jameyh Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 does anyone have experience with vendall versavend machines? they are canisters that hook together to make a multiple selection machine. they also have monster faces that surround the machines. anyone know anything about these? any feedback would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post PerformaVending Posted August 29, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted August 29, 2015 Vendall went out of business sometime in he mid-90's, so there's really no support to speak of left for the Versavend. At the time it was created it was sold as a classic Biz-Op, you know the drill- vast sums of money for almost no work, and crazy expensive machines, so there were a lot of people that got burned with them. They are cool looking when they're not all beat up, I'll give them that! Mechanically speaking, they aren't "too" bad. The internal mechanisms, are "drum" mechs like similar to what you'd find on an EasyVend or UltraVend triple. Not a dealbreaker by any means, but your portion control is going to be tricky at best. However, the machines do NOT have individual canisters. Here's a picture of one of the "modules" removed. It's more like four tiny machines all put together. ...and here's one without the "cover" to show the outside there. One "common" gripe I have heard in the past surrounds the coin box on these units- they aren't very big, and each one has it's own key. Fine if you have the original key I suppose, but if you have to replace them with aftermarket, that's four keys to lug around. That also means your servicing time is going to be considerably longer than it would be for a comparable triple. In the end, I don't think they're "bad" machines, but there's not enough added here to make it any better than the average plastic triple. It shares all their same weaknesses, but on a considerably larger scale- and without a spill tray to boot. These things, like most triples and biz-op machines of that era, are just not worth the trouble to keep them working properly. If you've got a fairly good sized triple operation already, and you can get one cheap, I say go for it, but if you're looking to run a more "professional" vending business, I'd steer clear. (Unless you've got a haunted house loction or something like that which would benefit from the theme. That "Monstor" one would be rad in there! ) Hopefully that shines a bit of light onto the Versavend/Vendall machine for you. Whatever you choose to do, good luck sir! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameyh Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Thanks!! That's exactly the info I was seeking. Looks like you could actually add a pole and have a bunch of single head machines, with a small capacity no doubt. That was great information. have you run any of these on a route? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 What a piece of junk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Thanks!! That's exactly the info I was seeking. Looks like you could actually add a pole and have a bunch of single head machines, with a small capacity no doubt. That was great information. have you run any of these on a route? I haven't run a Vendall machine myself, though I know people who have. I've run my fair share of comparable equipment though- I've run Ultravends, Easyvends, Ever-Vends, Rhino, etc. Enough comparable equipment to know what it's like to service. I've run plenty of junk machines, that's for sure! If you're looking to put a lot of smaller machines on a stand, bear in mind you can get a triple plate for almost any pipe stand. Then you can take "good" machines and set them up like these. Bear in mind, the machines pictured are "Rhino" machines, which aren't so good- it's just as an example of the configuration, and the best one I could find at the moment. If you "need" more options this gives you a lot of flexibility, reliability, and ease-of-service. I really can't stress that last one enough- you don't really learn the value of your time until you're on the floor with a dysfunctional machine that's jammed itself up in a peculiar way for nearly an hour trying to fix it. It's even more fun when the machine is older or more obscure so there's no parts, and limited help. I guess the point is, don't kill yourself servicing the thing later to save a few bucks now. Whatever you opt to do, good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameyh Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 (edited) I currently run Uturn and 1800 machines. I love the 1800 machines, not so happy with the Uturns but I got them cheap. I'm looking at some versavend machines that I think I can get cheap. I was thinking even if they weren't the best, they may be ok for the price. last question is, do you know how they fit together? I haven't been able to figure that out. Edited August 30, 2015 by jameyh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetstop Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Same as ultravends I have lots of parts Coin mechs, barrels, locks and keys, etc Personally I don't like them at all but when I have them available they always sell well on eBay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I currently run Uturn and 1800 machines. I love the 1800 machines, not so happy with the Uturns but I got them cheap. I'm looking at some versavend machines that I think I can get cheap. I was thinking even if they weren't the best, they may be ok for the price. last question is, do you know how they fit together? I haven't been able to figure that out. The "fit" is (as I understand) a bolt or two on the bottom of the machien that feeds into the metal plate on top of the stand that's got the holes lined up just so. The machines have some little bumps (in the first "single" picture above) which I'd expect key into the next machine over- so they're likely locked in a preset series, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have to be removed/installed in order. Again, not terribly flexible or practical. I would not spend more than $30 on one- in my eyes, the most valuable thing there is the stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameyh Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 they look a lot like vendstar machines. are they "related" in any way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 they look a lot like vendstar machines. are they "related" in any way? They came out around the same time- most companies drew inspiration from each other- if one Biz-Op was successful, they'd copy it as closely as possible. That's why the Ultravend and Easyvends are basically identical. Most machines from that era have that sort of "look" to them, but design wise that's about where it ends. The "guts" of the Versavend is lightyears apart from a Vendstar- which is practically a conventional machine by comparison. At least the VS3K has "normal" vend wheels you can control your portions with! Seriously, this is what the "barrel" vend mechanism in these things looks like. It is difficult at best to change/control portions. Ain't nobody got time for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mage Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I have a few EasyVend machines. I purchased a location a few years back that had 20 locations, and 20 EasyVend machines. Plus about 5 extra, and a ton of parts. The machines are dated to the late 80's, so they held up well. Until a few years ago there was still a company selling the machines, and parts. I saw 3 of the Vendall machines for sale on Craigslist a couple years ago. One was exactly like the one above, then there was an alien, and something else. I no longer have any on location, having replaced them for other machines. I thought they were actually fairly consistent in their serving sizes. With PMM's I could get a consistent 7 each vend, with the right setting. But couldn't go any lower then that. Skittles, Hot Tamalies, and Mike 'n Ikes's were fairly consistent. They seemed to take nickles, and slugs too easily. But I was lucky I didn't get too many of those. I sold a few, and tossed a few broken ones, but I could still put together at least 5 of them right now. Technically a used Vendsatar was my first machine, but easyvend were the first I had on location. I think they might be good for starting out, since you can buy them so cheap. Then if you find a decent location, upgrade to something better. As ugly as they are, they paid for all my upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 When I started out 6 years ago, there was a member on here (kai1836) who sold me 3 Ultravends for like $30 each. I bought 2 more off Craigslist I believe for about the same price. They have all been sold off except for 1. It is still on a route making money. It's in an office so it really doesn't get any abuse. Only thing I have ever done is clean it. Never had a broken mech or chute door or anything. I buy the little container of 1/2" gumballs from Walmart and have it set to vend 2 or 3 for .25 in one of the cylinders. It has long ago paid for itself. I think they have their place in bulk vending.If they were made with just 2 compartments they would actually be pretty good machines. I would buy them again if the price were low enough. The yellow and black is a little more pleasing to look at versus the dull grey of the Vendstar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 For those of you bent on a 4-way "triple" styled machine, I was perusing my index looking for pictures for another thread here, and found an old eBay ad I'd saved for an Eagle 4-way machine. I've never seen one in person, so I can't say how many there are out there- though the metal "EAGLE" machines always seemed to be pretty hardy machines- on par with the rest of the metal triples at least. Ad is from 2013, so these are long gone. Still, as earlier stated, if one Biz-Op was remotely successful, others would copy them. Which came first though is hard to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Had a different hard drive out for that "anti-sale" thread, and ran across a picture of a few different "covers' for the Versavend. For reference for anyone who may be perusing this thread in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameyh Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 how much do you think they'd get on ebay? just for someone to put in a game room or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 how much do you think they'd get on ebay? just for someone to put in a game room or something? Hard to say- if it was in real good shape I can see a person coaxing $100 out of one, but that'd be the upper limit of that though I'd think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameyh Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 I just bought a bunch if anybody wants to buy one. ive got monstor, robot and vendora faces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameyh Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 Does anyone have an owner's manual for one of these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Does anyone have an owner's manual for one of these? Unless someone's got a scan of one hidden out there, I've never seen one. What are you looking to do? I can probably walk you through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameyh Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 I just bought a bunch of these and they are pretty decent. Do you know if they originally had a coin box inside the individual canisters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameyh Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 I got these machines in my garage of machines that I bought. The grey one looks like the eagle machine that was posted earlier in this thread, but there are no markings on it at all. Does anyone know anything about either of these machines. I bought a garage full of the vendall versa bend machines and these were thrown in as part of the deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sallymonster Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 (edited) On 9/24/2015 at 11:10 AM, jameyh said: I just bought a bunch of these and they are pretty decent. Do you know if they originally had a coin box inside the individual canisters? On 9/20/2015 at 9:34 AM, jameyh said: I just bought a bunch if anybody wants to buy one. ive got monstor, robot and vendora faces. I’d be interested if you still have them. On 9/12/2015 at 11:56 PM, PerformaVending said: Hard to say- if it was in real good shape I can see a person coaxing $100 out of one, but that'd be the upper limit of that though I'd think. Edited April 11, 2018 by Sallymonster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 On 4/10/2018 at 11:25 PM, Sallymonster said: I’d be interested if you still have them. I'm guessing since the post offering the covers was 2+ years ago, probably not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd2 Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 (edited) Quote There are a couple of NEW still in the original box red clown vendora monsters on ebay Edited April 29, 2018 by jd2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steep Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 (edited) Hey guys! I found this forum to try and find out what size gumball does the VersaVend do dispense? Any help is appreciated. Thank you! Edited July 22, 2021 by Steep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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