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UV protection for display timers

OurTown

OurTown

Well-known member
Does anyone use a lightly tinted or UV blocking Lexan over your Dixmor timers that will see sunlight all the time? Our two different type of vac projects will now have Dixmors in them and thought that it might make the plastic timer case last longer.
 
OurTown,

Somewhere around 8 years ago we put the Dixmor LED7s on all our vacs ... some vac displays directly in the sun. The way we did it if I remember correctly that we did have Lexan as an additional vandal barrier. I never thought about UV protection needed that we may have also gained. Lexan is a brand of polycarbonate that has UV protection we were told by the local Plastics Fabricator Shop.

I remember Specialty had some after thoughts when it came to our old coin boxes & I remember that large factory-distributor requiring a red tint for their glass that they had us glue on over their digital display. It seems like Dixmor thought about the red tint upfront ... not sure on the technicality of the red tint?
 
I did a Doyle LED 7 retrofit on my vacs about 3-1/2 years ago. The vacs face the East and West so they get the full effects of the sun. No canopy. I installed the 1/4" Lexan that is sold to protect the timers. Not tinted, they are clear... So far I can't see any degradation in the timers or Lexan plates...You'll be happy you are doing the retrofit. Its one of the best things I've done to get rid of the problematic mechanical coin acceptors...

See thread below.

http://www.autocareforum.com/showthread.php?12995-Old-Doyle-Vac-LED7-Retrofit&highlight=led7
 
Its one of the best things I've done to get rid of the problematic mechanical coin acceptors...
Click to expand...

We do have issues with those. We had Doyle make us custom doors with the welded mounting studs and were only $45 each.
 
OurTown said:
We do have issues with those. We had Doyle make us custom doors with the welded mounting studs and were only $45 each.
Click to expand...

That's funny! When I did my retrofit, Doyle didn't have doors with the Studs and opening for the LED 7....I bough the door blanks and machined them up myself. I told them at the time they were missing out on a retrofit market...They must have listened! LOL!
 
2Biz said:
That's funny! When I did my retrofit, Doyle didn't have doors with the Studs and opening for the LED 7....I bough the door blanks and machined them up myself. I told them at the time they were missing out on a retrofit market...They must have listened! LOL!
Click to expand...

Credit card addon must have changed that.

The Lexan protective plates that Dixmor supplies doesn't block UV, but you can get clear window "tint" film that does and won't even darken the display. Acrylic does naturally block UV - it normally scratches very easily but it can be found with a scratch-resistant coating.

I've retrofitted some GinSan doors with LED7 timers - the opening was too wide to be covered by the timer so I ordered some plain red acrylic pieces to close the gaps. It doesn't block any of the red light from the timer.
 
I see that my local Home Depot has clear Lexan that is "UV protected to maintain its clarity and strength". Maybe that would block UV also?
 
I have led 7's that are in the sun most of the day. I also use the generic acrylic/plexiglas/lexan covers for damage protection. I am reasonably sure that they do not have UV protection but not positive. The only issues I have is the acrylic covers get sunbaked and hazy. I used to buff them back out but now I just replace them because they are cheap. Never had any issues with the timer cases themselves degrading at all and I have some pretty old ones. One thing I do and recommend is putting dielectric grease on the pins and connector of the timer and harness. I have had several that corroded and started getting hot enough to melt the timer case.
 
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