information on using a ryedale

[jrf30]

A few people are in the process of getting a Ryedale right now, and I've gotten some PM's with questions on how to best use the machine. I'll answer here, so that others can also read what i say, learn my thoughts about the Ryedale, and also share their own thoughts. (I may learn something too!) So, here is how "I work my Ryedale", and what I have learned after using it for many many boxes of pennies. It may work for you or you may find another way to do it, but at least it gives you some input. :-)
First, some information about the Ryedale itself. It comes from Andy. Andy is a GREAT source of information. I called him a FEW times in the beginning, because I couldn't get a few things figured out. Don't be afraid to call him. He will answer your questions and is a great guy. Secondly, there is not a copper side and a zinc side to the Ryedale. There is only an accept side and a reject side. That is important, in that if you use a 1980 - 1981 penny (they work the best) then your accept side will be all copper pennies form 1944 - 1982. The reject side will be all other things. That means zinc. AND Indian head pennies. AND older wheats. AND most foreign coins. Anything not a copper penny goes there. So although most of us call it the zinc side, it is really all things other than copper.

Now, as to operation.

I set up with two penny boxes. (The $25 ones that the coins come in.) I cut slits in each near one side so I could slide them under the chutes, and put them on the table right with the Ryedale. As they fill up, I empty them into other boxes, and either store them (the copper ones) or dump them (the rejects). That works well.
I unroll my pennies and dump them in the top. Simple. I normally gather some up there to start, and then after I turn it on I continue to unroll and add to the top as it is sorting what is already in there. To make them go smoother I frequently put my hand in the top sorting area to flatten the coins so they don't miss a hole by being bunched sideways or something and just spin around and around.
As I am unwrapping, I am constantly watching the REJECT side of my machine. Why? Because the older wheats and rare Indian head pennies do NOT go to the copper side. The inconsistency in copper earlier than 1943 (the steel year) means many don't respond as a match for the 1981 penny, and it is rejected. How do I do this AS I sort? As the pennies come out, I look at the ones that land face down, as I can see the wheat or memorial, and if a dark coin lands face up I flip it over very fast to look at the rear. Some wheats go to the copper side, even from the 1910s, so not all the older ones are on the reject side, but some do go to the reject side. This approach takes care of that problem for me.
I continue dropping coins in the top while watching the reject side, until I am done sorting. Then, I take the reject side and empty them into a box to take to the bank for dumping. The copper side has one more step before storing or selling. I pour them out and check for wheats. It takes a little more time, but I like saving the wheats so it is worth it to me.

I get about 6.7 wheats per box and around 17% copper. But regardless of how much copper you get, you just want to separate them and save the copper. So I check for wheats and then empty the coppers into a box to store.
I do NOT run either side through a second time. I have heard of others doing this, but I feel this way about it. I may get one 1930s or older wheat in every 5 boxes or so. Not many. And I normally CATCH that one by watching the rejects as I sort. So I get “most” of them. If I miss one that could be gotten with a second sort, then i miss it. The time it takes to sort a SECOND time I spend instead sorting another box the FIRST time. Instead of catching 1 more older wheat every 5 boxes by running them a second time, I have done 5 NEW boxes in that same period of time, and have found about 50 more wheats - including at least one more older wheat ANYWAY. It is all about volume. Do all you can, and if you repeat what you already did you are reducing what you get done.
One other thing on the second sorting. The Ryedale gets gummy after a while from the dirty coins. It needed cleaning about every 250,000 in the beginning. Now mine needs cleaning about every 130,000 coins. If I run the rejects through a second time, I need to clean the machine twice as often for the same amount of copper pennies actually saved. That too takes time, and reduces the number of boxes you do. So don't worry about the one or two you “might” be missing, but instead get 20 more in the same time by doing more new boxes - including ones just as old as the one you might be searching for.

Make sense?

That’s the basics of sorting. I’ll post something about jams and machine issues soon too, and maybe about selling coins, but I gotta go right now. My wife just left and I have to watch my son.  Hopefully this helps though to give you some ideas on how to use your new Ryedale. I know you’ll LOVE it. And with copper prices going up, it will become more valuable over time.

 

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[TheRandyMan]

I am pretty surprised that you only get 17% copper...it would seem to me that it would be higher than that although I must admit I have not researched the penny production numbers for all those years. Just intuitively, it would seem there have been a lot more coppers than zinc made ....

