Rowe BA-50 service

[GoBuckeyes]

All of our self-serve change machines are Rowes. We probably have a total of 12+ BA-50 bill acceptors. When their bill acceptance declines we put in a new one and get the old serviced locally. The local service company's quality control has been in the toilet this past year, not sure why. Sometimes we'll pick up a newly serviced validator, plug it in to a changer and it won't even accept a bill...belts too tight...motor speed is off....you name it. I'm thinking I would be better off boxing up the bill acceptor and shipping it to a better service company. If I were to do that, who would I ship it to? Anyone having good luck having their BA-50's serviced?

 

[Kevin James]

We have a few Rowe bill changers that had the BA-50 validator installed. Do yourself a favor and convert them over to a Mars validator. 99% of your problems will go away. The acceptance rate and longevity are much better than the BA-50.

 

[slash007]

I 2nd Kevin. Get rid of the BA-50's. I did that 1 month after buying my last wash and haven't had a complaint or issue since. Been over 4 years now. With the Rowe's, I was having issues every other day.

 

[MEP001]

I can get Mars factory serviced usually under $100 and they come back like new, even if they've been in a bay for 10 years. IMO Mars conversion is a no-brainer.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Thanks guys. I had the exact same mindset and tried a Rowe/Mars conversion a few years ago. The Mars is hands down a no brainer but I didn't like the conversion kit. I tried one from Etowah Valley, the Genesis conversion. The validator worked great, but I had lots of problems with short paying people since it pays out in real time. We sell tokens slightly larger than a gold dollar and a lot of times they will get jammed in the hopper. Not so much a problem with the escrow buckets but when you pay out directly it's no good. What conversion did you guys all use?

 

[slash007]

I did the conversion using a kit from eBay, much cheaper than the other kits and still uses the buckets. No problems with it in over 4 years. I think it's from Capital Vending of Maryland. I have 3 of them converted.

 

[Ghetto Wash]

The conversion from Rowe keeps the escrow buckets.

 

[cwguy.com]

I would send your valuators to Rowe. Tom from Rowe (many years ago) explained all my reliability problems were actually from not getting them serviced correctly. Also my service place was not using Rowe parts.

But since then.... Rowe did switch a lot of their changers to using MEI acceptors and generic coin dispensers. But even Hamilton does the same thing with just supporting their xe acceptor and selling MEI acceptors.

I would personally purchase a Rowe conversion kit or a new changer.... I agree with Ghetto Wash.

 

[6t7gto]

I have had good results from Vendors Exchange servicing my Rowes

 

[cwguy.com]

I have had good results from Vendors Exchange servicing my Rowes

About 10 years ago.... I believe Vendors Exchange actually sold a Rowe to MEI conversion kit also. If I remember correctly the big release of conversion kits (even Rowe's kit) was around the release of the "New $5" in 2006?

 

[Stuart]

I have had great luck with ChangeTec out of Grand Rapids doing my full rebuilds. About every 4-6 months I instal new black belts. Doing this gets me one to two years depending on the location of the changer. I have some changers in an alcove and they last super long. I also clean the belts weekly with alcohol. I would go to the mars conversion but I really like the bill separation in the stackers.

 

[cwguy.com]

You could look at your lower belts.... mine were blue from Rowe. But you could call Rowe and ask what color they should be? When I was getting bad performance from my acceptors the belts were green.

There are also 2 recommended repair centers here (The info is from 2008.... so I am not sure it is current. ): http://cwguy.com/?p=2653

 

[Greg Pack]

Well, I agree with converting to MEI. You will not regret it. Those things just work. The only maintenance I do is a 30 second wipe out with a wet towel every few months I've got several that haven't been serviced in five years, they still work fine. There is no adjusting, tweaking, or anything else to worry with.