coin box thermostatically controlled heater

[mjwalsh]

Does anyone have experience with this specific KR-GinSan coin box heater thermostat or any other coin box thermostats? Does this or another thermostat turn on at about 50 degrees Farenheit & off before it hurts coin box electronics? For some reason it is not turning on for us ... we are trying them for the first time.

http://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-3554-thermostat-for-24v-heat-tape.aspx

We trying it with the following heater: http://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-3562-coin-box-heater-wbracket-30watt.aspx

We don't think it is a dud on either part because we have more than one set that we are trying to make work.

mike

 

[car washing systems inc]

Does anyone have experience with this specific KR-GinSan coin box heater thermostat or any other coin box thermostats? Does this or another thermostat turn on at about 50 degrees Farenheit & off before it hurts coin box electronics? For some reason it is not turning on for us ... we are trying them for the first time.

http://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-3554-thermostat-for-24v-heat-tape.aspx

We trying it with the following heater: http://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-3562-coin-box-heater-wbracket-30watt.aspx

We don't think it is a dud on either part because we have more than one set that we are trying to make work.

mike

I would start with checking the voltage if you want to check and see if the t-stat is working you can put it in ice and check and see if you get 24v out you can also hook the heater up to 24v and see if it gets hot.

 

[mjwalsh]

I would start with checking the voltage if you want to check and see if the t-stat is working you can put it in ice and check and see if you get 24v out you can also hook the heater up to 24v and see if it gets hot.

Oops ... we made the false assumption before ordering that the thermostat would turn on at a higher than the 45 degrees we keep the bay temperature at when both doors are shut. Ideally, there would be sensor that was made that would on & off based on our much moisture was building up in the box. We have both doors shut during the winter time so more moisture builds up than possibly most of you ... especially those of you without doors.

The thermostat is not malfunctioning it just is not the range that would be more helpful for us moisture wise. We were having minor moisture related problems with the IDX coin mech & we thought the heater would be helpful. It looks like I may have located a different temperature range for greater help & still not overheating inside the boxes causing stress to the components. I notice that the tolerance is pretty wide on most of the water resistant small temperature switches ... as in + or - 5 degrees Celcius.

mike

 

[wash4me]

I would be interested in knowing what you figure out on this. I have often thought that humidity sensing would be more important than temperature sensing.

 

[mjwalsh]

We are cointing on you to find a practical tiny humidistat sensor ....

wash4me,

I agree that a humidistat would be helpful. I am thinking that because there are sensors that they put in commercial dryers that save on energy when the humidity is low enough ... they are available. I have not had time to research it more thoroughly ... you now have a new assignment to get back to us on.

Back in late March, I did locate a thermostat (googled) that only shuts off when the coin box temp reaches about 75 degrees F. We have all 6 bays on a separate 200 VA 24VAC transformer for all 6 heaters so during the summer we use a toggle so the transformer stays not energized. Also if we turn power off to a specific bay the coin box still stays dryer & warmer etc. It is too early in the testing to say for sure ... but we believe it will do some good during non summer days ... especially when we are forced to run with both doors shut on the specific bay.

mike http://kingkoin.com/USA_Deficit_Reduction.html

 

[2Biz]

For some strange reason these t-stats are not holding up well for me. I can't get a season out of them. I have a spare wire out to my coin box so I'm going to use it to control the heat tape. It will be simple to turn them on using output 2 from the weepmizer and some cube relays.

 

[Kevin James]

Our coin box heaters are on 24/7. The primary reason they are there is to get rid of the moisture when the meter box get soaked with water. Why would you want to turn them Off? Are you trying to save on electricity? If you are I think your spending dollars to save pennies because I don’t think the heaters use much power.

 

[2Biz]

My meter boxes don't suffer ill effects if they get wet. The LED7's and sensortrons are water tight. Mine have been in service for 10 years and not a single one has quit working. (Hope I didn't jinx myself!) The rotary switch is somewhat water tight inside the box. Water usually destroys them when water enters the shaft from the front. Maybe the heaters don't use much power. I'd think the heat will do more damage than the water, especially when outside temps hit the 80's and 90's. I only heat the boxes when temps are below 40°, which will be lower when I power all the heaters off the weepmiser that is set at 35°. My vacs don't have heaters. They work 100% of the time unless they are iced over. When its that cold and nasty out, they don't get used much anyway.

Good debate...Maybe others will chime in.

