to work correctly. Place the O-0ring on the suction tube, lightly lubricating the O-ring area. Place the stopper into the spring, verifying the orientation of the stopper in the spring and then insert into the housing, stopper first. Insert suction tubes into the pump and rotate to lock. turn it to the desired override setting. Coat the air pump drive shaft with space man lubricant. Install the air pump onto the machine. While pushing it in, slightly rotate back and forth until the gearing gauges and locks in place.
Assemble the injection tube. Place an O-ring over the end f the tube. Place another O-ring over the check valve. Insert the check valve into the bottom connector piece. Install the bottom connector O-ring. Next, install the top connector O-ring. If you took it out during disassembly, install the inner O-ring into the top connector as well. Screw on the bottom connector and slide on the top connector. You can place a small amount of lubricant on both O-rings to assist with installation. Coat the inside of the hopper agitator and place on the magnetic drive. Replace the front drip tray and replace the side internal drip tray.
Sanitation. Always use Food-Grade, no rinse-sanitizer to sanitize. If warm water is required to dissolve sanitizer, allow the solution time to cool before adding to the machine.
Pour a food-grade sanitizer solution into each hopper and then turn the power switch on. Press the reset button and then press the wash button. Allow the solution to agitate for 5 to 10 minutes; never leave machine on wash for more than 10 minutes. While agitating, gently use a clean brush to scrub and distribute sanitizer solution along the hopper walls. Place a bucket below the door and then open the prime plugs to rinse that area. Then open the draw valve to drain all the product from the freezing cylinder and the hopper area. Make sure to drain all the product from the machine. Press the reset button to stop the cycle.
IMPORTANT: Only use soft serve mix. Make sure the product is completely mixed and free of chunks of particulates which will clog the air pump. Only add pre-chilled product.
Place a bucket below the dispensing door and add a bit of product to the hopper. Then pull the draw valve down and purge out any sanitizer that's left. Pour the remaining product into the hopper. Pull the prime plug on top of the dispensing door up and wait until the the product is pouring freely. This sets the product level in the freezing cylinder. Insert the air tube into the inlet hole but do not yet connect it, swing it to the side. Press the wash button to ensure that the pump is primed correctly. Rotate and insert the air pump connector into the air pump, rotate the connector to lock it in place. Install the hopper covers. Product is now ready to freeze.
Freeze. Verify the cylinder is full of mixed product and primed. Pres reset and then freeze. The motor will begin to agitate the product and the cooling system will begin. Freezing product will take up to 10 minutes. When product reaches set viscosity it is ready to dispense.
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How to clean your Spaceman Soft Serve Machine, which includes removing, cleaning, and re-installing several internal components and gaskets.