Bizhub C224e/C258 series fuser premature failure

[tsbservice]

I have one machine in very dusty enviroment where 3 fusers go to about of 60% of their expected yeld and then fusing belt develops many black dirth dots(non-cleanable).
I would like to attempt belt replacement of last fuser as all other parts seem in good conditions. I know some guys here rebuild fuser units just need to know if there is list of recomended parts to go along with belt. Disasembly instructions may become handy too.
TIA, tsb

[copyman]

I have one machine in very dusty enviroment where 3 fusers go to about of 60% of their expected yeld and then fusing belt develops many black dirth dots(non-cleanable).
I would like to attempt belt replacement of last fuser as all other parts seem in good conditions. I know some guys here rebuild fuser units just need to know if there is list of recomended parts to go along with belt. Disasembly instructions may become handy too.
TIA, tsb

I've been rebuilding these fusers for a few years now. Only parts I replace is the belt & lower fuser roller (both sold at copylite). Recently came across a high volume fuser that needed the sponge roller inside of the belt (small bearing disintegrated and cut into shaft). These sponge rollers are sold by China suppliers but hard to get in USA. Copylite lists them but are wrong rollers. Just a side note when you have a noisy fuser it's from these small bearings on sponge roller drying out.

This isn't something I would do in a customer's office. Lay everything out in order you take apart. Might take you several hours first time but eventually can be done in less than 2 hours. Much easier then the Biz C253. I take pictures first time I rebuild a fuser, etc.

One last thing C454 fuser is identical except the lamp & Lower fuser roller are different. (although I have swapped the connector on a C224 for lamp to work in a C454) Wires a little shorter but works!

Hope this helps

[copier tech]

I have one machine in very dusty enviroment where 3 fusers go to about of 60% of their expected yeld and then fusing belt develops many black dirth dots(non-cleanable).
I would like to attempt belt replacement of last fuser as all other parts seem in good conditions. I know some guys here rebuild fuser units just need to know if there is list of recomended parts to go along with belt. Disasembly instructions may become handy too.
TIA, tsb

Don’t waste your time. Simply replace the failed fuser & move on.

[copyman]

Don’t waste your time. Simply replace the failed fuser & move on.

When it comes to saving $500 I have all the time in the world to waste! Easy to say just replace a $500+ fuser when someone works for a dealer or OEM but when self employed you save your customer $$ while making yourself good profit. I was hesitant at first but have some rebuilt nearing 500K and still going strong. So if another tech tells me something works just ignore it? Hell no especially if they tell me they have done many with NO problems!

And in the case of tsbservice with fusers failing under 100K they could put just a $40 belt in. But I guess the easy way out is just keep putting $500+ fusers in! No thanks.

Everyone has their own opinion and way of doing things. After 45 yrs in business my way is working just fine;)

[copyman]

Not sure if tsbservice is in CO? If so we have done business before so they know they can trust my word.

[Bix]

What do you think about Aliexpress?
Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com (https://de.aliexpress.com/af/fuser-c258.html?d=y&origin=n&SearchText=fuser+c258&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20210125030009)

[copier tech]

When it comes to saving $500 I have all the time in the world to waste! Easy to say just replace a $500+ fuser when someone works for a dealer or OEM but when self employed you save your customer $$ while making yourself good profit. I was hesitant at first but have some rebuilt nearing 500K and still going strong. So if another tech tells me something works just ignore it? Hell no especially if they tell me they have done many with NO problems!

And in the case of tsbservice with fusers failing under 100K they could put just a $40 belt in. But I guess the easy way out is just keep putting $500+ fusers in! No thanks.

Everyone has their own opinion and way of doing things. After 45 yrs in business my way is working just fine;)

My time is more valuable, 4/5 calls per day, if I was rebuilding fusers that would be halved then 10 calls the following day.

The beauty of working on Bizhubs if the fact that all the main components are simple & quick to replace, why ruin that.

[tulintron]

When it comes to saving $500 I have all the time in the world to waste! Easy to say just replace a $500+ fuser when someone works for a dealer or OEM but when self employed you save your customer $$ while making yourself good profit. I was hesitant at first but have some rebuilt nearing 500K and still going strong. So if another tech tells me something works just ignore it? Hell no especially if they tell me they have done many with NO problems!

