Manfrotto Avenger F1000 Suction Not working?

[RONDAL]

ive got 3 manfrotto avenger F1000 suction cups i bought from B&H about a year ago. I use them for car rig shots.
Ive used them maybe 3 times total in the last year. Very careful with them, make sure they are clean, put away properly.

Two of them have stopped holding suction. I'm getting a very thing film of oil on the push pump plunger itself and i cant figure out whats going on.

I dont know whats caused them to fail, B&H wont warranty them, and they're so expensive to have shipped to Canada in the first place.

Anyone know if these are serviceable or if there is a fix for these issues? google didn't turn up much


part in question, the oil appears near the red ring.

photo sourced from: Avenger F1000 suction cups | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


Thanks

AA

 

[Village Idiot]

Are you sure they've lost suction? What are you testing them on? I'd recommend getting a window or some other flat glass surface to test the units. I have the same cups and sometimes it takes a little working with them to get them to catch suction on a car, especially if you're not on a flat surface. The car surface should be clean and fairly wax free. I usually have to apply a little bit of downward force while pumping to get them to start to grab. If you have a window or other flat glass surface to test them on, you'll be able to get a seal more easily than on a curved painted surface of a car.

The oil is normal by the way. That's how mine came and they work fine.

 

[RONDAL]

ya i've tried multiple surfaces and nothing.

i've gone so far as to pull the plunger on one of the units out, they pull straight out with no stop, and inspect it and the inside to see if there was anything visbly out of place. nothing.

Dunno what to do.

 

[RONDAL]

after 3 hours of tinkering, if you pull the plunger out there is a spring, a block o-ring type piece of rubber and a plastic stopper. I adjusted the o-ring and made sure it was seated properly, its what would be sealing if there is anything.
After repositioning it a few times the suction is working again.

now i gotta figure out how to get this off my wooden coffee table. i did the usual pump it like a mofo cause it would never stick, this type the suction built up super quick and now it wont release haha.

 

[Village Idiot]

Strong fingers.

 

[RONDAL]

plastic knife and some butter did the trick. was trying to avoid damaging both the table and the rubber. Works great now

 

[picturemark]

I know this is an old post (10 years!!) but I'm having the exact same problem. I'll try fiddling with the plunger seal. In the meantime, I've got a shoot this weekend that I need to rig a "hostess tray" and a hood mount so I bought a few suction cup handles from Harbor Freight. They seem to hold but the plastic handles have a bit of flex. I'm using mafer clamps to magic arms to cheese plate.