Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/26/11

kb4iqm

Sr. Member
Mar 26, 2011
319
1
Southeastern Tennessee
I bought a Coinalyzer coin sorter recently and was having issues with it. This was discussed a little bit in another thread, but I felt it needed a thread of its own to keep from hijacking that other thread.

My first post there is;
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,393353.msg2802679.html#msg2802679

I will continue here;
kb4iqm said:
blkcwbyhat said:
KB: do you have a divider set up under the bottom? It kicks the rejects to one side,without it,they fall randomly.I made the wooden box thing with the center piece belt sanded with a 45 degree on each side,centered on the outlet.I made the box big enough to fit some small tupperware square boxes on each side.I'm still working on some type of thing to make it easier to feed,my thumb gets sore quick!!
The coinalyzer is an electronic coin mechanism for a vending machine and fits the industry standard coin mechanism mounts. I used to be in the vending business and still have some machines and parts in storage. I took an old vending machine coin door, stripped it down to the bare minimum, and made a stand to hold it vertical. I mounted the coinalyzer in place of the original mechanical coin mechanism, it fits perfectly. All I have to do is set a pail under the back of the coin door to catch the coins that pass. All rejects and coin returns go into the coin return hopper on the front of the coin door. The pass/reject/return port spacings on the coinalyzer are in the industry standard locations.

When I first set it up, it worked, but it had trouble discriminating reliably. It would pass some of what it should reject, and reject some of what it should pass. If I ran multiple passes it would eventially get them all right. Like if I run the reject clad cents through several times it would eventually get all of the copper out. Then do the same with the coppers and it would eventually get all of the clads out. After testing it like this for an hour or so, it stopped passing coins totally and rejecting everything fed to it. I put it aside to mess with later, have not tried it again since then.

If I can get the coin mechanism itself to work reliably, then I'll just set up a dime feed hopper from a slot machine with the discs resized for pennies. These hoppers can be bought for under $50 from vending suppliers that sell used parts on feebay, and replacement discs are available as they wear out. Would be less than $100 invested to automate the process if I do all of the mechanical work to put it together. Now that I think we can afford :laughing7:

Bob
I just checked the coinalyzer and it was working again, but still very unreliable. I noticed the trigger timer was set to "short". I set the trigger timer to "common" and that cleared up the majority of the reliability issue. I'm now getting a clad in the copper 100:1 or less now vs 10:1 like it was. I've run 6 rolls so far and no coppers in the clad yet. I'll run the rest of the box and see how it does.

By the way, the coinalyzer mechanism will support adding a coin counter. It outputs a grounding pulse on the grey wire for every coin accepted. If you connect the leads of a vending machine coin counter to the grey wire and the red wire, it will increment the counter once for each coin accepted. I'm going to order a resettable counter for mine.

Bob
 

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Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 5/29/11

After taking the above pics, I improved the coin tube design again. I used a coin tube put together with duct tape and added a strip of galvanized steel to one face. Drilled for a mounting bolt that engages the bracket and a washer/wing nut to make attachment and removal a breeze.

Currently it doesn't look like much with all the mechanism showing but it is easy to get at if it needs a jam cleared. I plan to eventually find some enclosures to mount these in on a more permanent basis.

I'm thinking about trying a cabinet from an old countertop microwave or convection oven turned on its side. Open the door to get at the coin bins or to clear jams.

I'll update this thread as improvements are made.

Bob
 

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Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/19/11

Bob,
I'm in the process of building my own sorter as well (can't afford the Ryedale) and I just have a couple questions. It's hard to follow this thread, but it looks like you are using a dime hopper for pennies? I have a chance to buy a cheap nickel hopper. Will this work for pennies right out of the box? Or would a dime hopper be better?

You mentioned that you had been in the vending machine business. One the Ryedale machine, there's a transparent chute that runs from the hopper to the comparitor and it actually attaches to the 2 top studs on the left and right of the comparitor. Does this look like a standard part off some coin-op machine that might be available somewhere? Or do you think it is a custom piece?

Seems to me the connection between hopper and comparitor is the hardest part of this...

