NYvending Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 This probably isn't anything new to you guys but I was pretty excited to get my first bottle drop machine installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparta_Automation Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Looks nice.....Congrats! ....so what are the silver pouches in the snack machine. And are these machine located in a gym by chance? Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYvending Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Travis, Thanks! And yes it's a gym account so the silver packets are single serve protein powder mix. The "lifesaver" coil has preworkout mix and one of the candy bar slots has vitamin packets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Congrats but just fyi those bottle drop machines are pretty notorious to have problems with jams and issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Not if they're set up properly by flavor and if a vend sensor and retry limit are used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYvending Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 AZ can you expand a bit on your post? This machine has far more options than I'm used to so I don't believe I set the vend sensor or retry limit? I did some extensive test vending today and did catch an incorrect shim in one of the water slots so that did jam. I changed the shim so I think I have the correct fit now after several vends but the machine how I set it up did not attempt a second vend when the bottle didn't drop. Everyone speaks highly of Dixie's so I thought this would be very reliable choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHX1 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I agree with RJT. I have had many of these bottle drop machines, I have sold off all of them besides three that are left at a school. Lets just say I will not be getting any more of them. They will work good if set of correctly, but they are a pain in the golpher imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Bottle drops are like this... when they do what they were meant to do, they work very well. Once something is slightly out of configuration, things don't seem to vend properly. If it was refurbished and tested by a good company, then I would expect it to work well for some time. Those machines are actually pretty common so getting tech support or information from someone else (like us here) shouldn't be too difficult. Single-price machines are some of the easiest machines to figure out, assuming no shorts in the machine, but shorts can affect any machines so you can't really count that as an issue. Bottle-drops are pretty complicated but... considering how complicated they are, they work well. I wouldn't sweat it because you already have the machine in place. Just reconsider buying more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I agree with RJT. I have had many of these bottle drop machines, I have sold off all of them besides three that are left at a school. Lets just say I will not be getting any more of them. They will work good if set of correctly, but they are a pain in the golpher imo. Yeppers service call nightmare. I would take them even if someone was giving them to me for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYvending Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 I'll see how things go with this one to evaluate. The tech that was working with me claims to like the machine because he's had less repairs with them than other models I had been using. So what do you guys suggest for accounts that do a high volume of energy drinks? I ended on a bottle drop cause this customer does about 125-150 energy drinks a month and wanted 3 different flavors in addition to the waters and Gatorade. The energy drinks were a condition for getting the account. They are the size of tall red bull cans I spoke to a few companies and almost none had a drink machine that could do the energy drinks I needed in a decent capacity. AMS came closest but he only has a 32" standard door so the AMS machine couldn't fit inside. So based on the constraints I was told this is about the only machine that would meet all the needs. So far it's vending well so I'm going to stick with it but if I have a similar situation down the road I'm curious of there is another option that's more reliable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 You'll get all kinds of opinions on these machines and mine is that they are very good machines when set up correctly, so I'd advise you to continue to use them when you need to merchandise that many different package sizes. The machines are plentiful and relatively inexpensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 AZ can you expand a bit on your post? This machine has far more options than I'm used to so I don't believe I set the vend sensor or retry limit? I did some extensive test vending today and did catch an incorrect shim in one of the water slots so that did jam. I changed the shim so I think I have the correct fit now after several vends but the machine how I set it up did not attempt a second vend when the bottle didn't drop. Everyone speaks highly of Dixie's so I thought this would be very reliable choice. You first need to determine if you have a working vend sensor or if it might have been bypassed by someone who didn't know how to adjust it. If it's there and functioning (machine beeps when you wave your hand inside the delivery bin) then you need to go into your programming and Enable the drop sensor first. This forces the machine to monitor the sensor. Then you will set your Retry Limit to a number that represents the number of times you want the customer to be able to attempt a vend if theirs is not completed. I usually set the Retry Limit to 2. This then allows the original vend attempt plus two more before the machine refunds the money to the customer. Once any of those vend attempts is successful then the retry limit expires. This is how you keep your customers from complaining that the machine ate their money. If the vend sensor isn't working then when a product doesn't drop the customer will lose their money. If you don't have a working sensor then I can send you one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I'll see how things go with this one to evaluate. The tech that was working with me claims to like the machine because he's had less repairs with them than other models I had been using. So what do you guys suggest for accounts that do a high volume of energy drinks? I ended on a bottle drop cause this customer does about 125-150 energy drinks a month and wanted 3 different flavors in addition to the waters and Gatorade. The energy drinks were a condition for getting the account. They are the size of tall red bull cans I spoke to a few companies and almost none had a drink machine that could do the energy drinks I needed in a decent capacity. AMS came closest but he only has a 32" standard door so the AMS machine couldn't fit inside. So based on the constraints I was told this is about the only machine that would meet all the needs. So far it's vending well so I'm going to stick with it but if I have a similar situation down the road I'm curious of there is another option that's more reliable? I have a couple of glass fronts, one a 5591 drop style and the other is a Royal elevator style. The biggest issue with these machines is that you must keep the slide deck spotless. Even if it looks clean you should wipe them down every six months. Given the difficulty of loading these machines compared to the old stacker style, I won't be buying anymore of them. That said, if you need to handle a lot of different sizes they're your best bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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