are rhino coin mechs crap?

[jay22]

so it seems like most of the locations i go to, when i arrive the mech is looking like my attached photo. always turned a bit so someone would have to turn it back slightly to use again. i fear i’m losing sales due to this. is there a good way to clean the coin mech so this doesn’t happen, or are rhino coin mechs just lousy? i only run one machine, the rhino pro.

[gumball guy]

1 hour ago, jay22 said:

so it seems like most of the locations i go to, when i arrive the mech is looking like my attached photo. always turned a bit so someone would have to turn it back slightly to use again. i fear i’m losing sales due to this. is there a good way to clean the coin mech so this doesn’t happen, or are rhino coin mechs just lousy? i only run one machine, the rhino pro.

Over the years I have bought routes with Rhino & LYPC machines and they all use very similar Chinese mechs. The old 1-800 triples used these types of mechs as well. My general opinion on these mech are that they are pretty low quality and have the highest failure rate of any coin mech I have ever used including Vendstar mechs. Later versions seem to be even worse. Compared to Beaver/Oak/Eagle/Northwestern mechs they are completely subpar. As far as the sticky coin mech you can disassemble and clean the coin carrier with alcohol but that is a time killer and a hassle. A light lubrication on the coin carrier may help the action on the mech and help it return to the home position between vends. There are alot of opinions on here about what lubricants to use or not use (silicone/teflon spray, Vaseline, Mcglaughlin Oil Petrol-Gel Lubricant, Mcglaughlin Oil Petrol-Gel Lubricant just to name a few) but over the years I have used WD40. The concern is that it attracts dirt and it does but not enough that it causes problems especially if you use it sparingly.

[SSVEND]

Absolutely amazes me that newbies to the business are buying up these Rhino machines. I realize it's easier to just go online and buy these crap machines, but do a little leg work and get a good quality machine like Eagle. No they don't have website...you actually have to pick up the phone and call them the old fashioned way. For about the same price as a Rhino you can get a machine that will last you as long as your in business. The majority of machines we operate for the past 17 years are Oaks and Northwesterns (Unfortunately they are out of busines some of still look brand new after 17 years). Buy good equipment and just because a company has a website and ordering is easy with a few clicks of a mouse, doesn't make it a good machine. Pick up the phone and call Eagle and start buying up those machines. It's the ONLY manufacture of quality equipment that is left (unless you want to pay for Beavers overpriced equipment). 

[gumball guy]

13 minutes ago, SSVEND said:

Absolutely amazes me that newbies to the business are buying up these Rhino machines. I realize it's easier to just go online and buy these crap machines, but do a little leg work and get a good quality machine like Eagle. No they don't have website...you actually have to pick up the phone and call them the old fashioned way. For about the same price as a Rhino you can get a machine that will last you as long as your in business. The majority of machines we operate for the past 17 years are Oaks and Northwesterns (Unfortunately they are out of busines some of still look brand new after 17 years). Buy good equipment and just because a company has a website and ordering is easy with a few clicks of a mouse, doesn't make it a good machine. Pick up the phone and call Eagle and start buying up those machines. It's the ONLY manufacture of quality equipment that is left (unless you want to pay for Beavers overpriced equipment). 

Eagle is great but I am amazed that they don't create a website because their sales would probably increase exponentially in the states. I still have several Oak Acorn machines (40 plus years old!) on route and going strong.

[Mehehe]

Eagle did have a website just 3 years ago.  I asked them why they took it down and the response was that it just wasn't worth the expense.  There were no prices and you still had to pick up the phone to order but it was nice to be able to look at the options of machines, stands and colors available.

 

CandyMachines.com has the best selection I have seen for their machines online

https://www.candymachines.com/Eagle-Vending-Machines-C411.aspx

[jay22]

On 12/5/2019 at 11:52 AM, SSVEND said:

Absolutely amazes me that newbies to the business are buying up these Rhino machines. I realize it's easier to just go online and buy these crap machines, but do a little leg work and get a good quality machine like Eagle. No they don't have website...you actually have to pick up the phone and call them the old fashioned way. For about the same price as a Rhino you can get a machine that will last you as long as your in business. The majority of machines we operate for the past 17 years are Oaks and Northwesterns (Unfortunately they are out of busines some of still look brand new after 17 years). Buy good equipment and just because a company has a website and ordering is easy with a few clicks of a mouse, doesn't make it a good machine. Pick up the phone and call Eagle and start buying up those machines. It's the ONLY manufacture of quality equipment that is left (unless you want to pay for Beavers overpriced equipment). 

