Love/Hate relationship with pins

bongoben

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Alright... so I FINALLY got some free time to play around more with the Pinbot I picked up a few months back. I got the plunger aligned a bit better so the ball makes it up the vortex ramp about every other time. I adjusted the left eye switch so that it actually registers when the ball is there. But the game was tilted to the left, the flippers are underpowered, it needs a thorough cleaning/new coils all around, I need to trace some of the lamp lines, etc. But somehow... SOMEHOW, I pulled an 8,000,000+ score on the first game I played in my testing it out phase. Just over 7mil in the first ball (including 2 free balls). I didn't even think that was possible. Then, of course, the next game I barely broke 200,000. I honestly don't think I'll ever pull an 8mil score on that machine again.

So, that has given me a new push to actually drop the $150ish I need to on all new coils and a pair of flipper rebuild kits. Anyone know where to get the 13 coils and a set of flipper rebuild kits I need for a Pinbot for cheaper than Marco Specialties?
 
Can I ask why you are replacing all the coils? Typically if a coil is working at all it doesn't need to be replaced. There are always exceptions but I can think of very few scenarios in which every coil needs to be replaced.
 
Agreed! You do not want to replace all the coils on the game, that's crazy talk! : )

Coils can last forever... I would def do the flipper coils, but you do not have to if they work.

What you really want to do for the coils, is replace the coil sleeves. You also want to check the coil stops, arms and linages. If any or all show wear, replace those parts.

Do not do all the coils, if you did that and not the metal moving parts, you probably would end up with the same results. Most new coils do come with new sleeves, but you can buy just the sleeves alone.
 
Yeah, the more I thought about it I realized that the coils were probably not the issues. The flippers definitely need to be rebuilt and I have ordered a rebuild kit and a pair of new coils. They are slow, and the metal parts on them are showing a lot of wear and some rust on one of the joints. The rest of the coils probably just need new sleeves to get things moving fluidly. This is still my first pin so I may be a bit overzealous on it. I guess I was looking at the coils like I would the caps in a capkit. Why just replace a couple when you can do them all? :) Except that a set of coils would run quite a bit more than a cap kit.
 
Yeah, the more I thought about it I realized that the coils were probably not the issues.

The coils are definitely not the problem.


I guess I was looking at the coils like I would the caps in a capkit. Why just replace a couple when you can do them all? :) Except that a set of coils would run quite a bit more than a cap kit.

You probably didn't need that cap kit either ;)

I would hate pins too if I just threw piles of money at them for no reason. I kid... I kid...
 
Can I ask why you are replacing all the coils? Typically if a coil is working at all it doesn't need to be replaced. There are always exceptions but I can think of very few scenarios in which every coil needs to be replaced.

Coils typically either work or don't. Usually if a flipper is weak, it's because the bushing, piston and sleeve are dirty or damaged. To me, the only reason to replace a coil is if it's not functioning. I have yet to run into a situation where replacing one that worked made a dramatic improvement. I'm sure that can happen, but I've not seen it.
 
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