Saeco SG 200 operators

[Greatdane]

Attention Underground, SG200 Operator's:

If you get into trouble, feel free to post here. You are not alone and support is only a post away. Looking at the "view" counter, "9,200 views and counting" this topic appears to be the most popular subject in the TVF forum. Based on views, there are a lot of interested and/or others around the world needing support. Just remember that I am posting by personal experience and information I provide may not be up to OEM support. I do with wide, wide, wide open arms invite the Saeco SG200 manufacture, representative, wholesaler, jobber, technical support people and even the National Distributor administrative assistants to post Saeco SG200 support and advice here as it appears this is the only area around the WWW whole wide world that we can discuss the Saeco SG200 potential for profits and sound (relative to mine and others) technical advice.

I am told that the above listed persons to include North American national distributor MAY be too busy OR other reasons that may involve $$$$$$ to provide technical support as gratis:

"Gratis/ˈɡreɪtɨs/ is the quality of an action where the action is willingly provided without any requirement by the provider for compensation or monetary remuneration. It is often referred to in English as free of charge (FOC), complimentary, or on the house. Companies, producers, and service providers often provide certain things free of charge as part of a larger business model, pricing strategy, or as a donation."

I on the other hand, have a full time job not related to vending and am not associated in any way with Saeco. I make the time to help others to best of my ability after long days doing HVAC/r work. It appears to me that the OEM and/or National Distributor is aware of this forum and chooses not to provide at the very least 5 minutes of OEM technical advice out of their very long strenuous work days. Their input could even be protected with a disclaimer for legal reasons. They would be providing a great service to themselves, their business model and others to show compassion for operators of their Saeco equipment to include the Cadillac of Gourmet Beverage maker's, the Saeco SG200. I being the grandson of Italian immigrants would hope unexplained silence is not part of the Italian manufacturer's business model but maybe a severe lack of free time associated with the hectic scheduling of time associated with a overworked National Distributor. Let's all get together and help each other as that appears to be our only option,

Peace,

Greatdane

[ljc828]

Hey Greatdane, your help has been invaluable to me on this forum!!! I bought two machines about a month ago and with your help I have them both up and running. I have them both set up at my office to become familiar with cleaning procedures, any issues that may pop up, and simply to get used to the machines. I have a couple of locations ready to place them when I am comfortable to do so. Just ordered lids for the cups and am waiting for them to come in before setting the machines out in the world. Anyway, back to my point--your advice, from what mixes to buy to how to reset the machines to eveything else you have helped with have been invaluable to me!!! Thanks again!

[Filter]

I just wanted to let people know how my coffee party went today , The branch manager brought 6 dozen donuts and I brought my machine and set it up next to the 3 pump pots of bad coffee . I handed out drinks and explained how the Saeco sg200 works, I did this for a little over 2 hours and gave out 50 drinks and took there feed back ( they were very happy campers) At the end of the day the manager offered me $500 a month for free vend on the coffee ,cream and sugar ,I get to charge what I want for the rest . I would like to know how much black coffee is being sold compared to the other drinks? I think this deal may work. There are 135 employees , this company takes the hole floor of a 10 story building and now its off to the next floor . I seen 3 different coffee venders in the parking lot this morning when I pulled up I cant wait to go head to head with are coffee and that is why I choose this system. Quality !

[nunu1]

"One great option with the Saeco SG200 is the ability to set machine up to select individual beverage prices. Say you give the office free or reduced .25 cent coffee to cover costs, you can then still charge $1.00 for all other powdered beverages. If your machine shows the time, you have the clock chip and can set up machine to dispense free or any price beverages at a time you set." Hello again! Thanks, to this forum I realy DO NOT FEEL ALONE! WHEN I READ THE ABOVE- REALISED THAT MY NOT HAVE A CLOCK CHIP OR ANYTHING TO SET UP AS A TIME AND DATES?!

Hello again!

Thanks to this forum I really DO NOT FELL ALONE IN MY SAECO 200 ENDEAVOURS! When I read the above - realised that my machines my not have any TIMING OPTIONS or CLOCK CHIP !?

So how can I make all this upgrades to be able to set up start and closing time of operations or free coffee during the particular time of the day and ect...?Please, help.

[Greatdane]

I am quoting from DanW's post for the clock chip:

"I actually found what I needed to know while hunting around. It looks like the chip is a ST Micronics M48T02-150PC1. They are about $6 on ebay, $11 from online suppliers, and $45 plus shipping from canmax. I'm going to buy one from an online vendor and test it out. If it works, I'll post it here."

