The Most Reliable Allwin

[cheeky]

I have often wondered which are the most reliable allwins for operating. From my childhood days I seem to remember many of them getting stuck or just not working. Often Bryans' allwins were 'out of action', swallowing pennies but not vending a ball or is it just the case I played on them more?

So, what is the truth?

[JC]

Well Cheeky, that's not a straight-forward question, and certainly not one for which I can give a straight-forward answer. Allwins tend to be very individual beasts - with minds of their own. Having operated machines for over twelve years now, I still wouldn't be able to give a definitive answer.
I have operated a number of very reliable allwins, which could almost totally be relied upon, never to 'play up'. But then, unscrew them from the wall and put them somewhere else.......and will the buggers work? No chance!
In general, allwins with a Saxony type ball release can be unreliable, purely because they are old and worn. But many years ago, I had a Whales machine, with a Saxony ball release, and it was one of the most reliable machines I ever operated. So this certainly isn't a rule of thumb.
On the whole, I've found Wonders and BMCo allwins to be among the most reliable, probably due to simplicity. It's interesting to note your mention of Bryans allwins................that will upset a few Bryans fans! Unfortunately, I have to agree - I have not found Bryans allwins to be particularly reliable. Although brilliant in concept, they do tend to be over complicated. There was probably no problem when they were new, but fifty years on (and this can be said of all vintage mechanical machines) wear and tear can take its toll.

Well, that's my short two penn'arth worth. I can't think of any other operators who are regular users of this site (Clive doesn't even own a computer), but I would be interested to hear the views of others.

http://mechanicalmemoriesmuseum.webeden.co.uk/

(Sorry, just plugging my website again)

[cheeky]

The more plugging the merrier and why not indeed!

I was reading one of John Carter's books and he seemed to rate Parkers machines as being the most reliable.

Any other votes?

[pennymachines]

Yes, John had great faith in the Parker's allwins. Forum member and vintage slot operator LuckyStar also complained about Bryan's allwins and swears by Wondermatics for play appeal combined with reliability.
Most of us are not in a position to judge, because the treatment a game gets at home is so different to what happens in a public arena. How will it cope with thousands of greasy or sticky or wrong sized coins thrown in by players who invariably don't read instruction cards?

[cheeky]

Okay, so technically speaking what makes the Wonders and Parkers machines so reliable?