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At what speed (RPM) do the reels on an early Big Bertha spin????




Good luck!

don't you mean RPM

Oh crap, were off to a good start aren't we....SORRY ABOUT THAT!!!!

Question has been edited.... :30- :30- :30-

120

On an EM it would be variable.

Was there ever an E/M Bertha made.??

I just asked that via PM. Wondering if it was an E-series?

<ADD> Come to think of it, what were those gaffed machines in the movie Casino?

Damn, you guys are a tough crowd....I'll double check my source, but for now, if there WASN'T an EM Big Bertha, then just go with the oldest one you know of...

I'm removing the EM from the question....just to mute that point...

There's one at Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington, Mich.  Albeit a Bally, an EM Bertha/Jumbo nonetheless.  And a very cool place to visit if you are ever in the area, would probably appeal to most members here and I believe the owner may have been a member here in the past if not still.  Visit marvin3m.com to check out it out.

Okay I visualized myself watching a BB spin form last time I watched one, which was a ZILLION years ago. I then opened the clock/timer app on my laptop and timed 15 seconds and counted imaginary Big Bertha reels spinning. My answer is:
50 rpm

 :47- :47- :47-

60 RPM?  :103-  

Final answer: 60 RPM.

5 or 8.5    :103- 


I stay with 5rpm   :5-

maybe  7rpm    :79-




Jim   :72-

25 RPMs

21 RPMs

I will take a shot at 10 RPM's

18 RPM

8.5 RPM'S

Here is one on Ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Big-Bertha-Slot-Machine-Almost-5-feet-tall-working-S-N-38-/190642386825

Hint: They used a 5 HP motor to get it done....

And a chain to drive them toooooooooo

16 RPM ??

Try again  12 ?

9.5

9.1667

10 RPM

One of the main problems was the stops. The SPEED of the reels would shear off the reel stops....

Well, you got the .1667 right! (J/K)  :200- :97- :97-  (P.S. That's 1/6 for you non-number folks. :96-)

Looks like it may use gear reduction box with some sort of jack-shaft-?  40 rpm?.

Short,
I'm going to go with your timing of 15 seconds per revolution.
That would be 4 RPM's


Roz your going to have to check that again. No way in hell am I going to believe that it took a 5 HP electric motor.
1/5 is more like it.

Hell a Golf Cart has a 5 hp motor and one from that era would be like 90 LBS

How many tries do we get at the correct answer?.   I think I have it now...The answer is ZERO -0- ,Until you put money in and play!.

Ok, when I get back home I will post an excerpt from the source....

http://www.slotmachines.org/slot-machines/terms/big-bertha.htm (http://www.slotmachines.org/slot-machines/terms/big-bertha.htm)

OK, but I still don't believe that number

5hp at 110 volts is still gonna carry some serious rpms.  This being stated it has to have some serious gear reduction going on.  Gonna take someone that has worked on or has one of these because without the rpm of the 5hp motor and the gear ratio -not gonna be able to do nothing but guess.  Those two are needed to help solve equation.  rpms drop also from drive to driven due to many factors.  Also,  RPM of the motor is NOT the RPM of the reels.

Don't over think it. Just try to picture the reels spinning in your mind's eye. How long do you think it takes to go around once? Then figure RPMs.

Remember, it's not how many times the reels go around during a spin, but how fast they are turning.

Looking at sprocket set up in pic. member posted a link to here and also assuming and I hate that word it is the correct game I would now think in the area of 2-3 hundred rpm's.  Set up looks simular to bicycle gearing.  The only true way to know exact rpm of the reels is to place a target on them and shoot them.   

StatFreaks on the right track...don't OVERTHINK it! Just think about how many times the reels do a full rotation during a play, then figure how many seconds they spun, then do the math to get the RPMs.

I looked back at the article, and the 5 HP is correct, as Neon found. They had to get the reels to spin pretty fast or they would "appear to revolve too slowly" to the player. The biggest problem on the machines was metal fatigue, as you can imagine the force of stopping a car tire-sized reel.

