by Penny Pyramid » Mon Mar 12, 2012 7:16 pm
I have been using a ryedale apprentice for about 3 years and have sorted over 5 million pennies. It is a very well made machine. There will be jams that need to be cleared during runs. These jams can happen at any time, so it is important to watch the machine during the run. When a jam occurs with two pennies stuck inside the machine, the slide will quickly fill with pennies and the machine must be stopped and cleared. I clear the slide of pennies and just dump the hopper of pennies back into the unsorted bag, then clear the jam. Other things to watch for is when one of the five wheel positions is plugged with something I always stop and clear it (usuall two pennies stuck together). I do not like running with 4 of 5 wheels only.
Always lube with white lithium grease and dry slide before use. I always clean the components and slide prior to use as well. It is important to keep the cam on the underside of the wheel clean as I found out the hard way. Also, if there is any small obtructions down inside the machine, it must be found and removed. Otherwise, it may just jam continuously (aslo as I found out the hard way). Small clear plastic can be very difficult to see and remove from the inside, so be careful not to allow any contamination inside if possible. It can be a big problem.
Good luck! Happy hunting!
Penny Pyramid (PP)