So, after you get the coppers, how do you turn them into cash? Or are you just hoarding the copper for now and waiting for it to go up?

 

[clovis97]

Thanks for the post. I'd love to have a Ryedale. I am surprised that your copper count stands at only 17%.

Looking forward to reading your follow up posts!!!!

 

[SFBayArea]

What about jamming? My Ryedale tends to jam a lot which is the only thing I don't like about it. It seems to happen when a coin doesn't come down the shoot fast enough and another one come down right behind it and they get stuck therefore jamming it. Any ideas how to prevent jamming? Other than that it runs good. I still do look the zincoln side over visually when I count them to be rolled and dumped or spent. The good thing is if you find a wheat in the zincoln side, it's usually an earlier one.

As far as copper out here, it's about 18-20%. Not great out here but we do get "S" minted coins.

 

[$ilver$urfer]

What about jamming? My Ryedale tends to jam a lot which is the only thing I don't like about it. It seems to happen when a coin doesn't come down the shoot fast enough and another one come down right behind it and they get stuck therefore jamming it. Any ideas how to prevent jamming? Other than that it runs good. I still do look the zincoln side over visually when I count them to be rolled and dumped or spent. The good thing is if you find a wheat in the zincoln side, it's usually an earlier one.

As far as copper out here, it's about 18-20%. Not great out here but we do get "S" minted coins.

I really appreciate jrf30's thoughts on this topic and can't wait to read more!!! I am planning on ordering a Ryedale soon myself but through hand counting a handful of boxes so far they have all been 30-40% copper on a consistent basis with about 1 wheat per 4-5 rolls and lots of copper Canadians too. I hope the percentage stays consistently high when I start 'soarding' them!

HH,

$ilver$urfer

 

[Whyme]

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,142498.msg1015807.html#msg1015807

 

[mlayers]

Ok what is a ryedale's. From what i read it is some kind of machine that will sort out your copper pennies right. So can someone tell me more about this. Where can I see about one is there some information about them. I would like to learn more about this......Thanks Matt

 

[jrf30]

What about jamming? My Ryedale tends to jam a lot which is the only thing I don't like about it. It seems to happen when a coin doesn't come down the shoot fast enough and another one come down right behind it and they get stuck therefore jamming it. Any ideas how to prevent jamming? Other than that it runs good. I still do look the zincoln side over visually when I count them to be rolled and dumped or spent. The good thing is if you find a wheat in the zincoln side, it's usually an earlier one.

As far as copper out here, it's about 18-20%. Not great out here but we do get "S" minted coins.

I had jamming issues but I make sure I keep the slide clean. I also put alittle of the Dri-SLide on the slide. It keeps it moving better, and I rarely have jams now between cleanings. :-)

 

[silvercop]

most of my jams were caused by the pennies not falling fast enough. i corrected this by setting a small book under the rear of the machine to tilt it forward. it worked for me. now most of my jams are caused by dirty sticky pennies or damaged pennies.

 

[jrf30]

Ok what is a ryedale's. From what i read it is some kind of machine that will sort out your copper pennies right. So can someone tell me more about this. Where can I see about one is there some information about them. I would like to learn more about this......Thanks Matt

Matt,

Go to youtube and search "Ryedale". It gives a short illustration of what it does. :-) YOu'll see it actually working and that will explain a lot. :-)

 

[BullionBaron]

What about jamming? My Ryedale tends to jam a lot which is the only thing I don't like about it. It seems to happen when a coin doesn't come down the shoot fast enough and another one come down right behind it and they get stuck therefore jamming it. Any ideas how to prevent jamming? Other than that it runs good. I still do look the zincoln side over visually when I count them to be rolled and dumped or spent. The good thing is if you find a wheat in the zincoln side, it's usually an earlier one.

As far as copper out here, it's about 18-20%. Not great out here but we do get "S" minted coins.

I had jamming issues but I make sure I keep the slide clean. I also put alittle of the Dri-SLide on the slide. It keeps it moving better, and I rarely have jams now between cleanings. :-)

I haven't lubed the slide aka "in feed chute" yet. I just clean it with dish soap. I do lube the "SnP" assembly every $500 processed and it seems to keep things humming along.

 

[BullionBaron]

It needed cleaning about every 250,000 in the beginning. Now mine needs cleaning about every 130,000 coins.

