Fill Em Up questions

[cait001]

Topic split & moved - Site Admin.

Fill Em Up questions:
1) can someone confirm the dimensions of the original balls? (I saw 1/2" and 34/64" in there)
2) can someone confirm the dimensions of the original glass?

Happy to say... I got one!!!

An operator had removed the far left and right pins to make them losing columns, but really I don't mind. Makes it harder and it's fine for home playing.

And it plays pretty great too.
The only issue is that when a win goes in and raises up the rear flag/catch, you rotate the knob and the plate sweeps to the back, catching that lip and moving the inner plate forward, which then raises the stopper that allows the knob to move the whole way. My problem is that the stopper doesn't quite move enough by the time it is engaged. Sometime jiggling the knob will work, but any ideas where to inspect and see what part of that cascade of action should be adjusted?
Trying to leave it as original as possible, so while I certainly could modify the metal catch a tad, I'd prefer not to.

[cait001]

Follow-up: the payout levers seem to work fine now, perhaps just some old cobwebs needed to be shaken out. But now sometimes the payouts aren't quite 1 coin per ball, so I might have to look into that. Are thin coins a common problem with payout mechs like these?

My write up: http://pinballnovice.blogspot.com/2020/ ... y-inc.html

[13rebel]

Ball dimensions of the Fill Em Up and similar machines have been discussed before. My machine didn't have any balls and I put 35 in at 9/16 inch diameter on the thought that being British they are most likely to be imperial. It works perfectly but I believe others have had success with close metric equivalent. Whilst cobwebs may have caused problems it may also be that balls are sitting in the gully that sits behind the ball exit hole - scoop them along with a suitable implement to release. It's always best not to use thin coins. Try filling the hopper and playing with only Elizabeth pennies.

[cait001]

What's the difference between "generic pre-decimal pennies" and "Elizabeth pennies"?
I'll try the standard 9/16 bearings. But you should really put 45 in, to accommodate a maxed-out board. ;)

[13rebel]

I put 45 balls in my post of March 13th,2014 under the heading 'What's My Line', but due to a typo/memory loss put 35 this time. Elizabeth pennies, as in our queen, were the latest old pennies to be minted and as such should be the least worn in terms of thickness.

[magikkk]

Follow-up: the payout levers seem to work fine now, perhaps just some old cobwebs needed to be shaken out. But now sometimes the payouts aren't quite 1 coin per ball, so I might have to look into that. Are thin coins a common problem with payout mechs like these?

The payout slides might need a clean, that's what caused mine to pay incorrectly as they were sticking sometimes.

[cait001]

Ball dimensions of the Fill Em Up and similar machines have been discussed before. My machine didn't have any balls and I put 35 in at 9/16 inch diameter on the thought that being British they are most likely to be imperial. It works perfectly but I believe others have had success with close metric equivalent. Whilst cobwebs may have caused problems it may also be that balls are sitting in the gully that sits behind the ball exit hole - scoop them along with a suitable implement to release. It's always best not to use thin coins. Try filling the hopper and playing with only Elizabeth pennies.

Here's something interesting: 9/16" balls don't work for me! in 2 of the columns the tolerance is just off and they get stuck.
I used my micrometer and all the balls in the machine measure 35/64, and all the new ball 9/16. That's a 1/64 difference, but it makes all the difference in the world!
so times for me to try and clean up the old balls as best I can and save the 50-pack of 9/16" balls for another day/project.

[cait001]

Elizabeth pennies, as in our queen, were the latest old pennies to be minted and as such should be the least worn in terms of thickness.

thank you!

[cait001]

The payout slides might need a clean, that's what caused mine to pay incorrectly as they were sticking sometimes.

Unsure if I'll do a full tear down, but I will eventually look into cleaning all of the slides. I've found the 3-ball columns reliably have issues, giving a full 6 coin payout, while almost all others are good.

Meanwhile, I have this all nicely set up...

[pennymachines]

They look good together. Was that wooden pachinko cabinet custom-made?