Game Changer Assembly and New User Instructions

I should have published this long ago. Some minor changes were in progress so I decided to send these individually. Then of course I usually space it. :upside_down_face:

I designed these to be very easy and user friendly. Shown is a Dremel 4000 but the RTX and Tacklife fittings are very similar.

Pictured is the GC as you will receive it. The single black part will be taped in taped inside the housing for shipping. I call this the drive adapter. Remove every thing from the nose of your rotary tool including the collet and collet nut and screw the drive adapter onto the threaded spindle until it seats. (Stops)

Edit: @lukeloop kindly posted a parts diagram below. Remove parts 14,15, and 23 from the ā€œnose.ā€


Next screw the black housing onto the plastic threads on the Dremel:

Insert the homogenizer into the housing and lock in place with the thumbscrew.


Thatā€™s all there is to it. However, clean it first thing. I have cleaned it and ran it in a alcohol solution and there may be residue. Besides, some postal worker might have sneezed on it :sweat_smile:

Cleaning is very easy. Insert something like a mod screwdriver or allen key through 2 of the 6 lower ports (holes). This will keep the rotor from turning while you unscrew the driveshaft form the rotor. You hold the black drive adapter and unscrew the driveshaft. The driveshaft will lift out the top. The rotor out the bottom. I use a small bottle brush or just run under hot tap water.

Pictured are the parts:

On top is the stator tube and bearing housing. On the bottom left to right is the rotor, driveshaft, a Teflon washer (must be used) and the lower half of the drive. Never loosen the grub screw in the drive adapter.

Reassembly is of course the reverse.

For cleaning between mixes I simply run the unit slow in a glass of distilled water. I disassemble and clean and dry after the mix session.
Enjoy and feel free to ask any question any time.

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I can be reached via Gamechanger1952@yahoo.com by anyone.

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The reason for distilled?

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Here I go again: :grimacing: :laughing:

Its unlikely that more than 2 or 3 drops remain. I donā€™t think its really necessary but is what I prefer to use. Itā€™s one of my quirks that I should probably not mention and yes Iā€™m what most consider a health nut. Iā€™m very careful about what I eat and drink. Iā€™m also diabetic.

Distilled is the cleanest and purest followed closely by reverse osmosis which labs have hard time telling the two apart. Iā€™m in Indiana where we are in the bottom 10 states for water quality. I donā€™t drink tap water even though I have my own 430 feet deep well. I never drink from a municipal system. Iā€™m surrounded by farmlands and watch them dump tanker-loads of chemicals on the fields. I distill my own water with countertop units and use it for cooking and drinking and have for more than 20 years. I take mineral and other supplements.

Other than purity there is no other benefit that I know of.

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No worries, I completely empathize with you on that. Itā€™s just that we happen to have one of the cleanest water sources for a metro area. The tap water is safe and tastes good. I drink it.

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Here is a link to the Dremel 4000 parts. e.g if you donā€™t know what a collet is like me it helps. https://www.toolspareparts.com.au/dremel-4000-f013400049-spare-parts.html
Also a video on how to remove the collet https://www.toolspareparts.com.au/dremel-4000-f013400049-spare-parts.html

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Got mine todayā€¦ so, excited to use itā€¦ thank you so, much!!

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Thatā€™s great. I saw earlier today that it was out for delivery. Please let me know if you have any questions. :+1:

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I do actually have oneā€¦ questionā€¦ what is the extra ring for with the plastic screw?
:slight_smile:

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Its used as a depth stop. Set it where the tube is 1/2 to 2/3 down in the bottle. It makes it easier to just rest on the bottle opening.

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Hi kndabutch :smiley: I got mine just about a week ago and and itā€™s already changing my mixing world. Iā€™m sure youā€™re going to love it.

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ahhhā€¦ makes sense. ok thank you

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Thereā€™s only one problem with having so many recipes available this fastā€¦now I have to either clean out or set up more attys:facepalm:. The madness never ends (and thatā€™s fine with me:tongue:)

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Step 1) Donā€™t listen to me, Iā€™m some dummy on the Internet. I do not represent Game Changer ā€¦but I do own and operate one. I came on ELR because last mix session I had a problem and was hoping to get some repair/advice, but I canā€™t find any new convos re: the Game Changer. Any Updates?

