Rowe changer affected by cold weather?

[Eric H]

Last fall when the freezing weather came in I suddenly had trouble with nearly all 7 of my Rowe changers. The past week we have had weather hovering near freezing. Today we got our first light snow fall and the changers at one wash are accepting about 1 in 10 bills. I'm off to the other washes to check the and clean the belts. Is this a problem others are experiencing? The transports have not been serviced in about a year, the last time I had this problem. All of my transports have the new blue belts vs the old green ones.

 

[MEP001]

It's a fairly common problem with Rowes, and always has been so. The motor runs too slow when it's cold, and the bill through the transport is not read properly. A heat source in the cabinet should help. I always kept a trouble light with a 100-watt bulb running inside the cabinet in the winter.

You might look into Mars conversions. They're much, much cheaper to fix, last for many years with no service and aren't affected by cold. The kits are a little expensive, but you'll save money in the long run over transport repair bills.

 

[Eric H]

turns out that these 2 transports did NOT have the blue belts. The other 5 machines are working perfectly.
I think I'll replace the heat tape. I was once told that those heat strips only last about 3-4 years then begin to fade like MH light bulbs.