How do you guys deal with payouts/big reaches?

[PachiPachi]

I've had my Popeye pachinko machine for about a week now and it has been allot of fun. I now realize something though. I remember when I would hit in Japan the machine would sometimes pay an entire crate of balls! I've noticed that when I reach I have to keep cycling the balls from the bottom to the hopper up top so I can continue getting paid during normal play. I have about 500 balls and I have another 500 in the mail. The hopper as well has a large basket to increase its capacity.

What do you guys do? Do I have to buy 4000+ balls to get a good experience? Should I deal with the way it is an continue adding cycling the balls until its finished paying? I understand that these machines were designed for a professional business and not necessarily for home use. What do you guys recommend?

[Drunkenclam]

My way is to have a reservoir of 20,000+ balls feeding 3 machines.

[p.opus]

Doing the fever shuffle. I have a Star Wars machine and have it filled to capacity with it's default supply hopper. During my fever round I shoot balls and constantly transfer to the lower tray, dump the lower tray into a ball bin and pour the ball bin into the hopper. About every 5 to 7 rounds rounds or so, I take a few seconds to dump the discarded ball tray into the hopper as well.

500 balls is way too few balls to handle a fever, But 750 to 1000 works OK. Of course if you have an expanded hopper and a good ball bin at the bottom you can do even better.

A fever is a workout to be sure. But that is part of the "fun". Makes pachinko less of a spectator sport...

[PachiPachi]

My way is to have a reservoir of 20,000+ balls feeding 3 machines.

20,000 balls??? That's like a $1K in balls if you buy them from eBay. Pretty cool.

Doing the fever shuffle. I have a Star Wars machine and have it filled to capacity with it's default supply hopper. During my fever round I shoot balls and constantly transfer to the lower tray, dump the lower tray into a ball bin and pour the ball bin into the hopper. About every 5 to 7 rounds rounds or so, I take a few seconds to dump the discarded ball tray into the hopper as well.

500 balls is way too few balls to handle a fever, But 750 to 1000 works OK. Of course if you have an expanded hopper and a good ball bin at the bottom you can do even better.

A fever is a workout to be sure. But that is part of the "fun". Makes pachinko less of a spectator sport...

Lol fever shuffle. Im going to be about 1K balls at the end of the week. Ill go from there and if I feel I still need more ill order some more I figured there wasn't much you can do about it. Ill keep doing the fever shuffle

[luckydog]

I use the 2 handed shuffle, you can work up a good sweat

the paint tray mod works well, raise machine when making the cabinet, put a paint tray or in/out office tray under it, mount an oil funnel with a conduit clamp in back where all balls drop. all balls roll to the front making it much easier to grab and dump in the back top tray

Polish carpenter strikes again

[Card Shark]

I have a ball lifter on my Jaws machine that keeps the upper reservoir full from a larger lower reservoir. It really made a huge difference in my enjoying the machine after adding the ball lifter.

[p.opus]

I would love a ball lifter, but they are muy muy expensivo.

[PachiPachi]

How do they do it in Japan? Does every machine have a ball lifter?

[luckydog]

its all automated, balls going to machines are all run thru ceiling tubing, lost balls are all returned to the main system

[DrDark]

Sometimes I just keep playing. The reward balls run out and the machine keeps on playiing. After the fever I just keep filling the top hopper till the machine stops paying out.

Not as exciting but it lets me concentrate on the video.

[luckydog]

older moderns may error out if you try to do that

[Moparformances]

this is my solution

http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/pach...o-cabinet.html

more balls

[MrGneiss]

I built all my cabinets with big top hoppers that can hold a few thousand balls..Not that I have enough balls to fill them all at once.. Plus all my spent balls fall into a ball tray under the machine so when I have to refill the top I just take the ball tray and dump them back in up top.. I also have one machine with a ball lifter..

[mosheste]

Taking into consideration the fact that a Modern machine pays about 1500-1800 for a Jackpot - you need at least 1000 Balls...

[CarlW]

I use the same hopper / containers on the top as on the bottom and have learned to swap things out fairly swiftly...

Full story in Cabinet forum... whoop de doo !!!

Two bowls nested.jpg Altered lid with two nested bowls on feed tube.jpg Feed tube muffler clamp assembly.jpg Lid with drained bowl and funnel.jpg
Lid with drained bowl.jpg Two bowls one rim removed.jpg Picture frame light with flash.jpg

[PachiPachi]

I use the same hopper / containers on the top as on the bottom and have learned to swap things out fairly swiftly...

Full story in Cabinet forum... whoop de doo !!!

Two bowls nested.jpg Altered lid with two nested bowls on feed tube.jpg Feed tube muffler clamp assembly.jpg Lid with drained bowl and funnel.jpg
Lid with drained bowl.jpg Two bowls one rim removed.jpg Picture frame light with flash.jpg

Thats a really good idea! I have to build a cabinet for them one day, I just am a little cramped on room. I wonder if I could modify a bowl or pachinko bin to have a slider mechanism to open/close. That way I could swap them! Ill give it some thought

[Wayne-Ooo]

Thats a really good idea! I have to build a cabinet for them one day, I just am a little cramped on room. I wonder if I could modify a bowl or pachinko bin to have a slider mechanism to open/close. That way I could swap them! Ill give it some thought

Sounds as if you need a "Blast Gate" mounted on top of your cabinet.

Pachinko Hopper Shutoff via Blast Gate

[sandruu]

Larger hoppers sound great but balls do add up! $_$ I'd love to see more ball lifters in circulation! In my few months of research I have only see one for sale that cost more then a machine and literally seen only 3 others in pictures. If someone started making them here that would make a killing!