Expert: Rodger Knutson - 1/17/2012

Question
QUESTION: Hi Roger, Merry Christmas!
I am curious about the name & function of the attached photo part. Also, while I was testing the machine by playing it hundreds of times(fairly fast), occasionally I would end up with 2 or 3 extra nickels in the escalator. I'm fairly certain that with the occasional wins, I got ahead of myself inserting nickels. Then, the 1st pull would catch (not allow me to full pull) & a second pull would work fine. Is this normal for the escalator to do this if indeed someone would put in three nickels at once?
Thanks very much for your help.
Ken

ANSWER: Hi Ken,

Hope you had a good holiday, the item in your photo is called a handle pump assembly. This is connected to the handle and works with the handle return spring. If your machine did not have this, the machines handle would snap back to the up or rest position after a pull, as the return spring would return it to it's rest position very fast. This pump assembly creates a vacuum as the handle spring pulls the handle back up, and this vacuum is adjustable and slows the return speed of the handle making this action adjustable. That screw on the end of the pump with the lock nut is the adjustment. the screw will either close a small vent hole as it goes in or open this vent hole more as it is screwed out. Allowing more air volume into the pump or less volume controlling handle return speed. If the machines handle returns right away before the reel mechanism has finished it's play cycle, it will hit the coin escalator and release the escalator lock which will cause the played coin to jump to the right in the coin escalator window and telling the coin escalator that this is ready for next play. You want it to be adjusted so this will not happen until the machine has almost finished it's play cycle and just about the time it would payout out if there was a winner. This is the mechanisms end of play or cycle, now is when you want the handle to return to full up rest position, when this takes place it will release the coin escalator from it's temporary locked position, allowing the played coin to move to the right and now allowing a new coin into the escalator for the next play. The reason for all this is the answer to the rest of your question. When the pump and handle assembly is working properly and timed correctly it will stop the type of crazy playing that you are describing above. Playing a machine like this will only cause it to jam up, and will also cause coins in the escalator window to fish scale, or jump out of there proper position and end up end to end touching each other and causing escalator coin jams. If the handle pump is doing it's job right, you will not be able to play the machine until the coin escalator is released by the handles full return, which should be at the end of the machines play cycle. This handle pump does need lubrication, but it has a leather piston inside, so you want to use only like a neetsfoot brand oil, which is a leather oil, and not regular petroleum based oil as this will rot leather. You oil the pump by removing the the pumps vacuum adjusting screw and adding a little oil inside the pumps tube. A slot machines adjustments are very important, and unless the machine has been serviced and in proper working condition some of these proper adjustments might not be possible.

I hope his explains how this all functions for you and the reasons for it.

Have a great New Year!

Rodger Knutson
http://www.coinslots.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Rodger,
First, thanks for the handle pump assembly information. I ended up removing the pump assembly from the cabinet & taking it apart. I had located my bottle of neetsfoot oil, & proceeded to pull the plunger out. What I found was what looked like black grease coating the leather on the plunger. With the machine not belonging to me, & fear of making something worse, I redistributed the grease & put it back in. I slowly adjusted the screw in almost 2 turns & did succeed in timing the handle as you said. Is the leather replaceable? Are these parts, like the plunger itself available?
The other thing is; are these machines strictly random as far as wins or pay-outs, or, how & when the reels decide to stop? I play the machine, intent on trying to fill the coin tube (which I have done manually) so that the machine might start to fill the jackpots by itself. Could it be that a machine will pay-out too often? I have kept track on paper, the # of pulls between wins,(how many nickels I put in) & even noted what was on the reels, & how many nickels came out. I then totaled it all up & the machine did come out ahead. Nickels in: 190, nickels payed out: 123, machine 67. (no main jackpot). The reels seem to spin freely. Your comments are appreciated.
Thanks, Ken

Answer
Hi Ken,

Handle pump, the pump is really only round stock with a treaded end, with two washers I believe, and a nut, the leather seal is round and cupped on the edges, add a washer on both ends of the seal, screw on the nut and it's rebuilt for the most part. Someone years ago did remake the seals and I might still have a couple of his seals. Really, most of the time I am able to clean bad seals up, reoil with neats foot and put it back together with very good results. The casting which the round stock goes through can show some ware, but when all cleaned up and adjusted even with some ware the pump will work very good, and can be adjust right. Also, yes some of this stuff has been remade or reproduced, and/or original used parts can be found. If you want to write me at Jackpot7@q.com I will be happy to e-mail you a couple of parts catalogs of venders that I buy parts from. Oh, yes these machine are random if everything is working properly. 190 coins in and 123 out means it's makeing money, the coin tube will fill up and feed the jackpot in time.

Thank You
Rodger Knutson
http://www.coinslots.com