And in the case of tsbservice with fusers failing under 100K they could put just a $40 belt in. But I guess the easy way out is just keep putting $500+ fusers in! No thanks.

Everyone has their own opinion and way of doing things. After 45 yrs in business my way is working just fine;)Here we also work this way. We even do many tests in our laboratory. Crazy experiences, TSB already knows me. Lol ...

I agree with you, when you say that: if it works at low cost, why have the highest cost?


Everything is a matter of choice and, in our case, the low cost has given a good yield and a considerable return $$

[tulintron]

I have one machine in very dusty enviroment where 3 fusers go to about of 60% of their expected yeld and then fusing belt develops many black dirth dots(non-cleanable).
I would like to attempt belt replacement of last fuser as all other parts seem in good conditions. I know some guys here rebuild fuser units just need to know if there is list of recomended parts to go along with belt. Disasembly instructions may become handy too.
TIA, tsbIn the first disassemblies, I confess that I did not like doing them. But with practice, you improve the work.

Your knowledge will make the process easy. The result will tell you how much it is worth

[copyman]

My time is more valuable, 4/5 calls per day, if I was rebuilding fusers that would be halved then 10 calls the following day.

The beauty of working on Bizhubs if the fact that all the main components are simple & quick to replace, why ruin that.


Agree time is valuable.

I do them at night so not to affect my service calls during the day. When you are self employed it's a 24/7 job. One night out of the month I'll do a fuser another night 2 or 3 drum units (takes 20 mins each, new drum, blade, grid & sawtooth corona). Few days a month to save my customers a lot of $$$ and make me a lot of $$$. It would be like working for a company and getting some over time pay!

[copyman]

I've been rebuilding these fusers for a few years now. Only parts I replace is the belt & lower fuser roller (both sold at copylite). Recently came across a high volume fuser that needed the sponge roller inside of the belt (small bearing disintegrated and cut into shaft). These sponge rollers are sold by China suppliers but hard to get in USA. Copylite lists them but are wrong rollers. Just a side note when you have a noisy fuser it's from these small bearings on sponge roller drying out.

This isn't something I would do in a customer's office. Lay everything out in order you take apart. Might take you several hours first time but eventually can be done in less than 2 hours. Much easier then the Biz C253. I take pictures first time I rebuild a fuser, etc.

One last thing C454 fuser is identical except the lamp & Lower fuser roller are different. (although I have swapped the connector on a C224 for lamp to work in a C454) Wires a little shorter but works!

Hope this helps

I wanted to add something very important, I also automatically replace the 2 small bearings on the sponge roller. This will stop any noise from the fuser plus not disintegrate and ruin the sponge roller shafts! bearings available aftermarket or very common used in many Kon/Min models. I take them from finishers that I'm scraping. Example: There are 4 - 6 of these small bearings in a FS-534.

[Bix]

My time is more valuable, 4/5 calls per day, if I was rebuilding fusers that would be halved then 10 calls the following day.

The beauty of working on Bizhubs if the fact that all the main components are simple & quick to replace, why ruin that.

Ricoh has another thought. All fusers, developer units, drums etc need to be rebuilt.
Even the electronic boards want them to be sent to the factory for repair.

[tsbservice]

Thanks everyone for valuable advices and especially copyman. I have one fuser in hand and would like at least to attempt rebuild it. Then we will see.
So to sum up I will need belt and lower pressure roller + 2 small bearings, right?
As for Alibaba/Aliexpress suppliers I have here CET parts available: http://www.cetgroupco.com/gb/ and will try them.

[copier tech]

Ricoh has another thought. All fusers, developer units, drums etc need to be rebuilt.
Even the electronic boards want them to be sent to the factory for repair.

Yes, Ricoh & Canon have designed their fusers to be rebuilt, however because they are designed this way genuine parts are available to order & pretty easy to rebuild.

Kyocera, Lexmark & Konica Minolta designed their fusers to be replaced as one unit. Kyocera go one step further providing a maintenance kit containing all feed rollers, drums, devs, transfer & on some models the fuser so after fitting these kit the machine is pretty much like new again.

