New Life Games Tech Forums

I have my reel touch Buck ahoy , I would like to know is it better to leave the machine on 24/7 or turn on the machine and off the machine when I want to use it. I change the upper box lights to LED strip lights and added 3 additional fans in the top box to cool down the machine. I felt the one top fan in the top box was not enough ventilation. I checked the air temperature coming out of the machine and my digital temperature gun registers 79/80 degrees coming out. Thank You for any suggestions made. Ken

80 degrees is not bad....
if it gets over a hundred degrees...
then turn it off or throw some snow on it... :96-

True, as long as he meant 70-80° F.  If he meant 80°C, he's got problems. :159-

:208- :208- :208- :208-

I corrected your response, since you wouldn't want him throwing snow on the thing while it was turned on!  :200- :200- :30- :30-
He may want to unplug it as well, while he's at it. :127-  :50- :50-   :126-

(No, DON'T throw snow on your slot!) :81-

The temp is 80F . The Fans I am using Blows 115 cfm ,these are 115v and I have them going to a power strip. When I first ran the machine it was pushing out hot air.This was mainly from the two large Flourecent Bulbs in the top box. After I removed them out and replacing with a Large LED Strip light this machine runs cool.
My big question, Is it better to have the machine on 24/7 or just turn it on when when I want to play it. At this time I keep it off when not in use. Thanks, Ken

Personally, I turn the machine off when not using it...
It's only common sense - would you leave your TV on at home all the time?
These machines were made to be on 24/7, but really in a live casino where
they have the :56- to pay the light bill.  :96-
There's arguments for leaving them on at all times to save power supplies
and such as switching them on and off all the time is not good for them.
Just pick up an extra power supply if you plan on keeping the machine forever.
In the end, it'll be probably cheaper to switch out a bad power supply than to
keep on paying a crazy light bill.
Computer components inside machines don't like a lot of heat...
Changing out to LEDs is the way to go nowadays...saves on power and probably
keeps things running inside a lot longer.

All electronic components have a limited lifetime, so if you leave them on all the time it will use up this lifetime.   The casinos don't care since they replace their machines an average of every 6 years, and they obviously need to leave them on so people will pay to play.  I have all my machines on surge supressors, one for approximately every 7 machines, I turn them off and on from the surge supressor daily and have no issues with component failure.  I use quality surge supressors and the power supply here is very stable.

Thanks,
Wayne

Now Jokers, you know I was just kidding about the snow right??? :72-

Thankyou to everyone for all the advise. I will now turn them on when I am ready to use the. As for the Snow. Great Idea we have plenty in NJ I think it's a great way to cool down machines.. Only problem !!!! what do I do in July :208- :103-

"Surge Suppressors" are highly over rated and highly misunderstood.
Most are simply a "MOV" or Metal Oxide Varistor placed across the AC line.
While they CAN absorb and dissapate SHORT duration "spikes", real surges will usually result in the MOV being destroyed by fire.
"Switching" power supplies dont give a rat's ass about "Surges". The reason they can tolerate them is simple. The AC main (120 volts) is either rectified and filtered resulting in 1.414 times the RMS voltage or around 170 volts DC. Some supplies will DOUBLE the 120 and filter it. This high voltage is chopped up by high frequency MOSFET transistors.
Since the AC is rectified and filtered, the "Spike or surge" would have to charge the large value filter caps to raise the voltage to a level that they can do damage.(not easy to do).
To sum this all up, for the mostpart they are a WASTE OF MONEY..but wait! there is more :)

MOV's when they fail are a FIRE HAZARD!!! I have deliberately over voltaged a few to see what would happen using a 240 V Variac. They fail at the top of the circle, punch thru and throw a flame about 2 to 3 inches. The idea here is to absorb the spike, convert it to heat AND blow the fuse or breaker if it's a long condition. Think about this for a moment. The breaker is 15/20 amps. That means the MOV must conduct or disappate 120 Volts times 15 amps for a total "power" of around 1875 watts. Thats a LOT of heat. Add to this that "Fire" does indeed conduct electricity (if you dont beleive it and think I am full of shit look up "Fire Loudspeaker).MOV's in a PLASTIC container are a fire hazard.

What does this boil down to?
Switcher supplies and large transformers tolerate "Spikes" quite well...
Most "Surge Suppressors are a complete waste of money....
If you MUST have one, make sure its in a metal plug strip....
Use the PROPER fuses for the job,fast blow rated at 120% of the required amperage,slow blow for motors,inductive loads.
Have head examined if even THINKING of buying a "Monster" power conditioner....

Kirk

This is good information Kirk.  Any advice for best product to use in rural areas where brown outs and fluctuations in the line is common?

yes! a GOOD quality UPS.
Decent UPS's will fill in for brownouts and smooth over fluctations.
Try to get one that you can turn OFF the audible alarm. I have a few 1KVa "Tripplite" units I use here for the house cameras,VOiP servers,UHF repeater controllers and Satellite downlinks. MUCH better than a "Surge Suppressor"

Kirk, Can you tell me where I can purchase these, Ken
PS, Many thanks for the Education. Safety is number with me.