Also, just found this on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350096406271&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Matt
 

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Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/19/11

gilpo said:
Bob,
I'm in the process of building my own sorter as well (can't afford the Ryedale) and I just have a couple questions. It's hard to follow this thread, but it looks like you are using a dime hopper for pennies? I have a chance to buy a cheap nickel hopper. Will this work for pennies right out of the box? Or would a dime hopper be better?

You mentioned that you had been in the vending machine business. One the Ryedale machine, there's a transparent chute that runs from the hopper to the comparitor and it actually attaches to the 2 top studs on the left and right of the comparitor. Does this look like a standard part off some coin-op machine that might be available somewhere? Or do you think it is a custom piece?

Seems to me the connection between hopper and comparitor is the hardest part of this...

Also, just found this on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350096406271&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Matt
A nickel hopper will feed pennies and dimes, with a greater misfeed rate. The coins being undersized that much will result in more coins falling out of the shelf wheel before they reach the coin output.

That coin slide might be usable if you have the room to run the coin analyzer right next to the hopper. Fashioning a mounting point might also be a challenge. For me, side space is at a premium so I have to locate the coin analyzer(s) below the hopper. Coin slides (also called coin chutes or coin tubes) are usually custom made for a particular machine. The old flexible ones that allow some adjustment are very hard to find these days.

Bob
 

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Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/19/11

I finally found a finished cabinet worthy of using, though it's a bit large for a simple one analyzer application. It's 15.9"W X 16.6"D X 35.5"T. Available on clearance at the local Home Depot for $49. Inside width is 14.5", inside depth is 15.5", and inside height is 34". I will supply more info and pics after I get the mounting details ironed out better. So far, this is the plan...

I've settled on an upper shelf to hold the hopper in such a manner that the factory slide base will be used to retain it. This will allow the hopper to be installed and removed quickly for service or denomination changes. Each denomination hopper will have the coin output chute shaped so that it lines up with a different coin chute opening in the shelf below. Changing denominations will be as simple as sliding out one hopper and sliding in another. This way I only have to build one unit for all denominations I will want to run.

The shelf is already bolted in securely with four 2.5" L brackets. I used eight 3/16" X 3/4" aluminum binding posts to make nearly flush mounts through the sides, but regular #10 bolts can be used if you don't mind them being visible on the sides. I through-drilled four of the existing 3/16" shelf pin holes to get it mounted using the upper L bracket holes, then drilled four more holes through the lower L bracket holes for added strength.

I'll cut a hole in the cabinet top and use a large pet water bowl with the bottom removed to line the hole on top. This gives me a large coin feed hole that I can reach into for clearing jams or removing coins, ect.

There's plenty of room in the cabinet below for the coin analyzer units. I plan to mount the penny and dime analyzer units on the left wall, and the quarter and half dollar analyzer units on the right wall. The coin bins will go in the bottom, maybe under another shelf.

I could have fit 2 hoppers in a 24"W cabinet, but it would have been much more bulky to transport if I wanted to take it with me on trips. I removed the adjustable feet from the bottom and added 2" wheels to all four bottom corners to make it easier to move around.

Bob
 

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Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/19/11

I stumbled onto this discussion because I decided to try to make my own sorter and have been searching for information on penny hoppers. It's cool to find someone with such broad experience sharing the knowledge.

I cannot find a reasonably priced penny or dime hopper (eBay seems to be cleaned out). I am wondering what your thoughts would be on the feasibility of modifying a Qtr or Half hopper by "reworking" the shelf wheel. Could you weld up and retool the holes in the shelf wheel for the smaller coin? I know a very skilled welder. If that seems too far fetched, could a shelf wheel be fabricated from scratch at a reasonable cost? What could be done with the pin wheel and coin knife to make them suitable for the smaller coin?

I've never seen a hopper live and in person, so I don't know what I'd be up against.

Thanks.
 

Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/19/11

madwest said:
I stumbled onto this discussion because I decided to try to make my own sorter and have been searching for information on penny hoppers. It's cool to find someone with such broad experience sharing the knowledge.

I cannot find a reasonably priced penny or dime hopper (eBay seems to be cleaned out). I am wondering what your thoughts would be on the feasibility of modifying a Qtr or Half hopper by "reworking" the shelf wheel. Could you weld up and retool the holes in the shelf wheel for the smaller coin? I know a very skilled welder. If that seems too far fetched, could a shelf wheel be fabricated from scratch at a reasonable cost? What could be done with the pin wheel and coin knife to make them suitable for the smaller coin?

