Need new Coin Acceptor

[Axxlrod]

I've got IDX X10 acceptors in my bays, and they have worked quite well for the last 10 years. One of them is giving me trouble, so I'm thinking it's time to replace it. I see that the X10 has been replaced by the X12.

A quick search on this forum shows many unhappy comments regarding IDX equipment. But the comments are from several years ago, so I'm looking for updated comments.

Which acceptors would you recommend? IDX X12 or something else?

 

[wyatt]

I personally have bought washes with IDX and Sensortron. I have switched them all too Slugbusters. They don't seem to have issues and are simple to install, and if one does ever break, Slugbuster will repair it for $25.

 

[MEP001]

Are you using any special coded or security tokens? If you are, you may have to use the X12's. The MA-850 that replaced the MA800 seem to be reliable - I haven't tried them but a local guy has replaced all his at two washes about a year ago and they've been working without any issues. I used to like the MA-800 but evidently some of the parts have become obsolete and they either take months to fix them or they "vanish" and are beyond repair.

If you're quarters only, I'd go with Sensortron.

If you take quarters and basic tokens, I'd recommend Slugbuster III. The SB II is a good unit overall and one of the least expensive, but it will take a dollar coin and only give credit for a quarter. SB III can take quarters, dollar coins and one token. You could also use SB II and shim the opening so dollar coins won't fit, but that makes depositing quarters a little difficult. Mine are all SB II and I find three or four dollar coins a week.

I've never used the Microcoin QL but others here have said they're good.

 

[Axxlrod]

Thanks for the info.

The bays only take tokens. Basic .984 tokens. No quarters accepted; just rejected.

Can't say I recall ever seeing a golden dollar coin in the drop vault.

 

[Randy]

I'll never have another IDX product on any of our car washes, we are done with them. friends don't let friends buy IDX!! If your only accepting quarters I'd go with the Slugbuster P-47 https://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-1216-slugbuster-i-old-style-quarters-only.aspx

 

[MEP001]

The bays only take tokens. Basic .984 tokens. No quarters accepted; just rejected.

The Slugbuster II and III are about a $40 difference in price at Kleen-Rite. I would suggest getting a dol lar co in and trying it in your existing ones to see if they've been de-programmed (By default it should take them). If they still take them, you might as well save the $40 and go with SB II since your customers aren't bringing them in. Mine do, and they get pissed off when they get taken and only get a quarter credit so I'm switching out to SB III just so I can tune them out to be rejected.

 

[soapy]

I still like the I coin coin mech. Accepts quarters and dollars and you can program 3 tokens. KR had some with metal.mounting plates on sale last month for around $100 vs. $225 for the plastic models.

 

[Axxlrod]

I have Slugbusters in my vacs, and have not been impressed. They are set to accept tokens only and reject quarters, but I find a lot of quarters in the vaults. They drop through, but don't turn the vac on, so it steals people's money basically.

 

[Randy]

I have Slugbusters in my vacs, and have not been impressed. They are set to accept tokens only and reject quarters, but I find a lot of quarters in the vaults. They drop through, but don't turn the vac on, so it steals people's money basically.

Which model Slugbuster coin acceptor are you using in your Vacuum's? When we used the Slugbuster P-47 for tokens we only got our tokens, no quarters or other coins.

 

[Damoni88]

U.S. Quarter Coin Mechanism | Imonex Coin Mechs | Z3 Series | Car Wash Coin Mechanisms

The Imonex 120-796-10 Z3 Coin Mechanism takes quarters and boasts a durable design for harsh environments like car washes.

www.kleen-ritecorp.com

 

[Greg Pack]

It may seem old fashioned but at washes where I dispense a quarter and don't take a free vac token I'm going back to the single electronic coin acceptors. Almost every brand of those is good and works forever. Accepting dollar coins is not worth the trouble. When I pull money in bays and vacs I usually find just enough dollar coins to slow things WAY down as I look for the oddball coin. I might get two or three at a wash mixed in with $1000.00 worth of quarters. It's much faster to just pull money without worrying about finding those dollar coins.

 

[Randy]

I have to agree with Greg. I get very few Dollar coins, maybe 3 a month in my Slugbuster II coin acceptors, I have a sticker on the front of the coin box face plate that says “US Quarters only” if they put Dollar coins in it’s there problem.

I find bent paper clips and bobbie pins on the ground around the vacuums almost daily, there trying to trip the micro switch inside the coin acceptor, we haven’t used the cheap mechanical coin acceptors in over 30 years for that very reason. Recently I found a vacuum coin box face plate unlocked, it was just shoved into the housing. They had picked the lock trying to get free vacuum time. A couple of days later I found the same thing on another vacuum, I changed the Ace locks to Medeco and haven’t had a problem since.

 

[soapy]

You can turn off the dollar coin with the I coin.

 

[mjwalsh]

Many of us laundromat owners in the USA & Canadian operators make the waterproof higher denomination coins work. The key is to make sure that when the customer comes they can get an abundance of them via our bill changers. Since ATMs have proven themselves so well ... it would be helpful if enough of us would support the option to be able to dispense higher denomination coins from ATMs. I fail to see cemented in protected ATMs being a greater risk than similar precautions we have taken with our bill changers & bill to bill recyclers.

The more misguided IMHO bad mouthing of dollar coins is "music to the ears" of potentially more & more unbridled "merchant fee" people which may include both the receptacle manufacturers, processors & even banks to some extent.

If the banks & politicians see the numbers of people disgusted with the dollar coin distribution impediments they could start behaving themselves better. I was sitting at the same table with a former top executive banker person & a 40 plus year independently owned washing machine appliance dealer at my recent 50th class reunion. I mentioned about metered apartment house machines that he sells ... it would be nice to have the proper adjustment for inflation when it came to coins. Everyone at the table was very supportive of making it known that there is a need for much better availability of the coins.