[pontoe]

Please help. Anyone uses Geo Knight DK20S or Hotronix? Can you verify that your heat platen flat in the center? My Dk20S has a gap in the center and it's not flat. I contacted customer service for warranty but they said:" There is supposed to be a little less than a DIME’S THICKNESS in gap in the center "
Here is the link that I uploaded video to YouTube if you can't see it clear.

 

[binki]

Yup, The DK20S we have is the same way and creates a cold spot in the prints. We have to use a teflon pillow for all of our prints and increase time and temp. If I had to do it again I would get a Hotronix.

 

[pontoe]

Yup, The DK20S we have is the same way and creates a cold spot in the prints. We have to use a teflon pillow for all of our prints and increase time and temp. If I had to do it again I would get a Hotronix.

Thank you for your reply. The heat platen is the most important part in our heat press and the sad thing it's not completely flat. I'm not sure if it's defective issue from manufacturer or it just normal like they explained.

 

[NoXid]

Yes, GeoKnight says that in their documentation. There is a way to adjust the tension on the platen to affect the amount of curvature, but if it is way out of spec, it may be a defective part. Did you check while it was hot or cold?

Here's a quote from the doc on adjusting tension: "The goal is to come within 1/32 of an inch curvature to the heat platen. More than this will affect the amount of pressure in the center adversely. A slight amount of curvature MUST be in the platen, or the outer edges can loose pressure over extended periods of time during the life of the press."

Here's the link to the technical doc on doing the adjustment:

http://www.heatpress.net/pdf/DK%20Heater%20Tension%20Adjust.pdf

If it is within the stated spec I wouldn't mess with it. Either way, you might want to talk with them again before messing with the tension adjustment yourself.

The curvature of mine hasn't presented a problem for what I do: curing waterbased screen prints (with a pillow); sublimation prints (on a second silicone pad a bit smaller than the platen to avoid pressing in permanent creases--this may also mitigate the cupping to some extent, though that is not why I use it); JPSS transfers (with the aforementioned second silicone pad).

 

[rpaul]

I too own one of these. It is a piece of **** and I do not use it anymore. A real shame because
the electric ones we got in the 90's were state of the art.

 

[binki]

Thank you for your reply. The heat platen is the most important part in our heat press and the sad thing it's not completely flat. I'm not sure if it's defective issue from manufacturer or it just normal like they explained.

No problem. Also open the control box. There are only 2 screws. Take a look at the innards as you willl be replacing them several times over the life of the machine.

 

[mfatty500]

On the plus side, The Geo Knight controller is about a third of the cost of the Stahls controllers. I did not know that about the bigger Geo. Knights, I have their small label press, but have never had pressure problems with that press. It's largest platen is 6x8.

 

[into the T]

I too own one of these. It is a piece of **** and I do not use it anymore. A real shame because
the electric ones we got in the 90's were state of the art.

geoknight has been making these presses for over 40 years, and i think they have always been electric
is yours gas?


the reason the geoknights are so popular is their even heat distribution across the platen and their longevity
their slight curvature in the platen will not affect temp or pressure in the middle of the platen
a simple test with temp strips and/or trying to pull a piece of paper out at temp will confirm this

there is a pad on the lower platen that compresses with even minimal pressure on the upper platen that more than compensates for the tiny purposeful curvature in the upper platen
plus the heat itself imbues a certain malleability as well to it

you have to remember geoknight has been making industrial presses since 1885,
they added the curve, as NoXid posted above, for a reason

 

[TABOB]

The goal is to come within 1/32 of an inch curvature to the heat platen. More than this will affect the amount of pressure in the center adversely. A slight amount of curvature MUST be in the platen, or the outer edges can loose pressure over extended periods of time during the life of the press.

This screams "cheaply made" to me.
I've not seen how these presses are made, but my cheap Chinese presses had this curvature issue.
They have no adjustmen screws but the heat plates are nearly 1 inch thick, so I had them re-surfaced.
Years and thousands of shirts later, they are still perfectly flat.
I don't usually do high pressure stuff though.

 

[TABOB]

geoknight has been making these presses for over 40 years, and i think they have always been electric
is yours gas?

That'll be interesting... I've never seen a gas powered modern heat press.
The only ones I've seen are cast iron presses from the early 1900s, and I bet they work with coal as well.

 

[into the T]

That'll be interesting... I've never seen a gas powered modern heat press.
The only ones I've seen are cast iron presses from the early 1900s, and I bet they work with coal as well.

that would be interesting, maybe you could make a hydrogen one?
if we see a bright flash from your house, we will know you are getting close

i wonder what source geoknight was using in the 1880's?
coal would make sense, or steam from coal

 

[NoXid]

that would be interesting, maybe you could make a hydrogen one?
if we see a bright flash from your house, we will know you are getting close

i wonder what source geoknight was using in the 1880's?
coal would make sense, or steam from coal

The good ol' days. And delivery by Pony Express when it absolutely positively had to be there in 10 days. 🐴 Actually, this year that would have beat some of my incoming FedEx by more than a week.

 

[rpaul]

geoknight has been making these presses for over 40 years, and i think they have always been electric
is yours gas?

That sounds like a real time saver. The ones we had 40 years ago had electric motors
that brought down the heat platen. This one uses compressed air.

 

[into the T]

That sounds like a real time saver. The ones we had 40 years ago had electric motors
that brought down the heat platen. This one uses compressed air.

thanks for that
sometimes a mind gets stuck in a rut, and mine needed a push out to see differently

 

[TABOB]

The ones we had 40 years ago had electric motors
that brought down the heat platen. This one uses compressed air.

The reason most heat presses have pneumatic actuators is the much higher force to size ratio.
This works well for large setups... 20 presses connected to the same air supply for example.

Electric actuators are either large or really slow.
Of course for a single press, the additional compressor required is really inconvenient.
All my heat presses are manual. I don't normally use high pressure, so I don't need pneumatic ones.

 

[davezub]

Was wondering what you finally ended up doing with this? I was thinking about the DK20S and I do a lot of apparel sublimation with zero to light pressure and I think this would be an issue with a gap that large. The Hotronix is so much more dollar wise.

Please help. Anyone uses Geo Knight DK20S or Hotronix? Can you verify that your heat platen flat in the center? My Dk20S has a gap in the center and it's not flat. I contacted customer service for warranty but they said:" There is supposed to be a little less than a DIME’S THICKNESS in gap in the center "
Here is the link that I uploaded video to YouTube if you can't see it clear.

View attachment 274717

 

[nlck]

Was wondering what you finally ended up doing with this? I was thinking about the DK20S and I do a lot of apparel sublimation with zero to light pressure and I think this would be an issue with a gap that large. The Hotronix is so much more dollar wise.

I have the same issue on my DK25S and Maxi-press. A Nomex pad really helped. Wouldn't buy either of them again though.