I've never seen a hopper live and in person, so I don't know what I'd be up against.

Thanks.
If you read through all of the posts in this thread, you will see that I bought some IGT halves hoppers and converted them to dimes/pennies myself. I did this because they were easier to find and much more affordable than dimes or pennies hoppers. I gave the source parts information and posted pictures showing disassembly for conversion. So read this thread again, the information you asked for has already been given. Shelf wheels for smaller coins are larger than the shelf wheels for larger coins. The coins roll around the perimeter of the shelf wheel and roll against the pin wheel. The holes in the shelf and pin wheels are not for the coins, they are to access the screws that hold the motor/gearbox to the back of the hopper assembly. Those screws must be accessible for repair or replacement of the motor/gearbox, or to replace a broken drive shear pin.

Bob
 

Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/19/11

kb4iqm said:
If you read through all of the posts in this thread, you will see that I bought some IGT halves hoppers and converted them to dimes/pennies myself. I did this because they were easier to find and much more affordable than dimes or pennies hoppers. I gave the source parts information and posted pictures showing disassembly for conversion. So read this thread again, the information you asked for has already been given. Shelf wheels for smaller coins are larger than the shelf wheels for larger coins. The coins roll around the perimeter of the shelf wheel and roll against the pin wheel. The holes in the shelf and pin wheels are not for the coins, they are to access the screws that hold the motor/gearbox to the back of the hopper assembly. Those screws must be accessible for repair or replacement of the motor/gearbox, or to replace a broken drive shear pin.

Bob
Bob:
Thanks for the reply.

I did indeed read and re-read (and even re-re-read) the entire thread. Likewise, I did check the sources you mentioned - hence my comment that the ebay sources seem to be cleaned out (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150364340433 has been updated to indicate "10 cent disc no longer available!!!!" - note the triple !!!, lol, I wonder how many inquires the seller got as a result of your reference). Likewise, other sellers indicate in the auctions that .10 and .01 are not available.

Like I said, I have never seen a coin feed hopper - hence my foolish question about retooling the shelf wheel. Sorry to have butted in.

I do admire what you have accomplished. You should be quite proud.
 

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More pics, added mounting rails for the coin hopper so I took more detailed photos of the hopper portion.

Bob
 

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Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/19/11

madwest said:
Bob:
Thanks for the reply.

I did indeed read and re-read (and even re-re-read) the entire thread. Likewise, I did check the sources you mentioned - hence my comment that the ebay sources seem to be cleaned out (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150364340433 has been updated to indicate "10 cent disc no longer available!!!!" - note the triple !!!, lol, I wonder how many inquires the seller got as a result of your reference). Likewise, other sellers indicate in the auctions that .10 and .01 are not available.

Like I said, I have never seen a coin feed hopper - hence my foolish question about retooling the shelf wheel. Sorry to have butted in.

I do admire what you have accomplished. You should be quite proud.
Thank you, I'm trying to be helpful.

It's ok, you're not butting in. The purpose of this thread is to help others understand this homebrew sorter design and be able to duplicate it. By the wording of your post, you had mentioned the source of economical dime or penney hoppers, then added that eBay seemed to be cleaned out. I read that as them being out of the hoppers themselves, not the dime shelf wheel. I was totally unaware that the seller had sold out of the dime shelf wheels. Thank you for letting me know, I'll edit the post above to reflect that. I guess I sent him too many customers, maybe that's why he went on vacation :laughing7:.

There were other sellers on FeePay (eBay) that had the dime shelf wheels for IGT upright hoppers, they were just more expensive. Try searching for coin hopper wheel or coin wheel, most sellers use the wrong name. If you have no luck, let me know and next time I go to town I'll do some searching. From dialup internet here at home the high bandwidth site pages like FeePay just time out instead of loading. I can't even log in there from home.

If there are no more sellers offering dime wheels, and there is a demand for them, I have a machinist friend in FL that can probably make some out of 16 guage. I have a spare that I could send to him as a master to duplicate.

I added some pics of the cabinet and hopper installation while I was in town earlier.

