Changing The Price On An Essex Coin Mechanism

One of the most common question we get asked is how to change the price of play on an Essex straight six coin mechanism. Pool tables don’t come with any instructions so we thought we would make this guide to show you exactly how it’s done.

It is very easy to change the price but first you will need to get access to the Essex coin mechanism. Most Pool tables will require you to remove the entire ball return draw before you can take out the mechanism. If you would like to know how thats done on a DPT Pool tables then click here to read our blog.

Once this has been removed you will be able to see that some of the gaps or lanes as they are called in the coin mechanism have been blanked out while other are left open. This isn’t done at random, this is how you set the price of play on your Pool table. And you can also set it so that the table is free to play on as well.

Now before we go any further you will need to make sure that you have some spare blanking plates. Without them you won’t be able to change the price of play or set the table to free play. You may actually have some spare ones inside your mechanism. We will show you how to get access to them later but if you don’t have any you will need to buy some more.

Taking the Essex Coin Mechanism Apart

First you will want to start by removing the actuating bracket which is attached to the end of the slide. You can see what it looks like in the picture above. There will be two screws holding it in place.

Next you will need to remove the slide back stop and the return spring as well.

Now you will be able to remove the front end of the mechanism. There will not be anything holding it in place now so it should just slide right out.

Changing The Price of Play

Once the front end of the mechanism is out you can now move onto changing the price.

First, you will need to flip the mechanism over and remove the stop plate screw in the centre with a screwdriver.

Now you will be able to remove the stop plate. Put it to one side as you will be putting it back in the same place when you are finished.

There will be a piece of metal which is called a ratchet pawl. It has a spring attached to it. Put this to one side as well for now.

Now you can remove the nylon moulding. You now have access to the lanes and you can adjust the blanking plates to change the price of play. If you would like the table to be free play then you need to blank out all of the lanes.

You may have some spare blanking plates in the second section of your mechanism. Simply, unscrew the cover to check.

Putting It All Back Together

Once you have set the mechanism to the correct price you can now start to put it all back together.

You will need to put the nylon moulding in position and then put the ratchet pawl and spring back on top.

Make sure that you place the ratchet pawl in with the swaged side up as you can see in the image above. Now you can put the stop plate back in as well. Make sure that the small hole in the stop plate connect with the ratchet pawl before you start to tighten the screw.

Now you can start to put the front end of the mechanism back into the main body. It will be easier if you put it on its left-hand side while you work. Slide it into position and replace the slide back stop and the return spring. And finally you can screw the actuating bracket back in and there you have it. You have successfully changed the price of play on an Essex Coin Mechanism.

If you would like to find some more how to guides then visit our blog here. We walk you through simple tasks like removing the cushions on your Pool tables and also explain the differences between the types of tables we sell.