Topic: Spare table parts. merkel rods????

[Jeron]

Hey guys I'm back with more questions. I should have a tornado coin op as soon as everything gets figured out. But my question is this

What parts should i buy and have on hand. when i get the table it will be in really great shape and everything will be working just fine. So basically what goes bad the fastest or breaks most. basically what should i have so i don't need to wait for parts...

The other question is where can i buy merkel rods??? from reading on here they seem to be the rods that everyone wants in there table when they buy them. but i can't find out where to buy them from. at least the places that sell rods don't say "merkel" anywhere that i can see. All the rods are fine on this table just curious for future use.

Is there anything better than the merkel???

[jinhopark]

On a Tornado coin op (provided you have enough balls, wraps, lube, bearing wrench and punch tool) all you really need on hand is a spare man in each color, and maybe a bearing half, a bumper and a couple of pins.  Is the table you are considering updated with the new men, bearings, sidestrips and handles?

You can't buy Merkel rods new any where that I am aware of, so it's sort of a lottery draw if you happen to buy a grey marble coin-op table...you may have some, none or all Merkel.  IMHO, the most important Merkel rod to have is on the 2 bar, then the 3 bar offense, then 3 bar goalie, and then lastly 5 bar (which is the shortest and is rarely susceptible to being bent).  I wish the manufacturers of Fireball would sell a version of their rods to fit on Tornado's...they are nearly indestructible!

I would also consider investing in a fooslight:

http://www.fooslight.com/

[alaskan thunder]

Pins and bumpers are the only parts you will really have to worry about. And maybe balls...

[bbtuna]

20 pins
2 each color man (one to show and one to go, so when you go down to 1, you order another)
2-4 bumpers (if you use lube regularly, and play regularly, you will lose this many a year)
1 bearing just in case...rarely go bad but if you have one nut and one set of bearing halves you will be covered if anything odd happens
lube if you don't get it with the table

new 5 hour tumbled balls...start out with 5-10 and see how you like them and how long they last staying like new...make sure you set one or two aside while you are working on new ones so after a month or two you can pull a new one out and clearly compare the evolution...you can wash and refurb them a little but they never come back to like new....this is sort of personal and you will get a feel for what you like and can afford then go from there

wraps...i don't know what you know about wraps and I have some info i will try and remember to post later today (monday)

you can't get merkel any longer...what table are you getting exactly, color, year, price, etc

[Jeron]

Thanks for your help guys i really appreciate it..

Bbtuna, as far as wraps i ordered about six different styles from here and have been using them at the tournaments i have been going to. And I've narrowed it down quite a bit on what i like...

as far as the table i don't really know much about it. Its in the bar that we hold our tournaments at. They have 3 tables and our TD works some sort of deal with the bar and tornado, and they rotate the tables out when people want to buy one. So the bar gets new tables at a good price i guess, and that keeps there tables relatively new.... that's all i know so far. but i have played on the table and it is like new I think. The goals aren't chipped, i couldn't see any cracked guys, and the rods spin strait. I saw him open up one of the other machines(because someone stole all the balls) and everything inside looked like new. really really clean. Part of his deal with the bar is to maintain and upkeep. So they always have new parts when they go bad and that kind of stuff...and he seems to do a really good job at it, considering they are in a bar..

From what i have read i believe it is a Grey marble table, and it is coin op... other than that i don't know about year. Or at least i couldn't see it. All i could find on the table was a tag with a model and serial number. Our tournament director seems to think that he can get the bar to sell it for around 800. And he says for that table its a pretty good price. Alot of the people at the tournament seem to agree so I'm pretty happy....

I've put a pick of what i am buying. its not the exact table but all three are identical

[jinhopark]

No comment on the price...sounds like a pretty good setup with the TD, the bar, the vendor and the patrons.

If you have choice of the 3 tables, get the one with the most merkel rods.

Are they going to replace the table you are buying with a new T3000?

[marty]

  poss that table all ready has merkel rods

[bbtuna]

all the Grey's after the 30th Anniv model should be 100% merkel