 

[Randy]

My coin box heaters have been on for over 20 years. The only time I open the coin box is to clear a coin jam and that doesn't happen very often so the heaters don't get checked to often. I'm been into coin boxes that are dripping wet because they don't have a heater so I'd have to agree with Kevin that they are there to clear any moisture in the coin box. My customers will spray water into the coin box attempting to get free time, my coin vaults will be full of water from time to time. I going to have to check the temperature inside the coin box, but I don't think it's really an issue.

 

[slash007]

I honestly never even heard about coin box heaters until the wash I bought last year had them in already installed. On my older wash I have the vault right under the coin box and a lot of times in the winter the quarters in the vault will be stuck together and iced over. I have to use a torch in order to get them out. Other than that, I've never had a problem in the wither with the timer, sensortron or rotary switch. Would installing a coin box heater make a difference to the vault? I am attaching a picture to show how mine look like. If I should add heaters, what is involved to get them powered up and how are they controlled?

Thanks.

View attachment 479

 

[MEP001]

I don't think a coin box heater will make a difference with the icing in the vault.

You can use 24V heaters and just run it off the bay power as long as the wiring and transformer is heavy enough.

 

[mjwalsh]

My meter boxes don't suffer ill effects if they get wet. The LED7's and sensortrons are water tight. Mine have been in service for 10 years and not a single one has quit working. (Hope I didn't jinx myself!) The rotary switch is somewhat water tight inside the box. Water usually destroys them when water enters the shaft from the front. Maybe the heaters don't use much power. I'd think the heat will do more damage than the water, especially when outside temps hit the 80's and 90's. I only heat the boxes when temps are below 40°, which will be lower when I power all the heaters off the weepmiser that is set at 35°. My vacs don't have heaters. They work 100% of the time unless they are iced over. When its that cold and nasty out, they don't get used much anyway.

Good debate...Maybe others will chime in.

I'm with 2Biz on this one ... I think there is a legitimate concern about heat ... especially in parts of the country where summer temps can reach into the 90s & beyond. Remember the coin box is closed ... normally with no vent or fan to dissipate heat ... possibly just a heat sink here & there. I am still waiting for someone to do the legwork on the humidistat approach.

mike king koin

 

[slash007]

I don't think a coin box heater will make a difference with the icing in the vault.

You can use 24V heaters and just run it off the bay power as long as the wiring and transformer is heavy enough.

I wonder if it would make a difference if I ran the coin box heater down to the vault and just taped it to the top. Not sure if the wires would get in the way of the quarters as they come out of the sensortron. The best fix would be to prevent the quarters in the vault from getting wet in the first place, but I haven't had any luck doing that. Not even sure how the water gets in there.

 

[MEP001]

I have to dry the quarters from the bays after a heavy rain. The idiot electricians told the steel guy who did the frame and roof that the "Great Stuff" foam would keep water out of the columns, but they were wrong. It runs right down the post and into the safe.

 

[Earl Weiss]

i don't have much issue with icing in the vault. It's thawing the accumulation on the outside that is a PITA. I now use 2 torches, one in each hand.

 

[Randy]

I leave the coin box heaters on year round. I put a digital thermometer in the coin box this morning. The outside temperature was 56 deg. After about 2 hours the temperature was 90.3 deg. inside the coin box.

Slash007, I don’t think running wires down the tube that your coins drop down in is a very good idea.

 

[slash007]

I leave the coin box heaters on year round. I put a digital thermometer in the coin box this morning. The outside temperature was 56 deg. After about 2 hours the temperature was 90.3 deg. inside the coin box.

Slash007, I don’t think running wires down the tube that your coins drop down in is a very good idea.

Probably not. I will just leave them be. Hopefully with the bill acceptors and credit cards I won't have to worry about as many quarters anyway and can just empty them less often.

 

[Ric]

I found over the course of many years that the heaters in the coinboxes would "bake" the insulation on the wires within the coinbox. They would become brittle and the insulation would crack and fall off leaving you with a mess of bare wiring. I pulled my heaters out over 10 years ago. I have not had any problems. I am located in cold, snowy west MI.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I I pulled my heaters out over 10 years ago. I have not had any problems. I am located in cold, snowy west MI.

I can have ice an inch thick build up around the coin boxes walls and on the vaults. The heaters keep the coinboxes ice free and useable. Do you have doors on the bays? How do you keep the boxes from icing up?

 

[slash007]

If I pull heat tape off of my coinbox, what can I use to re-attach them? Any special glue or tape?