My problem. I was mid-mix (homogenizer on) and there was a sudden speed change (audible). After analysis/disassembly it appeared I had a bearing issue (did not turn easily with my finger). The small bearing is visible right on top of the shaft assembly. Me? Iā€™m somewhat of a micro machinist and sell tools and electronics online. They donā€™t work usually when I buy them but theyā€™re like new when I sell them. I can fix anything.

After poking around here it didnā€™t sound like the GC guy was available, but his post above gives you everything you need to FULLY disassemble/clean and properly maintain your Game Changer. Best is what NOT TO DO (remove grub screw). Thatā€™s actually the most important stuff to follow. Haha like NOT following my advice :wink:

OK hereā€™s my advice and how I fixed my aging Game Changer. My problem was I was being lazy in cleaning, but also the bearing was struggling lubrication-wise. I remember back when a ball bearing made in the US and they were always PACKED with grease. This small bearing spins at a relatively high RPM (5.000-ish RPM at half Dremel speed). Having tried it for a second or two at higher RPMs on my Dremel dial I saw ZERO increase in ā€œhomogenizationā€ and instructions warn against high speed use ever.

I had never fully disassembled as described above and it was ā€œuncleanā€ inside the shaft/rotor when I did (just now). Water getting/laying all up inside while stored is easily blamed ā€¦oh well Iā€™m to blame ā€¦never more! Talking about bearings from China ā€¦theyā€™re famous for having minimal lubrication. I have found myself repacking almost every bearing Iā€™ve worked on for the last 30 years for this reason. Itā€™s actually easy but requires you break some rules ā€¦and you MUST have the proper grade high-speed grease. Me? I collect that stuff from Grampaā€™s Garage sale(s). I have every lube/grease/oil/solvent/glue ā€¦because I use 'em! Heh I had some Carbon Tetrachloride from some old guyā€™s garage that was like 50 years old. Canā€™t even sell that stuff ā€¦came in handy tho :wink:

Ok hereā€™s what I did that you shouldnā€™t. Do at your own risk. While fully disassembled as pictured above you can see the bearing at the opposite end of the shaft from the homogenizing end. Remove the metal rod to have clear access. The bearing is clearly metal but mine had a dark blue seal of rubberized metal between the two rings of shiny metal ā€¦the bearing races. You need to lift out that seal to access the actual balls of the bearing, oh look grease. Bend or damage that seal and youā€™re toast. Itā€™s a very thin washer specially coated with rubber so it seals out water and seals in grease, and itā€™s very small when removed. So how to do?

Metal to metal load bearing surfaces create incredible friction and your enemy is DIRT of any kind. Even lint. Anything but fresh grease is simply contamination and doom. Wash your hands before you start and have a clean work area. Wipe off the exterior end with the bearing with a lint-free cloth. I gently ran a toothpick around the outside of the seal too because there was substantial junk ā€¦likely the source of my problem ā€¦never having fully disassembled for cleaning.

The seal comes out easily! The trick is not damaging it. No knives/pliers/screwdriver etc. I use a corkboard pushpin! Nice little handle thingy for control and all you need is a small point to get just between the outside metal race and the outer ring of the seal and pry a tinniest bit and it should lift slightly. Unlike a knife, a needle or pin gets between the metal and rubber and doesnā€™t have a sharp edge that might cut that outer rubber edge of the seal. Dont poke the rubber, get between the metal and rubber of the seal. Hey? you gotta put that thing back in there!

First thing I noticed was a lack of lube and all the visible grease was hardened and black. Very carefully I removed the grease from the underside of the seal with a lint-free cloth. Then with a clean corner of my cloth I wiped and that top surface of the bearing assembly (balls under a ring). Be careful not to get any fibers inside. No need to get super clean! No solvents! You donā€™t have access to the other side of that bearing and seal. Add your machine-grade lube, but do NOT overload, leave space between that new grease and the seal you are about to replace.