Isn't this fun?!?!?  :72-

 

I'm gonna guess about 25 RPM

200

120 rpm

I'm guessing 175.

Yes,  I do know from some of my older diesel days pcm had to see 100 rpms mininum  to enable injectors etc. . This is just turning a diesel engine over-so anyone has looked at a diesel engine turning over before it cranks-that is pretty slow.  I have no other resources to solve this riddle as sprocket sizes,input rpms, etc. would be needed.  I will say that after thinking more the rpms are well over 100.  Given the information in the question,  I have deduced it is impossible to calculate the rpms of these reels.  However,  If I had one the question would have already been answered!.  

New guess 60

Still don't believe that 5 HP motor no matter what that article says.
Hell I've heard good thing about Buzz, but just because it's on the internet doesn't make it true.  :200-

An electric motor is going to spin at a constant rate and in the range of 3100 - 4500 RPM's
So we know that's not the answer because it's not a direct drive. So now we know there is a gear reduction involved.
If the correct answer is between 31 and 45 then that gear reduction is around 100:1
When you reduce gear reduction you increase torque on the output shaft. This is the basic principal behind a block and tackle or even a lever to move an object.
so IF your using a 5 hp motor as a driver and running through a 100:1 reduction the end torque is equivalent 500 HP motor.
Now surely (and don't call me Shirley) boys and girls, your not going to tell me it took the torque of a 500 hp motor to turn those reels.




Nope, not the speed to shear it off. That's the inertia.
a property of matter by which it remains at rest or in uniform motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external force

Neon,  They can set up electric motors to spin out 2-3 hundred rpm's and still be rated at 5hp.  That is the first part of equation-input rpms,then gear/sprocket size on input,then gear/sprocket size on driven  assuming no gearbox?  As I said a bit ago,  Impossible to calculate without the variables.  As one of old ozzys songs went it-- it's a shot in the dark!!. 

There is no way that reels that large could complete 1 revolution in 1sec  or less so  by timing each response x  60  = 60 or less 45 sounds like a reasonable # so 45 rpm

A little more math.
I image that each reel is about 36 inched in diameter.
36 X Pi (3.14159) is = 113.09 inches of reel tape
Multiply that times lets say 40 revolutions per minute = 4523.8896 inches of reel tape each minute
that's the same as 376.9908feet of reel tape per minute. Or divide by 60 =  6.28318 feet of reel tape each second!

Now I'm telling you id you are looking a symbols a foot away and tape is passing by at the rate of 6.28318 ft per second you won't see a thing. The human eye will only see a blur.

So 40 RPM is too fast.  :5-

I think now at 45 rpm you could not only see the symbols clearly,  you could also eat some pie etc.  Way to slow.  Even the 1930's and up spin faster.  

True, but if you set a motor up to that low of a RPM the shaft output torque is stupid high, so you wouldn't need a 5 hp motor.

Now if you want to tell me the shaft output torque was = to a 5 hp motor I might believe it. But the driver being 5 hp. :81-

What happens when we ride a 10-12 speed bicycle?.  All in gearing.  We are over thinking all this as there is no WAY to calculate the correct answer given the question and based on most everyone here axcess to the specific game in the question.  The question was presented as such and yes it is fun but Do you think they are just going to be giving boat loads of 25 dollar entries away every hour!.  Why did they call records 45rpms etc. and the others.  Speed needed to play that record.  I could always see the label good back in the day at those speeds.  I think just a lucky guess will get this OR that guy that has one.  It is almost tempting to send him the tape and rpm gun to chk. rpm's--They said 7-days.   

I have a strobe tachometer that I use for my job so I wish I had one of these machines right now!

777sizzler is correct (ouch, that hurt, lol) in saying it is IMPOSSIBLE to CALCULATE, but it is not impossible to GUESS. Think of it kinda like guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar (you don't know if there's paper wadded up inside the column of jelly beans or not, do all the math you want).