[emujo2]

My time is more valuable, 4/5 calls per day, if I was rebuilding fusers that would be halved then 10 calls the following day.

The beauty of working on Bizhubs if the fact that all the main components are simple & quick to replace, why ruin that.

In would agree 100% if the units ran their stated life spans..Too many of these items are wearing out at 1/4 of their rated life spans. I don't know about you, but direct and dealer techs are
also rated on the cost of the parts they use.. It's hard to ding someone on high parts costs when a 800$ fuser gets 200k out of a rated 1.2 million, but at the end of the year corporate only sees the numbers. It sure would be nice to order a cyan bag of developer and fix the gounding problem instead of the entire assy. Same with drums, and ITB. I never had an issue rebuilding a 751 fuser..or a Toshiba x fer belt. E

[Hansoon]

What do you think about Aliexpress?
Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com (https://de.aliexpress.com/af/fuser-c258.html?d=y&origin=n&SearchText=fuser+c258&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20210125030009)

"Goodpartner" was the one who supplied my famous aftermarket thermistors......

;)

Got from Chinaman....... (https://www.copytechnet.com/forums/konica-minolta/154216-got-chinaman.html)

Hans

[tsbservice]

"Goodpartner" was the one who supplied my famous aftermarket thermistors......

;)

Hans

Yeah I glanced over the link Bix provide and chuckled when see that 'Goodpartner' company.

[Oystercopy]

I'm all FOR rebuilding the fusers instead of tossing them. I can't tell you how many Bizhub fusers I've taken apart and all it (usually) takes is some high temperature oil (I use DuPont Krytox) that saved the fuser from having to be replaced, when
they're squealing. Seems to happen (some) with less than 30K. I could see not doing it if the fuser has reached yield, but most are not making it that far.

Plus, if you think about it, where do all your REBUILDING skills go when you never use them, and just keep REPLACING $500 fusers.. that's right, they will be gone.

I buy my parts from China suppliers as well to rebuild some of these things, but unless you work for a large dealer, who's got $$ to burn, why not at least TRY to repair it?? If I break down the fuser however, and there are seriously worn components, then YEAH, you may not even be able to get some of the bushings/gears that you would need to rebuild it. But its certainly worth a shot.

And I'm in business for myself and every penny counts, people! Been doing it this way in my own business for 26 years; seems to work well, most often.
OC

[Hansoon]

Forgot to mention in my previous thread that I ordered from that source, this time not noodles, but two sets of each four thermistors. The first set coded out immediately with C-3923 indicating "thermistor wire break"

48027

Well, "Shit Happens" was my first thought and left the machine alone for the next Saturday finding time to work on it so one week later I installed the second set, but than.............

I claimed this first set of thermistors for replacement already but no reaction from them yet

Hans

[allan]

In the first disassemblies, I confess that I did not like doing them. But with practice, you improve the work.
Your knowledge will make the process easy. The result will tell you how much it is worth

How long does it take to rebuild a C554 fuser?
Did my first one on site, took lots of pictures. Feels like you are taking it to bits to get to the point you can change the rollers. Had to undo and redo some things not really knowing the sequence of reassembly. After the rebuild i got real bad fusing with the toner sticking to the belt. Was relieved that it was only me not hooking in the pressure springs. Quality was A OK. That first one took me about an hour.


I wanted to add something very important, I also automatically replace the 2 small bearings on the sponge roller. This will stop any noise from the fuser plus not disintegrate and ruin the sponge roller shafts! bearings available aftermarket or very common used in many Kon/Min models. I take them from finishers that I'm scraping. Example: There are 4 - 6 of these small bearings in a FS-534.

Most of the bearings on these machines are of international standard. You can find the bearings a lot cheaper for a hardware supplier.

[copyman]

Thanks everyone for valuable advices and especially copyman. I have one fuser in hand and would like at least to attempt rebuild it. Then we will see.
So to sum up I will need belt and lower pressure roller + 2 small bearings, right?
As for Alibaba/Aliexpress suppliers I have here CET parts available: http://www.cetgroupco.com/gb/ and will try them.

