Coin comparitor question

[Red King]

Hi, everyone. First post on the newer forum. I started sorting late last summer, but had to put the habit on hold for a while.

Picked it back up 2 weeks ago, and already accumulated over 1K FV from various banks nearby, finding about 15-20% along the way.

Anyway, in my quest to build the hoard, I bit the bullet and invested in an automatic sorter.
Thnkg is, I didn't really want to spend the $500 on a Ryedale, so I found an alternative online for only $70.

Essentially, it's a coin comparitor, attached to two chutes for ZN and CU, mounted on a wood frame w/ trays incl. It sorts about 2500 cents/hr.

Question is, has anyone else used a device like this, and if so, about how long do they last before they begin malfunctioning (which eventually I'm sure they will)?

I feel confident in the purchase- but I'm curious as to what the advantages of a Ryedale are vs. an alternative.

Thanks for the input!

[tinhorn]

Check this thread: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3009

We never did get around to asking how long these Chinese sorters would last. Heck, we were trying to figure out how to get them to work properly to begin with!

I use two of these in a series, and I don't really have a lot of faith in them. I end up double-sorting a quarter of my coins, and hand-searching the coppers.

I believe the Ryedale was designed specifically to separate copper pennies from zinc. The Chinese Ebay comparitors were designed to separate slugs from coins. And I suspect they weren't designed in China, but are knockoffs of Coin Mechanism products (who is offering a new comparitor for the express purpose of separating copper from zinc pennies). We're trying to tweak a cheap device into doing more than it was designed for.

I'm intrigued by the Penny Miser, a device that sorts by weight. Isn't weight how we sort the '82s? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6dYza7E9_c Pretty clever, I think. I also saw a device on youtube that sorted with an electromagnet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33KWuS3U ... re=related (Apparently zinc is antimagnetic.)

[Red King]

There seem to be several different views on the different models out there.

I'll receive mine in a few days, and look forward to trying it out.

Love hand sorting as much as anyone else here, but the incoming supply is getting overwhelming;
and almost every day, I have to check numerous banks for additional CWRs.

It's a strange 'mental' thing; I feel that any rolls I don't gather and sort may potetially be lost forever, and even if I can't sort them that day, at least they are no longer circulationg around.

....golly, feel like I'm in group therapy here