My Homebrew Cent Sorter Proved Itself

[madwest]

I challenge any other cent sorter to do what mine did tonight.

I've been getting more and more confident in my sorter lately. Generally, I ...

Tonight, I ...

I've now ...

... like I mean business.

 

[markmopar]

How difficult was it to build?

 

[GimmeSomeSilver]

How difficult was it to build?

+1

Wanna build me one?

HH,
Cody.

 

[madwest]

The initial build of it is relatively straight forward. Overall, I think if you have moderate mechanical ability, you can do it. I ...

The steps are:
1) ... if you are lucky, you might find a ...
2) Mount ...
3) Figure out ...
4) Wire ...

After ... Before those mods, ...

... the conversion parts are ...

 

[wpd7]

Madwest,

If you're so inclined, maybe you can make a build log of your setup with detailed pictures so that you can help us replicate it.

I for one have the dime hopper as well as the comparator, but haven't been able to figure it out as to how to power them both.

That way you don't have to answer the same questions over and over and also would be a great resource for the community!

(I'm waiting for an EE friend of mine to help me wire it all up).

The initial build of it is relatively straight forward. Overall, I think if you have moderate mechanical ability, you can do it. I used Bob's post as a guide to get started (http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=393980.0).

The steps are:
1) Convert a quarter or nickel slot machine hopper into a dime hopper (if you are lucky, you might find a dime or penny hopper ready to go - I tried, but couldn't find one). Difficulty = 6 out of 10
2) Mount the hopper and a coin comparator to some sort of platform. Difficulty = 7 out of 10
3) Figure out how to get the coins from the hopper output to the comparator input reliably. Difficulty = 8 out of 10
4) Wire it to power. Difficulty = 7 out of 10

After the initial build of it, it takes some tweaking to address minor issues. After the initial build, I made minor mods to the feed slide and to the comparator. Before those mods, I would have some coins hang up at the entry to the comparator and get occasional clogs.

I would consider building them to order if the parts were more available. It seems that there are plenty of $0.25 hoppers, but the conversion parts are hit and miss. If anybody tries the build your own approach, I'll gladly offer advice and tips.

 

[madwest]

If you're so inclined, maybe you can make a build log of your setup with detailed pictures so that you can help us replicate it.

I suppose ...

I'll give ...

In the mean time, ...

The only trick to wiring it is ...

For the hopper, ...

You can use the same ... The ... wires are ..., connect the ... wire to ... to enable the power output.

 

[TxTim]

How long did it take to sort $50?

 

[madwest]

How long did it take to sort $50?

Just over ... minutes...

If I had ...

 

[TxTim]

How long did it take to sort $50?

Just over 20 minutes. The last few hundred take longer than they should though because my hopper doesn't have an agitator. When the hopper level gets low, it really should be agitated. When I'm watching it, I stir it with a screwdriver (I know, not good for the numismatically valuable coins). I can add an agitator, but haven't do so yet.

If I had two sorters and didn't have to run this one empty (to second sort with it), I could just keep topping it off and could average close to 275 coins per minute all the time. I'm considering running it at 15VDC or maybe even 18VDC for faster operation. I'm told that 300 per minute is realistic at 18VDC.

Thats a little slower than a Ryedale but great nonetheless!