Correct, all you will need is the Fuser belt, LFR & 2 small bearings. All sold at Copylite

When ever you have a fuser making that weird noise or squeal when sitting idle it's the 2 small bearings on that sponge roller inside the belt. You can change these without dissembling the whole unit. Takes 10 mins each side.
I've had low volume accounts with under 100k where fusers were making noise, do I replace the fuser for $500+, Hell no! I replace the 2 small bearings! 20 mins of my time and $10 for the new bearings $0 if I take from scrap machines!

I remember the days working for a dealer and OEM and knicking customers drum, or damaging something else! No big deal just have the company I worked for order a new one. You change your way of thinking (and way more careful) when it's your own money:rolleyes:.
But biggest satisfaction is saving my customers money. Most are like my friends after 20+ yrs of their loyalty to me.

[tulintron]

How long does it take to rebuild a C554 fuser?
Did my first one on site, took lots of pictures. Feels like you are taking it to bits to get to the point you can change the rollers. Had to undo and redo some things not really knowing the sequence of reassembly. After the rebuild i got real bad fusing with the toner sticking to the belt. Was relieved that it was only me not hooking in the pressure springs. Quality was A OK. That first one took me about an hour.



Most of the bearings on these machines are of international standard. You can find the bearings a lot cheaper for a hardware supplier.Allan, about 40 minutes. The pressure roller cleaning set is removed and discarded. It only serves to decrease the useful life of the fusion. The rest of the merger, we exchange whatever is necessary.

[allan]

Allan, about 40 minutes. The pressure roller cleaning set is removed and discarded. It only serves to decrease the useful life of the fusion. The rest of the merger, we exchange whatever is necessary.

On the 554 b/w I just throw the cleaning roller out and the fuser end up going past life. So you say even with the color machines its ok to get rid of the cleaning roller?

Great stuff. 40min not to bad for saving like $300.

[tulintron]

On the 554 b/w I just throw the cleaning roller out and the fuser end up going past life. So you say even with the color machines its ok to get rid of the cleaning roller?

Great stuff. 40min not to bad for saving like $300.Exact. They only serve to reduce service life and bring problems. Our contract equipment is all without the cleaning kit.

[copyman]

Exact. They only serve to reduce service life and bring problems. Our contract equipment is all without the cleaning kit.

That cleaning kit is basically there for two sided copying. If your customer does a lot of 2 sided best to leave in. Otherwise the LFR roller will get a build up on it that will not come off without destroying the roller. Just have to remember to change the small bearings (same bearings discussed earlier in this thread) and bushings around 100K. Again the cleaning roller is available aftermarket for a lot less than OEM!

Just want to be clear with my feelings using OEM, I will only use OEM toners & developers!

But finding many aftermarket parts are just as good if not better than OEM. Usually at less than 1/2 the cost. If there is ever a time I find an aftermarket part craps out early or affects quality or operation I will never use that part again. Fortunately only happen once or twice with small parts like feed rollers, etc. Some OEM & aftermarket parts are being made in same factories in China.

[Gift]

Ricoh has another thought. All fusers, developer units, drums etc need to be rebuilt.
Even the electronic boards want them to be sent to the factory for repair.

They currently change that for most products except for the production printing models. You can order single parts but a sleeve unit for the IMC series exceeds the price for an entire fuser. Not shure about the boards, never have been askes or offered to send them in but I don't really handle boards regulary, not much issues.

I was also tempted in rebuilding some KM fuser units but haven't done it yet. I also like the input about removing the cleaning roller to improve the lifetime - even if I still hesitate to try that out lol

[KMFLT3CH]

My time is more valuable, 4/5 calls per day, if I was rebuilding fusers that would be halved then 10 calls the following day.

Sounds like you and I both work for OEM 😂

[DelawareJim]

Hey guys, just to clarify on the c554 and c554e and 554, are you saying to remove the aluminum cleaning roller and leave it out? Also, are you saying to leave the brush roller in? Thanks

[Synthohol]

I toss out the fuzzy roller and clean the black one with a greeny. (Scotch-brite pad)

[L0rdC]

https://youtu.be/PPA8-1z-jHk

have you tried cleaning the band with wd-40?