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Old April 18th 18, 12:38 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
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Default EPSON XP830 Problem

On Wed, 18 Apr 2018 00:24:28 -0500, VanguardLH wrote:

Turing wrote:

I really like this Epson XP830 AIO. It is printing just fine, but now,
suddenly, it will not scan sheets via its ADF. Even a single 8.5X11
sheet jams half-way thru the ADF on the top. Anyone else have/had
this problem? If so, how did you deal with it? I should add that it
scans single sheets on the glass itself fine. I have found nothing
on this problem in Google.


If the rollers are rubber-like, they could be dirty. Use some isopropyl
alcohol to clean them.

Rubber rollers shrink after many years by drying out. A service tech
where I once worked had some rejuvenator spray he used on those rollers,
like in copying machines. I'd help him out so he gave me a can of the
stuff. I wish I had some more but ran out hence I don't remember what
it was but it certainly worked miracles on rubber, vinyl, and other soft
plastics. Could be something like http://tinyurl.com/yd5davwr; however,
what the guy gave me was a spray so I had to wet a rag with it and then
rub on the rollers. This product says it is citrus based, so that could
be orange or lemon oil. Another commercial product is Fedron
(http://www.teeveesupply.com/product_...als/fedron.htm) used to
clean and rejuvenate rubber platens. You might want to try one of the
much cheaper DIY formulae before buying the much pricier commercial
products. A 4oz bottle of Fedron costs $15.

One DIY formula that I've seen for rubber rejuvenator is one part of
wintergreen oil (aka methyl salicylate) to two parts of xylene. I think
it's the xylene that rejuvenates the rubber but the oil helps prevent
accelerated dry out. When rejuvenated, the rubber swells up. In your
case, that means the roller would apply more pressure against a matching
roller or surface to grab the paper. It would also eliminate any gap
that resulted from the shrinkage of the roller.

Another formula is one part wintergreen oil and two parts isopropyl
alcohol. Get the highest percentage of isopropyl alcohol, like 91%, or
higher, and add the oil. The oil is pricey so don't try to dilute a
whole bottle of 91% iso with half as much oil. The premix you find at
the stores of iso + wintergreen are only 70% iso and that's too much
water. Make your own from 91% isopropyl alcohol and wintergreen oil.
Since your application coverage is small, put 2 tablespoons of 91%
isopropyl alcohol and 1 tablespoon of wintergreen oil into a measuring
cup to mix up.

Don't bother with the isopropyl alcohol with wintergreen pre-mix you can
find at stores. Too much water (low percentage of alcohol) and only a
trace of wintergreen oil. In fact, wintergreen oil is clear or slightly
yellowish so the pre-mix looking green is from adding a dye (so it is
green to match winter/green/).

Another formula uses straight brake fluid (which has a rubber
preservator in it). Another is to use ATF (automatic transmission
fluid) since it will swell some types of rubber. However, they seem to
affect only some rubber and won't have as much effect as the iso+oil mix
noted above. You need to soak the parts in brake fluid or ATF, not just
wipe the liquid on the part you want to soften. I've seen silicone
spray used to soften the rubber but you'll have to make damn sure to
clean up afterward because you don't want to lube the rollers to reduce
their friction.

Phenol can be used but is mostly to remove the perished layer of rubber
to expose better quality remaining rubber. That doesn't seem like it
would swell the rubber part (to increase pressure to better grab the
paper in the printer) but more that it improve friction of the rubber
(so it would better grip the paper). You'd have to see if the rollers
have a spring to pull them against the paper so cleaning with phenol
would still have the springs pull the rollers against the paper with
sufficient pressure. Of course, springs weaken with age, too, so I'd
probably go with a solution that would swell the printer's rollers.

As I recall after using the rejuvenator, I had to wipe the rollers a few
times and may have even used some isopropyl alcohol to clean them; else,
I'd get black tracks on the paper. In fact, to remove contamination,
you should first use the isopropyl alcohol to clean the rollers. After
cleaning and treating, clean again by simply rubbing vigorously. You'll
need to run several sheets (or the same sheet several times) through the
printer to make sure the rollers are clean and don't leave streaks.

Without care over many years, it will take more than one treatment to
get the rubber rollers to swell sufficiently to have them press harder
against the paper to ensure reliable feed. You're trying to get the
rubber/vinyl rollers to swell so they apply more pressure against the
paper. Once rejuvenated, you have to repeat the treatment at much
shorter intervals.

Getting at the rollers is another matter. If they aren't easily
accessible, you will need to perform some disassembly to get at them.


This AM, when I tried a new, single sheet scan via the ADF. it jammed
again, but this time I note that the sheet flowed onto the gass, but
between the glass and a ~3/4" metal flange along the front side of
the glass. Of course the sheet can't pass thru there, so it
stuck.There is a similar flange opposite (on the back side) which did
not do that.
I really am beginning to think I need to replace the entire ADF. Good
luck on that. Hell, I can no longer find an address for Epson tech
support hardware and/or software. Probably me.

I really liked the double-side scan feature of the XP830. I used it a
lot. I guess I'll keep using it to print in order to use up my carts.
I can also single-sheet scan manually from the interior glass tho.
Scanning multi-page docs is OOTQ. I guess I cud then join them
together using other software (pdmerge) which I have.


As Peanuts wud say - 'GOOD GRIEF!'

Thanks again
Al