Hamilton Change Machine

[Winston]

I recently purchased a Hamilton 2000V Changer with the Hamilton bill acceptor. Four times in the last week bills have crumpled at the top of the stacker (some look like an accordian). Eventually a bill cannot be ejected and blocks the sensor, putting the machine out of service. I talked to Hamilton twice, but only got vague suggestions. The anti-stringing comb was removed -> no help. The ram seems to work correctly. I noticed that the bill is not ejected completely at first, then the acceptor finishes ejecting the bill into the stacker. Unlike the Standard which drops the bill straight down, this arrangement pushes the bill horizontally into the stacker. Any curl in the bill seems to be a problem. A friend in the business also has a Hamilton which has had the same problem. With a stack of about 500 bills, maybe 50 lack 1/2 to 1 inch of going all the way into the stacker. Has anyone experienced the same problem? If so what was done to correct the problem? Thanks.

[ajay]

have you tried to remove the bill stacker? It might be the stacker. I had a similar problem years ago with the standard changer. Rather than spending money to get it fixed, I removed the stacker. I then velcrowed(sp??) a bag around the accepter. I have to sort the dollars but I don't have crumbling problem anymore.......on the other hand, if this is new, I would take it up with Hamilton

ajay

[Walter]

Winston,

Ajay's suggestion is a good one. By removing the stacker, you can isolate if the problem is with the validator or stacker. I, too, would take it up with Hamilton if the unit is new - this definitely shouldn't be happening. With the stacker removed, the bill changer will still work and you have extra time to get the problem fixed without incurring down time on the machine..

I had a similar problem on one of my Standard's, and the MARS validator was at fault - got it replaced under warranty.

On a second Standard a similar problem was with the stacker, and had that fixed under warranty...

Walter

[Winston]

Since I originally posted a problem with my Hamilton changer about one year has gone by. Hamilton has been very cooperative in trying to solve the problem as described in the original post. So far there have been (including the originals) 2 acceptors, 2 stackers, and 3 control boards. But the problem has not been solved. Sometimes the changer will go several weeks without a problem, then will jam 3 times in 2 days. A new acceptor and stacker are being sent today. I am very tired of dealing with this problem, but no one at Hamilton seems to know the real cause or the remedy for the jamming problem.

If you own a Hamilton changer (XE acceptor) have you had bills "accordion" at the rear of the acceptor? I'd like to know if my problem is unique, or one that Hamilton is well aware of, but has not figured out how to fix. Thanks...

[DaveLevenson]

I have two Hamilton changers, both of which use XE validators. I have seen a few bills get "accordianed" going into the stacker, but only two or three over the past couple of years. I have noticed that a few of my customers (mostly elderly women) tend to keep their bills rolled tightly into cigarette-sized tubes which fit in their change purses. When they try to straighten these tightly-wound bills and feed them into the changers, they always seem to have to fight with the paper a bit. When it finally goes into the acceptor, it often wants to roll up again as soon as it is ejected into the stacker. Usually, they just fall through the space between and end up on the bottom of the changer cabinet. Sometimes, especially when two or three of them are inserted consecutively, the result is a jam in the acceptor and an out-of-service changer.

I've thought about removing the stackers but decided the problem is not frequent enough to justify the extra work in manually gathering and stacking the pile of bills that would result. I haven't yet had both changers jam up the same day!

[ajay]

I was just on a car wash forum....they recommend hamilton with mars acceptor. Apparently they are very reliable - some 20 years plus.

ajay

[Randy]

Winston, Are you still having problems with your Hamilton V2000 changer jamming? It almost sounds like a miss alignment of the Stacker and the validator. I’ve run Hamilton XE validators since 2001 and I’ve had a few jam up like you have said. You could try a Iowa IC200 validator, it’s a direct replacement for the Hamilton XE. You can also retro fit another validator into that machine without to much trouble. My choice would be a Mars AE2600. Ajay, The Mars AE 2600 hasn’t been around 20 years yet. The oldest one I’ve seen is about 8 or 9 years old. A Pyramid will also work. I’ve done a number of both and they aren’t to difficult to do.

[Winston]

I shimmed (raised) the front mount of the bill acceptor to angle the rear downward a few millimeters. Did this because I determined that the bill, as it was ejected from the acceptor, came very close to the under surface of the ram on the stacker. So far it's been about 6 days without a jam. However, bills are still stacked with 4 or 5 bills (per 200 bills stacked) protruding about 1 inch from the remainder of the stack.

I have contacted Hamilton again, hoping to speak with one of their engineers, but was told that the engineers don't accept calls from the public.

[Breeze]

Being in the coin-op field all my life, and a route operator for the last 20 years, my best advice would be to do whatever you need to do to swap the acceptor out for a MARS. We've always worked with a company called Gekay (my father knew them when they were a basement startup); as I was looking up some contact info for you, I found they have opened up a southeast office in Virginia Beach.

Gekay
South East Office
Suite 201, 1209 Baker Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455

Phone: 757-363-7690
Tell them you saw their name , phone # and address on Coinwash.com. And to please become a Sponsor of Coinwash.com too
They should be able to help you out.

[soaps]

we have had the bills accordian pleat but they are always very old, thin, wrinkled bills. doesn't happen often.

[ericnyc]

I was just on a car wash forum....they recommend hamilton with mars acceptor. Apparently they are very reliable - some 20 years plus.

ajay

Ajay,
Can you give a link to car wash forum?
Thanks

[Boxer]

how about that I used goggle and then the search engine here and came up with

http://forum.autocareforum.com/index.php

It's times like this I'm glad people like you are my competition but I'm now in NJ ;)

Got a stronge strore going to flip it soon

[Randy]

Winston, Did you ever resolve your problems with your Hamilton V-2000 Changer?

[Winston]

Yes. Hamilton finally sent replacement parts that included all of the guts of the machine: bill acceptor, stacker, wiring harness, controller, mounting brackets, and hopper. Since replacing all of the internal components the problem has occurred twice in about 5 months. I still don't know what the real problem was, but the shotgun approach seems to have fixed it.

[bjo]

I had several Hamilton's in a car wash. They also would crumple a bill. Happened more in summer months and I believe it was caused by wet bills. They go in wet , crumple up and the heat from the validator dries them out.