Yes, I did the cleaning myself. Not a task I like to do (understatement ;-)

For the cleaning I would recommend not to use chemicals. I never do with vintage audio equipment. I always look for eco/biological cleaning products.
The BeoLab 8000 (and other) speakers are made from aluminum and anodized. Anodizing creates a layer that makes them shine like chrome. But this layer can be very sensitive to chemicals. When it is damaged or gone because of treatment with the wrong materials, there is no way back (or you should anodize them again which is quite expensive).

So for the outside I mostly use an eco-friendly degreaser from a spray bottle. Read the label to make sure there are no chemicals added!

For the inside I use the same principle; no added chemicals. But the story is different because you have to get the sticky foam out. And it is very sticky. Here's what I do:

1. Use a table covered with plastic you can throw away (so if pieces of the sticky foam fall, you keep them on the plastic). Put the BeoLab on the plastic covered table. Use plastic hand gloves to keep your hands clean.
2. Remove both the 'power supply/amp' and the 'speaker panel' units from the speaker casing.
3. Start taking out the big foam pieces by hand, from bigger to smaller. Be carefull as they easily fall apart. I stopped using a vacuum cleaner, as the sticky parts maken it constipated, and you can throw away the vacuum cleaner. Make sure you also remove the foam pieces on and in between the components, and from the PCB's (both the component side as the side with the copper traces).
4. Clean the last foam remains on the PCB/components using isopropyl alcohol (96% or up). I mainly use ear tips for this. This part is also time consuming.
5.  What is left is cleaning the inside of the empty speaker casing, the aluminum part. To get rid of the last foam remains, I use natural vinegar and an old cloth. If you use the right vinegar, there are no chemicals in it. And vinegar is able to dissolve the stickyness of the foam remains.

Again, it is a lot of work. But it is do-able. Anyhow, not doing it with old BeoLabs that have this sticky foam, means high risk of a beautiful speaker that will get serious issues.

If you have PCB traces that are already eaten away, you will have to create a new trace. You can easily do that by using a wire. Normally you can see where the trace is supposed to be, so you solder the wire in such way that you reconnect the components that are in the PCB trace. I have had situations where the Auto Standby relais was malfunctioning because of this. Be aware that sometimes a PCB trace looks fine, but if you use a magnifying glass you can see that is partly 'eaten away'.

Hope this helps you.

 

Thanks for the infos.

Surprised to hear that vinegar is not to much acid for the aluminium, good to know that it de solves the gluey foam.

My threat for the pcb trace and standby issue is here:

/forum/imported-unmapped/beolab-8000-amp-modul-removal-amp-repair-solved#post-2208593

You are welcome.

Again, make sure the vinegar is a natural product without added chemicals.
And another thing, just put it on a cloth to remove the sticky foam. And immediately after it dry the aluminum with another (dry) cloth.
If you do not leave liquid, it will work.

 

PCB & dissolved traces: I have seen your thread, it is exactly what I did recreating the traces by wire. 

Thank you for this description. 

Does this problem belong to any BL8000? I own the Mk 1.5 as I remember  (1995 or 1996) . . . .

Where can I order the new foam?

Are there any gaskets between the panels and the housing?

The trace(s) could be restored by soldering over the wholes, or not?

You are welcome.

This problem does not belong to all BeoLabs 8000. B&O at some point changed the foam material they used. It is easy to recognize, as the good foam material is white and the old is dark brown. From experience I would say that a majority of BeoLab 8000 in 2nd hand oferings have the old foam. It might be that all Mark I have the old foam and Mark II has the new. But I am not sure.

The new type of foam can be ordered with B&O dealers. Sometimes you can find it on eBay. Though most offerings on eBay are $50 or more (excl. shipping) for only one set. I have bought with B&O dealers 2 sets for just €25. I think the article number is 3332084 00000001.

There is a gasket between the edges of the aluminum speaker casing, and the speaker panel unit and power supply/amplifier unit. This is thin and narrow double sided tape. Easy to find on aliexpress or banggood.

Yes, traces can be restored by soldering wires connecting the points of the original trace.

smuehli wrote:

Thank you for this description. 

Does this problem belong to any BL8000? I own the Mk 1.5 as I remember  (1995 or 1996) . . . .

Where can I order the new foam?

Are there any gaskets between the panels and the housing?

The trace(s) could be restored by soldering over the wholes, or not?

 

You can order from this Ebayseller in Germany/Berlin.

Make an priceoffer for the best price. I got a big discount 😁

 

https://www.ebay.de/itm/154203121912

 

good luck 🙂

KolfMAKER wrote:

There is a gasket between the edges of the aluminum speaker casing, and the speaker panel unit and power supply/amplifier unit. This is thin and narrow double sided tape. Easy to find on aliexpress or banggood.

Hi @KolfMAKER,

I have this EVA sponge foam tape. 1mm thick.

amazon: https://www.amazon.de/Dichtungsband-Selbstklebendes-Schaumstoffband-Türdichtung-Schalldämmung/dp/B08P1R85GH/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Dichtungsband+für+Türen+Fenster+2+Rollen+10m+x+15mm%28B%29+x1mm%28D%29+Selbstklebendes+Schaumstoffband+Türdichtung+Fenster+Schaumstoff+Klebeband+für+Kollision+Siegel+Schalldämmung&qid=1629150061&sr=8-1

Do you think this will do the job as gasket?

@Gerard

The type of tape you refer to is fine.
The thickness of this tape is 1mm, which is thicker than the original tape used by B&O.

My suggestion would be to look for tape which is thinner, to a max. of 0,5mm.

You could use for instance use tape that is also used for repairing smartphones. It has the right material, strength and thickness for the BeoLab. And the thickness will be perfect.

For example: https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/4001247888018.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.45e67ef2SuMEWj&algo_pvid=b7f3fce3-39b8-4c02-86c0-37ea26d607c9&algo_exp_id=b7f3fce3-39b8-4c02-86c0-37ea26d607c9-5&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2210000015455192446%22%7D

Last weekend one of my beloved Beolab 8000's failed (red/green light ok, but no sound). Trying to find some clues, I stumbled on this thread and I am very grateful for the clear and knowledgeable info in this topic.

Indeed the failed BL8000 suffered from "foam rot". I removed it and thoroughly cleaned the speaker (what a mess!) and found a trace on PCB01 had been eaten away by the stuff. After soldering in a bridge, the speaker sprung back to life. Hurray!

Next task will be to clean the other BL8000 before it gets affected as well.

Of course I need to put in new foam damping material and I saw that you purchased these from a dealer. As I believe you are also in the Netherlands, could you indicate which dealer you bought it from?

Thanks and keep up the good work!

Dear MartD,

Congratulations, that you have been able to resolve your issue with this information. That's great!
It is definitely a good idea to also treat your other speaker. Better to prevent than to cure.

The new damping foam is a standard B&O article, which you can probably get from any B&O dealer. My suggestion would be to try a local B&O dealer, that might be most convenient for you and saving shipping cost.

If you have trouble finding a dealer with the replacement foam, let me know.