Good, friendly fun...but WOW, check out your guys' minds in action! Some smart cookies!  :305- :305- :305-

Active topic.

My guess is slow.  :186-        256 rpm's.       :89- That may be 3-5 MPH.

Richard

OK, New guess ... 12 RPM!   Large Reels - 5 seconds per revolution.

12 already guessed, so let's' go with 15 RPM.   . ... That's the ticket!  :89-

450rpm

This is good one!  :89-  Where did you find this question?  :127-
As 777 says, you need motor rpm, drive gear and reel gear dimentions for an exact answer. The net says the Big Bertha was invented in 1931. Has 21 inch reels chain driven by a 5hp motor.

Ok, I'm guessing 30 rpms.

Remember this is for the early Big Bertha's, not the Clossal Slots you see today. What I find is the Big Bertha's have 21 inch reels x 3.14 = 69.94" length of reel tape.

Well,  At least it is early in this game with the 7-day cut-off.  That being said I am sure someone will get this one.  Just do not have what is needed or time to research.  Kudos to CVslots for the perplexing question.  I hope the answer is correct as there are engineers, doctors, lawyers, fbi, police, architects you name it trying to crack this. -- :259-.

I was thinking the same thing after reading all of this. I have the PM'd answer but have no way of knowing whether it's accurate.  :5-
 :214- Still, keep in mind that this is supposed to be light trivia; it's not the $64,000 question.

Ok,  Last shot  6400 rpm. 

Good clue Uniman.... I missed that one.  :244-
So with the new diameter and using the 40 RPM's were now at 3.88888 ft per second OR another way of looking at it the outer drum would be spinning at 2.645455 MPH

So if I take my low-rider with 21 inch wheels on it and drive past you at 2.5 MPH can you read the letters on the wheels?  :60-  :208-

PS 777,
That 45 RPM record that you mentioned, your reading that song title at 3 inches from the center. Not 10 1/2 inches (21" diameter) from the center.
A lot more surface (speed) at the outer edge than the center where the label to a record is printed.



PPS
One last thing. There is a reason that a locomotive used a diesel motor to drive a generator to power the electric motors for the drive wheels.
It's torque. More torque in an electric motor so you don't need as much HP.
Electric motor = constant speed with load, where a diesel or gas the torque varies with RPM.

More speed at center.  It is, where the drive is at-not outer edge.  Check it out.   So center is center-yes.   I change to 640 rpms now.  --Good nite all  It is a fun, hard to figure out answer.-- :154- :194-.

No, More speed at the outer edge because it's the same RPM but the outer edge is a bigger diameter.
Think of it this way. If I turn a car tire at 10 RPM's One is a Smart car with 11 inch wheels the other is a P/U truck with 30 inch mud tires. Which one will be traveling forward faster?
Both axles are turning at 10 RPM's


Roz,
Are we having fun yet??? :79-

the one with the 30 inch its going faster !!! :D

Oh yah....this is what trivia should be! What fun would it be if we didnt get to come together and think things out?  We are upping the bar a tad this year...well, hopefully!

1.5 RPMs

11 RPM !!!!

25

Wow, what a range of guesses!!

66

220 RPM's

300 RPM

I'll guess 20 RPMs.

I'll guess 120 RPM

Ron (r273)

777 on principle alone... no scientific backing...  :97-

17

Now THAT's the logic we're looking for! Love it!

  :199-    Okay, after three full pages of guessing, it's my turn.    :199-     

 :79-  I guess...        ...   :103-   ... umm,    42,460,070 RPM!   :267-
Do I win?!  :136-






Oh, crap. That was the number of hits at the bottom of the page this morning. :279-  :127-  I knew I'd seen that number somewhere recently. :129-

I have two more clues.

I was looking at my ceiling fan late last night, watching how fast the outer tips of the blades seemed to be spinning, picturing symbols flying by on those edges if they were in a window, and then noting the RPM of the thing.

