igt splus hopper

[slotmani]

Does anyone know if the hopper from a splus can be switched to another splus without damage?  such as from a double diamond to a red white &blue Thanks

[tollguy316]

Sure.... make sure that the denominations are the same or you'll have to change the wheel though.   Bill

[knagl]

Yes, the hoppers between the same type of machine (upright to upright, slant top to slant top) are interchangable from one S+ machine to another.  As Bill mentioned, if they're not the same denomination hoppers, you'll need to make physical changes to the hopper wheel, knife, and possibly coin-out optics to make sure coins work correctly.

[tollguy316]

Yeah... what Kevin said  !!!!!

[slotmani]

OK sounds good but one more question, on the hopper that is in the machine it does not have a optic switch but a mechanical switch does that have to be changed as far as wireing? Thanks

[knagl]

It's an S+ machine with a mechanical switch to count the coins out? Are you sure about that?

Some S+ hoppers were fitted with a security modification which involved the coins exiting the machine lifting up on a metal piece which would then break the optic beam (and the optic was moved towards the back of the hopper, further away from the coin tray). Perhaps that's what you're seeing and calling it a mechanical switch? As far as the machine knows, it's still a standard coin-out optic.

If you're not sure, please post a picture or two of the switch in question.

[stayouttadabunker]

There were about three different kinds of S+ hoppers manufactured by IGT that I know of... with different wheels
and optic switches ( some semi-mechanical), but they will all work in any S+ cabinet.
They all run on the same voltages and use the same mount plates and beau plugs for electrical connections.
You don't have to change the optics switches on any hopper...any will work just fine for any hopper.
If the coin denominations are the same size for all your different S+ cabinets and games, you don't have to change anything!

The only time you change the deck top coin drop in slot guide, the CC sample coin, hopper wheels, knives, and the coin-in optic guides are when you're changing the denomination of the coins that are used from like a quarter to maybe a nickel or vice versa.
The physical differences in the size of everything has to be swapped out.

Now, you're talking the deck top coin drop in slot head, the coin-in optics guide ( also known in the biz is the "coin-in encoder") that's sandwiched between the twin coin-in optics boards underneath the coin comparitor.
The diameter of the quarter is far larger than a nickel coin and will only get jammed...it don't fit through.
If vice versa, the nickel in a quarter or larger denominational coin guide will fit through but miss the optical eyes
and cause mis-reads when dropping in the smaller sized coins.
You'd also have to change the sample coin in the coin comparator ("CC") as well as the hopper shelf wheel, the hopper knife too.
Why the hopper knife?
The nickel hopper knife has too high of a profile to guide the quarter through the hopper optics correctly plus
it's just a little bit shorter than a quarter knife as the wheel shelf of the nickel wheel is a little larger in diameter.
The quarter sometimes hits the top of the optics and falls off the knife or jams under the knife itself!

So, basically, try to keep the same coin sizes and denoms in all of your S+ machines...avoid using dimes or pennies. They only cause headaches as they like to jam up under the knife.
Especially if you want to be able to swap out coin parts like your S+ hopper for trouble-shooting purposes, without changing everything.
It just makes everything much easier and less costly...parts-wise.