Rhino Air Hockey Table

[Sinner]

My girlfriend and I just picked up an air hockey table at CostCo for $299.97CDN...it's made by Escalade Sports and is called the Rhino...this thing is huge, about 7.5' by 4' and weighs a ton...actually it weighs about 266.5 lbs, but close enough...I don't have it completely together yet, as I have to do it by myself...what a job...comes with 2 blowers, electronic score board, 4 paddles, 4 pucks...has a small drawer at one end to keep everything in...
The reviews on line have been as I expected...some like it, and some don't...most like the play, but don't like the size of the packaging and the amount of work it takes to put it together...

I've added some pictures below...that's not mine, but it's the same model...

Anyone have one of these??  Can I expect any problems with it??

Thanks,

Matt

[TOK]

Wow, that looks nice.
The main issue I hear with the "department store" air hockeys is that either the motors are weak or the air channels are poorly designed. Certain spots on the table get weak air flow, creating dead spots.
If the puck floats nicely around the perimeter of the table, I'd say its worth taking a chance on for that price.

[Ken Layton]

I'd be concerned with the blower motor assembly crapping out and/or clogging up. Real commercial grade tables like the Dynamo brand have commercial grade Dayton/Grainger blower assemblies with air furnace filters. The Dynamo is built to last and is priced accordingly. Can't say the same for the table you bought.

Also, a real air hockey table weighs considerably more, in the range of 400 pounds.

[Sinner]

Wow, that looks nice.
The main issue I hear with the "department store" air hockeys is that either the motors are weak or the air channels are poorly designed. Certain spots on the table get weak air flow, creating dead spots.
If the puck floats nicely around the perimeter of the table, I'd say its worth taking a chance on for that price.

Nice,
I only read one review that mentioned a dead spot...the guy said he picked up some new pucks...8oz, I think was what it said...the table comes with 22oz pucks...and that fixed the problem...others were saying that with the heavy pucks, the game play is very fast, and sometimes the puck flys off the table...

Anyway, I'm hoping to finish getting it together tonight or tomorrow...I have a friend who's gonna help me flip it
over once it's together, so it kinda depends on when he's free...
I'll post a review of how it works, when it's all done, and let everyone know if it was worth the $300 or not...

[Sinner]

I'd be concerned with the blower motor assembly crapping out and/or clogging up. Real commercial grade tables like the Dynamo brand have commercial grade Dayton/Grainger blower assemblies with air furnace filters. The Dynamo is built to last and is priced accordingly. Can't say the same for the table you bought.

Also, a real air hockey table weighs considerably more, in the range of 400 pounds.

Unfortunately, real commercial grade tables come with real commercial grade prices...I haven't been able to find anything for a decent price in over a year...luckily I'm using it at home, and hopefully it won't have to endure the abuse that the real tables do...

I thought about adding a filter to the motors...I don't think it would be too difficult, considering the way they are mounted...there's a metal frame that holds them in place and I think I could fit a filter in between, if I use some spacers or something...I just have to find something that won't restrict airflow too much...

I also thought about the long term...I figure I could find a suitable replacement, should the motors ever go...there are some electrical/electronic supply stores around here...maybe even use motors from a real table and make them fit somehow...

For the sake of 133 lbs, I don't think it'll make that much difference in my basement...I don't plan on having people jump on it, or abuse it like it was sitting in an arcade or movie theater...I'm hoping at most that people will lean on it a little while playing, but that's all...

Ken, was your post meant to show the differences between a real commercial grade unit and this one, to tell me to expect problems or do you have actual experience with this particular model of table?  I'm not sure I understand what you're saying...

[Ken Layton]

Merely to point out the differences between commercial tables since I'm very familiar with commercial arcade equipment (and worked on Brunswick & Dynamo air hockey tables).

[Sinner]

Merely to point out the differences between commercial tables since I'm very familiar with commercial arcade equipment (and worked on Brunswick & Dynamo air hockey tables).

Oh, OK...thank you for that...

I got the table together last night...it's a lot easier to work on with two people...we needed both of us to flip the thing over...there's no way one person could do it on their own...

I whacked the puck around a little bit and it seemed to move fine...there were no dead spots where it got stuck or anything...one thing, however, was that I didn't polish the surface at first...once I broke out the pledge, the puck flew like mad...it was awesome...I'm sure it's not as good as the commercial tables, but if it can maintain the gameplay that it had last night, we will be more than happy with it...

Are there any air hockey table specific sprays or wax, that is to be used on these surfaces??

[Carpenter_87]

You don’t happen to still have this air hockey table do you? Do you use it? I have the same one but it’s missing the scoreboard. I’d gladly pay for the whole thing.