I am cursed - body clipper woes

[mdp9]

I break clippers and I don’t know why. Someone educate me!

Last year, I was using my set of Oster body clippers, and they stopped working mid clip job. I had been using them as I have done so on other clip jobs- oiled the blades, sprayed with cool lube, giving breaks when the blades got hot. The horse was clean and dry and the blades were new. They just wouldn’t turn back on. I borrowed a friends, and wouldn’t you know they died the same way when I was almost done. Clearly the common denominator is ME. Both of them had stopped working after I had turned them off and sprayed, so I stopped doing that on the third set and they finished the job.

I brought both broken clippers to a repair person and they were fixed… I should’ve pressed to learn why they had broken in the first place.

This year, I bought a new set of Lister Star clippers after seeing a friend use them. I clipped a horse over the weekend and loved how they were lighter and clipped really well. Yesterday, went to clip horse number two and the Lister set died mid way through! I was following the printed instructions to oil the blades every 5-10 minutes. The clippers were not dropped.

What am I doing wrong? So frustrated!

[CanteringCarrot]

Odd. I oil mine every 10 min (set my watch timer) and don’t spray with anything else. Also don’t over oil them. Maybe too much oil and spray? I don’t know if that can be a contributing factor. I check to see if they’re hot, but usually they’re just a bit warm and I can continue.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

Too much oil can definitely do them in, if the oil is seeping between the blades and getting into the housing with little bits of hair.

My routine is to use an old, soft natural bristle horse brush to flick off all the horse hair from the blades. Point the blades down toward the ground and oil or Kool Lube. Wait a few seconds, then clip. Use the horse brush every few minutes. Oil again every ten, after cleaning the blades thoroughly with the horse brush. If they get warm, clean and set them down until cool. Once cool, remove blades and make sure there isn’t any goop buildup of oil and hair (because this will overheat the clippers), remove the goop, put blades back on, oil and start again.

[PaddockWood]

Well that has to be frustrating. One idea I have is to put ice in a small cooler and sit your clippers on ice when they get warm. In one minute my clippers are cooled down and ready to go. Sorry about your experience - I have never had that happen.

[Displaced_Yankee]

Are these all big clippers with the knob tensioner on the top? I think those usually take the big, 2-part blades (as opposed to the T-84 type blades on the Andis AGC2’s).

Perhaps the tension isn’t right or the blades aren’t put on correctly, causing more wear on the motor.

[Renn_aissance]

Were they all plugged into the same electrical outlet? Is it possible that you have a short?

[Goforward]

Listers have a reset button. You just need a pen or such to press it in and they’ll usually start up again. You have to make sure the air intake on the Lister clippers stays really clean and free of hair. Wipe it off regularly

[D-quine_TS]

I just had a set of the big Oster 2 speeds semi crap out on me due to the chord bending when i put them away in the case. And I just realized this is not the first set I’ve seen this happen to. Mine still work if I have the chord in a specific place it likes. These are atleast 7 years old, so I don’t mind replacing them, but I will no longer be using the holder within the case to store them.

[Sansena]

Just how much oil and/ or Kool Lube are you using? And in what direction are you pointing the clippers as you lube them? Sorry to say, it sounds like it is you. And I suspect your’e letting the lubrication get into the motor.

Always lube with the clippers running, blades pointing downward to excess can drip out. Always have a terrycloth towel handy to sop up any extra. The last thing you want is to schmeer Kool Lube or oil or (perish the thought) Kerosene against your horse’s freshly shorn skin.

And, another reason you want the blades running and pointing downward is so that the tiny hairs stuck between the blades will hopefully fall out along with the excess oil/ lube.

[mdp9]

Don’t be “sorry to say”, I know it’s me.

Good to know the Listers have a reset button.

I was chatting with a couple friends about my curse, and it sounds like I am doing too much on the oil/lube front. I have since clipped 2 more horses with no issue. I am oiling the blades when I put them in and maybe again if feels like they need it but other than that I’m not touching them.

Also- I think I was oiling/lubing when they clippers were OFF which is apparently a mortal sin.

I have since clipped 2 more horses with no issue so maybe I have it figured out?