if i’m a newbie, then it shouldn’t surprise you i got rhinos. it’s not like there was a lot of info out there speaking negatively of rhino... one thing i did see was a Brian Larue(the vending nation dude) video on youtube, praising rhino and saying there equipment has got much better over the last couple years. maybe he was just full of it. honestly there is a lot i love about the rhino machine, but unfortunately an incredible important part of it sucks. is there a better coin mech i can buy to put in rhino machines? my heart sinks every time i service a machine to see the stupid coin mech turned half way(40 times a month)

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by jay22

[jay22]

On 12/4/2019 at 8:22 PM, gumball guy said:

Over the years I have bought routes with Rhino & LYPC machines and they all use very similar Chinese mechs. The old 1-800 triples used these types of mechs as well. My general opinion on these mech are that they are pretty low quality and have the highest failure rate of any coin mech I have ever used including Vendstar mechs. Later versions seem to be even worse. Compared to Beaver/Oak/Eagle/Northwestern mechs they are completely subpar. As far as the sticky coin mech you can disassemble and clean the coin carrier with alcohol but that is a time killer and a hassle. A light lubrication on the coin carrier may help the action on the mech and help it return to the home position between vends. There are alot of opinions on here about what lubricants to use or not use (silicone/teflon spray, Vaseline, Mcglaughlin Oil Petrol-Gel Lubricant, Mcglaughlin Oil Petrol-Gel Lubricant just to name a few) but over the years I have used WD40. The concern is that it attracts dirt and it does but not enough that it causes problems especially if you use it sparingly.

 

On 12/4/2019 at 8:22 PM, gumball guy said:

Over the years I have bought routes with Rhino & LYPC machines and they all use very similar Chinese mechs. The old 1-800 triples used these types of mechs as well. My general opinion on these mech are that they are pretty low quality and have the highest failure rate of any coin mech I have ever used including Vendstar mechs. Later versions seem to be even worse. Compared to Beaver/Oak/Eagle/Northwestern mechs they are completely subpar. As far as the sticky coin mech you can disassemble and clean the coin carrier with alcohol but that is a time killer and a hassle. A light lubrication on the coin carrier may help the action on the mech and help it return to the home position between vends. There are alot of opinions on here about what lubricants to use or not use (silicone/teflon spray, Vaseline, Mcglaughlin Oil Petrol-Gel Lubricant, Mcglaughlin Oil Petrol-Gel Lubricant just to name a few) but over the years I have used WD40. The concern is that it attracts dirt and it does but not enough that it causes problems especially if you use it sparingly.

do you think it’s a matter of it being sticky though or just bad quality? doesn’t seem sticky to me. it’s happening at all my locations, all 40 of them... sigh, this is not good lol.

[gumball guy]

14 minutes ago, jay22 said:

 

do you think it’s a matter of it being sticky though or just bad quality? doesn’t seem sticky to me. it’s happening at all my locations, all 40 of them... sigh, this is not good lol.

It looks as though someone walked up and attempted to turn the handle without putting money in it (usually a kid). Most of the time the spring would pull the coin carrier back to the home position so it may be that the spring is broken but I doubt it because the issue is so widespread. I would at least try lubrication and see if it helps. I wouldn't get too distraught over this. Most people would look at that coin mech, notice the handle is turned a bit, turn it back and put the quarter in.

[jay22]

10 minutes ago, gumball guy said:

It looks as though someone walked up and attempted to turn the handle without putting money in it (usually a kid). Most of the time the spring would pull the coin carrier back to the home position so it may be that the spring is broken but I doubt it because the issue is so widespread. I would at least try lubrication and see if it helps. I wouldn't get too distraught over this. Most people would look at that coin mech, notice the handle is turned a bit, turn it back and put the quarter in.

thanks for being the voice of reason.  i know when i was a kid, if i went to use the machine, and wasn't automatically able to put the quarter in, i'd think something was wrong with the machine, and move on.  to be fair, i wasn't the brightest kid.  

[jay22]

can this thread be deleted? i feel bad about it now after seeing that most brands coin mechs also don’t go back to home position all the time.

[gumball guy]

Don't feel bad.....it is a legitimate question that I bet many people have. We all learn by asking questions and I have no doubt people will learn from this question as well. I'm glad you asked about it. Happy New Year!

[orsd]

1 hour ago, jay22 said:

can this thread be deleted? i feel bad about it now after seeing that most brands coin mechs also don’t go back to home position all the time.

Rhino mechs are, at the end of the day, still lousy, even if we don't consider the lack of homing.

They tend to break and jam after some time on route.

[jay22]

i personally love the rhino pro machine(other than the “problem” which caused me to make this thread), that’s why i feel bad about it. i love the quarter turn cash drawer... so easy to have quick access to your money. i love the look of it, if you buy it in black it looks damn stylish for a gumball machine. the stand is incredibly sturdy, the metal body is cool,  i love how easy it is to assemble. none of the 40 i have out have given me any issues(i’ll admit it i only started around 7 months ago). maybe they will in time, but as it stands, this machine has been great for me.