Too much thick grease can cause enough pressure against the seal and make it pop off in operation. I only added what might have equaled two matchheads and worked it in by spinning the inner bearing ring using the central shaft laying near. Moderation is critical here. My bearing was looking very dry and toasty at first but now it spun smoothly and freely. The seal pops right back in place with ease. Make sure the rubberized side is visible facing out, not that inner track ring of visible metal which should now be holding in the grease inside, and see? Not cutting that edge with something sharp when removing the seal also keeps the water out and keeps it in place securely.

So? At first I was sure my bearing was blown (chipped balls) but it was just dry and dirty. It took me longer to write this than it took to actually fix. Hey? If you have an Apple watch and read all the way down here? Put yourself down for 1.200 ā€œstepsā€. I hope this helps anyone who had a similar problem and I will likely do annually to keep getting the most outta my GC for years. More importantly keeping all the inner and outer spinning parts squeaky clean is very smart.

What not to do? Donā€™t overthink it. Go slow. Safety First. Never do something you canā€™t undo. Remember you canā€™t get to the other side of that bearing/seal. No need to get squeaky clean, that always goes badly (try and remove all the dirty grease, uh no). More is not always better, especially when it come to grease! No Q-tips etc ā€¦new grease must be 100% uncontaminated ā€¦no little fibers.

Boss man if youā€™re still around and donā€™t want this here, feel free to have an Admin move or whatever. I posted this here as it seems relevant and is the last Game Changer post I found. Man! I panicked when I thought I was outta the Changed Game~! Thanks guys! Now I gotta go MIX! YES~!

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Hi Bo. GC aka anon36682625 here. If you or anyone else have questions or problems concerning the GC please PM me. I have grave concerns about the bearing problem. 2 others have experienced failures. I will stand behind anything I make and have replacement bearings. I also have bearing from a different mfg.

While I admire your self sufficiency, the lubricant within the sealed housing is a non toxic food grade substanceā€¦thus the blue rubber seal and why I chose them. Blue is a FDA/USDA designation as safe for food contact upon failure. Specs declare these good for 50 K rpm but as I said there have been other failures. I have 2 others (double sealed stainless) which may be a better choice. 3 known failures over more than 100 units gives me pause. If they last a yearā€¦dunno.

I experienced a severe event health wise and spent many months pretty much unable to function. I am doing fine now. Before I can consider producing anything else, I need to resolve the upper bearing issue. Rob has my personal email. Dan

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Hey GC, Iā€™m glad youā€™re doing better, itā€™s good to here.

Out of curiosity about the ones that failed, did they seize up?

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Hey, itā€™s been awhile. I hope youā€™re doing good.

On the bearings ā€œseizingā€, no. With one there was a lot of heat buildup which caused damage to the Delrin housing. The second was noise and hard to turn, but not seized. The operator will notice long before seizing. Like Bo, a drop in rpm and maybe noise.

I changed to the ā€œFDA Blueā€ after I started shipping overseas. Customs in one (ME) country seized a device and gave me a lot of trouble. I proved that everything was up to safety standards but it cost me time, money, and aggravation.

So reading Boā€™s description I think the internal lube probably ā€œcookedā€ and became stiff. Putting regular grease sounds to me like there was no wear since he is still using it. Regardless the bearings are not difficult to replace. They are press fit and will just pop out. Iā€™ll take some pics tomorrow and will be glad to send replacements to anyone that needs one. Or, it can be returned and I will do whatever is necessary. Iā€™ve been buying and repairing other homogenizers for quite some time now. Bearings is where I start. Oddly enough, I was using the same bearing Pro Scientific uses before I changed to the blue seal. I think Iā€™ll go back to that though there is another alternative. Ceramic, but theyā€™re ungodly expensive.

Sorry for being incommunicado but it definitely wasnā€™t by choice. :grin: Got a bad case of old man.

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Hi glad your feeling better ,just a thought if you post the specs of the bearings you recommend then if a problem arises we should be able to get them ourselves.seems a lot of hassle for no fault of yours,mines still working fine and has been since I got it

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Great to hear from you again Mr. Pipes. Glad to hear youā€™re on the mend. Take care of yourself, brother.

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Thanks a lot. I use mine once a month when I make 1.5 L and itā€™s working fine. Good luck.

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