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A few Beaver questions.


Jarred767

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I've bought a few used ones so far, and really like them and read almost nothing but good things about them, but a few questions before I decide to stay almost predominantly with Beaver machines. First off, I plan to slowly build the business and only use profits from it to buy new (used) machines, so I won't be needing large quantities quickly and I already run my own auto detailing business, so I won't be able to make frequent service calls, so reliability is very important.

1. Parts... What's the best or good places for used parts, or is it worth it to purchase directly from beaver? I'm guessing biggest needs are locks, coin mechs, and gumball/candy mechanism things.

2 Toys... I'm planning on starting off with candy and gumballs, but most on here seem to recommend toys, how well do beavers do with toys/bouncy balls? (If I'm using mostly RB16s/southern beavers). If I want to increase to $.50, would I need a whole new mechanism or can they be adjusted?

3.Stands... Beaver stands seem crazy expensive, so I'd be looking for more generic ones. Would it be best to add a single/double/triple beaver plate to a generic stand? Other idea?

4. Maintenance... Any tips on cleaning/refurbishing/maintaining these machines would be awesome! I've read tons, but anything helps.

5. Is it wise to just use one brand? I like the focused attention and only having to learn one machine (but know it really well) and only need one brand of spare parts since this is a "side gig" at least for now.

Thanks all!

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I only have a few beavers, and only candy with them, but when I get parts Beaver seems to be pretty good about price and stock. They do have a minimum order though I think of $50.

 

I'd get the machines and stands used if I could though. And sticking to one brand is up to you. Keeps things simple, and I would love to only run Northwestern if I could, but I've gotten great deals on oaks and 1800 triples so those are my main machines now.

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I use Oaks for single or double head charity stops and Northwestern for rack stops. The reason? Speed of service. At one time I had eliminated all the Oaks so I could cut down on parts I needed to carry but after buying a few charity routes I have a lot of Oaks again. Yep I need to carry extra parts but it's a small price to pay for the added productivity.

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Thanks for the replys. Yeah, everything is definitely used stuff right now AMD, money goes a lot further that way. I guess a lot of it will take first hand knowledge in the field to see how much I like the Beavers, and if I want to expand. I think the biggest thing is toys. It seems like Beavers aren't exactly the preferred machine for people vending toys, so once I expand to them, might need to expand to another brand as well...

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Hey Jarred,

 

If you have questions about our machines or parts, please feel free to give us a call or send an email so that we can help you out. I will answer the questions that you have asked here:

 

1. We sell only new parts, but we are able to offer quantity discounts on some items if you are ordering a lot of them (mechanisms especially).

 

2. We do have specific dispensing conversions for both toys and bouncy balls, and as long as you use the right parts for the right products, you won't have any trouble.

 

If you want to increase to 50 cents, you have 2 options; first option would be to purchase a new 2 coin mech. This would make it easier for you in the future if you plan to possibly upgrade to 75 cents or $1. Option 2 would be to change the mechanism into a rotation mech. Instead of having 2 coin slots, you insert one coin, turn the handle halfway, and then insert the other before you can complete the vend. To do this, you would need a kit that includes a coin carrier and cam.

 

4. We recommend regularly servicing all of the moving parts in the machine. You can take apart and clean the dispensing conversions using gentle soap, such as dish soap, and then allow them to dry thoroughly before putting them back. Take apart the mechanism, wipe it down, add some new grease (we use petroleum jelly) and reassemble. Don't ever run parts through the dish washer. 

 

As I said, if you have any other questions, please feel free to give us a call. Good luck with your venture!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 8/11/2016 at 8:40 AM, musser said:

I use Oaks for single or double head charity stops and Northwestern for rack stops. The reason? Speed of service. At one time I had eliminated all the Oaks so I could cut down on parts I needed to carry but after buying a few charity routes I have a lot of Oaks again. Yep I need to carry extra parts but it's a small price to pay for the added productivity.

How have the Oaks been working for you? Any failures? I have one that I pair up with what I think is a Northwestern. I like the Oak just as much as my Beavers. Mech is just as smooth and the machine is lighter. Below,  both work well but I think the Oak mech is smoother and an eye catcher.

 

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I have all kinds of machines just recently purchased my first norther beaver rack, it was used. After my first time servicing the machine, all I want now is northern beaver. The quality and durability is just so freaking nice! So I just bought about 6 more racks with about 25 beaver heads. You're going to pay a little more but I'm all about quality. And those are definitely the Cadillac of machines. My 9 head beaver rack, located at a restaurant did awesome on my first service. Checked it after 1 month to discover I made 180 on the pull. Also, on that same service day I found one of my smaller northwestern machines almost empty and came to find out the coin mech broke and all my 25 cent aliens were gone. :-( Not bashing northwestern at all because they make great product, just telling you about my last service experience.

Sent from my SM-N915V using Tapatalk

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Thanks for the continued replies guys. They don't come available very often, but I plan to grow rather slowly (at least to start), so that may be okay. 

It's great to hear such great things about the beavers, and I look forward to getting some more of them. 

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