For some reason I thought I read in Andy's manual that it needs cleaning every 50,000. I've noticed the coins seem to get "lazy" in the chute around 50K processed.

 

[SFBayArea]

It needed cleaning about every 250,000 in the beginning. Now mine needs cleaning about every 130,000 coins.

For some reason I thought I read in Andy's manual that it needs cleaning every 50,000. I've noticed the coins seem to get "lazy" in the chute around 50K processed.

What's with your Avatar Pic? It's definitely scary looking.

 

[TxTim]

Good post jrf!
Here's my set up that requires that the Ryedale only be placed square on the platform and the sorted coins get fed into their respective copper and zinc chutes.

 

[Ryedale]

I'll chime in on the jamming. After much study and the help of a mechanical engineer we determined that the SnP (Spring and Pawl) assembly was the culprit, and reason for most jammed coins in the Ryedale sorter.
Coins feeding more than 5 per second, need to be perfectly spaced, to give the mechanism time to cycle open and closed before the next coin arrives. This means that there must be x number of miliseconds of "Deadband" or "No coin".
When the SnP is sticky or dirty, or not lubricated, there is a resistance that builds up, and as the coins exit the "pinch point" (see videos below) it actually slows the coin down, and the coin is not thrown, or ejected with enough force from the machine. This then causes the coin to drop on the bottom of the chute, instead of "riding the rails". The bottom of the chute in this case is the wide flat portion where the flat face of the coin would hit. When this happens the coins slow down, and the next coin coming from the machine may catch up to it, or even jump over the one in front (see video). This causes jams at the base of the chute where it fits into the chute holder, (or down in the solenoid mechanism.
Lubricating with "Dri-Slide" is the answer to this problem 95% of the time. Dri-Slide like it's name suggests, dries out after application, and leaves a film of Moly particles to allow the metal parts to slide with ease, and not attract dirt to the critical part.
I was curious to see this so I acquired a camera with high speed function (Casio Exilim). I got a directors chair, a beret and started filming.....ACTION.... (not really).
Watch the following three videos in order, and you will see a machine go from "Jamming often" to feeding properly.
If you have a machine, and it still jams often, even after lubing the SnP, there are two or three other things I check for if a machine is sent in for a checkup.
1. Proper coil spacing on the discriminator. Set at the factory, but I've learned that they are sometimes set up wrong. I check all new machines going out, but some may have slipped through before I learned this.
2. Worn Insert plate (Thing that the coins are touching opposite of the SnP at the pinch point, This is happening more often on high mileage machines, and I didn't know to check for it until recently, it never happens on low mileage machines, but starting to see wear on this item at about 4 to 6 million coins through a machine. $40 to $60 thousand dollars processed. There are machines out there with over $100 thousand through them now.
3. Worn or weak SnP assembly (requires replacement, but really difficult even after I've done it dozens of times.) also a product of use and high mileage.







Just for fun... a little baseball, my son Greg last summer.

 

[TheRandyMan]

A man with a slow motion camera...and time to use it...

Dangerous combination...

 

[jrf30]

Andy,

I wish you could show MY jam issue with thoughts. :-)

I still get two coins ENTERING the S&P at the same time. they both are trying to get under the disc at the same time, and they lift the disc up a little and then jam there. It doesn't actually truly jam, as much as it slows the disc down and doesn't eject into thte S&P but instead circles around the top and doesn't enter the eject cycle. And at times they Do enter the S&P at the same time, and then it does jam.

thoughts?

 

[Ryedale]

Andy,

I wish you could show MY jam issue with thoughts. :-)
I still get two coins ENTERING the S&P at the same time. they both are trying to get under the disc at the same time, and they lift the disc up a little and then jam there. It doesn't actually truly jam, as much as it slows the disc down and doesn't eject into thte S&P but instead circles around the top and doesn't enter the eject cycle. And at times they Do enter the S&P at the same time, and then it does jam. thoughts?

Jrf30,
Hmm..I know we worked on yours a bit. Did we replace the coin cup, and the wheel? A small amount of wear on the wheel, combined with a worn coin cup, allow the wheel to lift slightly and then the coins double up.
Severlely worn "bed plates", the main body of the cube hopper, can also allow coins to double up. Did the machine do this from day one? I'd like you to send me your cube hopper/feeder and I can probably duplicate the problem on my bench. Nothing like having it front of me, although I know it's inconvenient .
Andy