For those of you talking about how a larger diameter at the same RPM means that the edge is spinning faster in feet/sec, don't forget that the symbols are larger and their spacing farther apart than a typical slot. What does common sense suggest would look good to the general unwashed masses?

Was the fan on low  Medium  or  High ?

i changed my mind 47 RMP !!!

Today's Uniman answer;  6.4 RPM's

78 rpm's  --- My kung-fu is weak on this question!- - :118-

72!   :89-

Or 36!

33 RPMs

Both of your numbers are on record, and sizzler's record is definitely older than proten's -- by about twenty or thirty years! :203-  :208- ...   

... Bad Stat :190- Boo.  :96-

I had an old record player and it had speed setting for 16. I never saw a record that was made for 16.
Maybe they used it to test Bertha's reels.
So 16 it is.

I just can't help but think Stat is waving the answer under our noses.

46 rpms

100 RPMS   

Somebody run down to the Golden Nugget on Fremont, sign up for the players club and count the rotations and time when you spin the reels!

I think it was to low..... he was having hallucinations !!!

Well, well, well....it looks like we have a WINNER!!!!!  :wa :wa



Members name is "BlueRidgeSlots"??? Anyone heard of this guy? Whoever he is, there will be a $25 entry donated in his name!

Congrats Jim! Good job!  :136-

One meeelion RPMs.  :)

Jason

I was only 20 rpm's off, don't I get a decoder ring or something?  :97-

Ron (r273)

We're all out of decoder rings, but how about a Central Valley Slots temporary tattoo?  :97-

I take it .... better than nothing !!! LOL

Oh and for you're reading enjoyment....

Roz,   that article only applies to that one particular Big Bertha  at that casino.   :79-   :79-   that being said, perhaps others spin at different rpm's.   :79-      :79-   :96-


Jim   :71-   :5- 

 :72-   

Wrong machine. That is a Colossal Slot, not a Big Bertha. Big Bertha has much smaller reels. http://www.nypartydivision.com/item_pictures/FGL_bertha.jpg

There are videos on youtube of the Golden Nugget machine. I watched them and guessed 30 rpms as they look like about one revolution every two seconds.

Now I never would have guessed the Bally Big Bertha is 100 rpms! That's 1.666 revolutions per second!!!! Wow!! But that's what it says so I guess that's it. No wonder the stops broke!!!
Lots of fun!

Not to split hairs, but I believe the slot in question is called a "Colossus".   :214-


(http://i58.tinypic.com/2z4ba6x.jpg)

I need a set of those strips!  Backlit and washable too would be nice.

Jason

You are right, must have had WMS BB2 slots on my mind.

WTB: A colossal, colossus or big bertha machine.  I think it will fit in the living room!

57

It's over blueridge WINS . Guess made were 0 -1.5-4-5-6.4-7-8.5-9.1667-9.5-10-11-12-15-16-17-18-20-21-25-30-33-36-40-45-46-47-50-57-60-66-72-78-(100)WINNER -120-175-200-220-256-300-450-640-777-6400-1,000,000 and 42,460,070  .Special note lots of number to be used up in between the high and low guesses . Great effort on CV slot to provide this entertainment for all that participated . P.B.

It was a good one,  Good kick-off.  Was fun and glad actually the question was answered!.  Untill we all meet again-- :222-.

Congrats Jim.

Thanks Uniman, when someone says Big Bertha I automatically think of those big IGT S+ machines they used to make. The guy that used to own AZ Slot had a big Double Diamond round top that sat in the front window of his shop. Would a loved to have had it, but it was $1 a pound, lol. The son of a gun was about 3 feet wide and 7 feet tall sitting on it's stand

Thank you for all who participated!!! Love seeing all you guys come together, that's really all this is about!

Now...stay tuned for next weeks question! Maybe we will throw an easy one out? Or maybe not!!!! Either way, still fun. That's what were here for!

Thanks again to ALL who participated nada big CONGRATS to Mr.Jim/BlueRidge!!!!  :136-


Roz