Bob
 

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Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/19/11

Bob,

Thanks for the continued updates. I'm continuing to try to refine my set-up. The chute and comparitor holder are the biggest issues I'm currently facing.

Can you give any more info on the cabinet you located at Home Depot -- a brand name or model number, or where to look in a local Home Depot?

Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing more pictures as your set-up progresses even further!
 

Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/19/11

kb4iqm said:
By the wording of your post, you had mentioned the source of economical dime or penney hoppers, then added that eBay seemed to be cleaned out. I read that as them being out of the hoppers themselves, not the dime shelf wheel. I was totally unaware that the seller had sold out of the dime shelf wheels.

It's kinda funny. Initially, . .

The only auctions I could find all state . . .

Let's see if I can add something useful. I ordered a . . . and got it yesterday. I played with it some today and here is what I found:

1)
The one I ordered was . . .

It seems that the . . . in the model number line (. . .) means that . . . For anyone looking, I suggest you . . . that means the . . . (see the attached image)

2)
The one I ordered was labeled . . . I traced the circuit and found that the . . . That means, you can use . . . I played with it and it behaved exactly the same with . . . The pinout is . . . One thing of note is that, . . ., the compare output is NOT . . . It is just . . . If you . . . you could damage the drive circuit for . . . it chattered the coin chute coil like all getout . . . smoke or molten metal . . .

If anyone has specific questions about . . . I'd be more than happy to try to answer them.
 

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Re: Coin sorters - More Pics Added 6/19/11

newtopos said:
Bob,

Thanks for the continued updates. I'm continuing to try to refine my set-up. The chute and comparitor holder are the biggest issues I'm currently facing.

Can you give any more info on the cabinet you located at Home Depot -- a brand name or model number, or where to look in a local Home Depot?

Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing more pictures as your set-up progresses even further!
I like the coin chutes made from Hot Wheels track sections, easy to make and use.

The coin analyzer mounts that I use came with the 5 coin analyzer batch that I bought from FeePay. They work great for the application because they have the coin output pathways divided. It's pretty much made of galvanized sheetmetal that has been stamped in the shape of an open faced box. One could be fabricated by bending a single sheet of aluminum, or a pair of thin galvanized strips to engage the four mounting points on the coin analyzer. The snap-in mounting clips are sold on FeePay if you don't want to just use the four mounting screw holes.

I'll get the manufacturers info from the cabinet box and post it here when I get home.

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to read posts, let alone work on the sorter cabinet. Stopped in at my usual breakfast spot and used the broadband wifi so that I could upload a pic of a 2004S proof half that I found yesterday. I've not gone out looking for bags or boxes, just picked up what I could while I was already out on errands for other purposes.

I might be more scarce than usual for the next week or so, have an upcoming visit with an associate from the Dept. of Defense. This has had me occupied collecting and processing data from alternative energy prototype sites. There's been some freaky trends going on in the test data that have me concerned with how things may be changing for the worst in the near future. I don't want to be an alarmist, but all I can really say is, get all the CRH'ing in while you still can.

Bob
 

This ready-to-assemble 1 shelf utility cabinet from Home Depot is manufactured by Wood Crafters. It is Base Utility Cabinet model BU1636-ES and SKU 383-723, color is espresso

Bob
 

kb4iqm said:
This ready-to-assemble 1 shelf utility cabinet from Home Depot is manufactured by Wood Crafters. It is Base Utility Cabinet model BU1636-ES and SKU 383-723, color is espresso

Bob

Thanks again, Bob.
 

Re: Issues with Coinalyzer sorter resolved

blkcwbyhat said:
you gotta be kidding me! Fake penny's??? I've heard about the silver dollar's,but penny's?
How about dimes? Here are some i got in 2009 at a yard sale.
merc-1.jpgmerc-2.jpgmerc-3.jpgmerc-4.jpg
Two are real.
 

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Trying to buy a hopper and notice some are escalator models. Can someone explain to me what this means?

Also, what did you guys use to power the hopper and comparitor?
 

It is not nearly as elegant as Bob's, but my cent sorter is functioning - and the price was right (. . .).

Here is a short clip of it doing its job. I have done nearly 6 bags (about $300 face) of cents so far. I had to fight through some clogs early on, but it seems to be running like a top now ;D.

 

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