You know you have the chip as it is about 1/4 inch thick and says "Timekeeper Ram" It contains a lithium cell. my number is M48T02-70PC1. It is around the top middle of your main board. You can indeed buy the chip by searching Amazon or Ebay. Lots of results showed up. I have included a Amazon link. Only $5.00 Quite the savings.

Amazon

Peace,

Greatdane

[Greatdane]

At the end of the day the manager offered me $500 a month for free vend on the coffee ,cream and sugar ,I get to charge what I want for the rest . I would like to know how much black coffee is being sold compared to the other drinks?

That is a great offer, I would try it under conditions of revising options if you start to go broke. You may set it up that if they go over say 600 cups, there is a surcharge of .50 cents a cup to recover costs. Also, you may make an arrangement where they give you a set monthly fee but you only charge a quarter for each beverage. This will prevent the cheap skates from consuming 10+ cups a day. If you are going for the set rate coffee service, I would also set up the machine "No Cup" so they can use their own coffee cups if they wish. It will save you the cost of cups which can add up after time. Once you have your machine in place, reset all your digital counters so you can see what drinks are popular and the ability to track your costs. These settings are in your machine menus. Plan on servicing the machine at least weekly and bi-weekly until all the kinks are worked out. If you buy water, don't forget to add this cost. With water your cost is around .30 cents a cup. I am very lucky as I obtain artesian water from a spring the local water bottler uses. This save about $5.00- $7.00 for five gallon jugs.

I would also recommend you not plumb in machine permanently to a water supply as it will save you grief if machine malfunctions due to flooding of the building when no one is around. At least with a 5 gallon reservoir, your financial risk is limited. At one of my locations, five gallons a week is perfect. You want to shoot for 20 cups a day to be considered a nice location. It appears you have made a nice location. Keep up the great work. Let us know how things go

Congrats on your first location,

Greatdane

[Danw]

The chips I ordered worked great. The only difference between my chip and Greatdane's chip is the access speed. 150 nanosecods vs 70 nanoseconds. It realls has very little effect on the usefulness as long as the circuitboard can handle it, and it sounds as though either works fine.

I bought a 10 pack and put one in every machine. It greatly reduces water consumption from the rinse cycles, and I was mainly concerned with reducing the energy usage.

Every machine should have them installed.

Dan

[Greatdane]

The chips I ordered worked great. The only difference between my chip and Greatdane's chip is the access speed. 150 nanosecods vs 70 nanoseconds. It realls has very little effect on the usefulness as long as the circuitboard can handle it, and it sounds as though either works fine.

I bought a 10 pack and put one in every machine. It greatly reduces water consumption from the rinse cycles, and I was mainly concerned with reducing the energy usage.

Every machine should have them installed.

Dan

They should include them since you are paying estimated biz-op retail $5000.00 for each Saeco SG200. 2x minimum order with $10,000 startup/initiation/business plan. It should be automatic gratis instead of a upsell. I guess they get you with the "Extras" at $45.00 that is quite the markup from $5.00.

I do love and recommend the rinse cycle. Helps dramatically with maintenance and problem free operation. This option is also in your machine menus.

Peace,

Greatdane

[mission vending]

Lets not forget that the Amazon price is marked up as well on that chip for the Seaco SG200 Batista Supremo.

[Filter]

That is a great offer, I would try it under conditions of revising options if you start to go broke. You may set it up that if they go over say 600 cups, there is a surcharge of .50 cents a cup to recover costs. Also, you may make an arrangement where they give you a set monthly fee but you only charge a quarter for each beverage. This will prevent the cheap skates from consuming 10+ cups a day. If you are going for the set rate coffee service, I would also set up the machine "No Cup" so they can use their own coffee cups if they wish. It will save you the cost of cups which can add up after time. Once you have your machine in place, reset all your digital counters so you can see what drinks are popular and the ability to track your costs. These settings are in your machine menus. Plan on servicing the machine at least weekly and bi-weekly until all the kinks are worked out. If you buy water, don't forget to add this cost. With water your cost is around .30 cents a cup. I am very lucky as I obtain artesian water from a spring the local water bottler uses. This save about $5.00- $7.00 for five gallon jugs.

I would also recommend you not plumb in machine permanently to a water supply as it will save you grief if machine malfunctions due to flooding of the building when no one is around. At least with a 5 gallon reservoir, your financial risk is limited. At one of my locations, five gallons a week is perfect. You want to shoot for 20 cups a day to be considered a nice location. It appears you have made a nice location. Keep up the great work. Let us know how things go

Congrats on your first location,

Greatdane

[Filter]

Thanks Greatdane

I am a plumber by trade and have built a filter system that will hook up to a kitchen sink faucet to fill my water tanks . I also could not agree more about not hooking up to a water supply , there is nothing more devastating then water . I have been making my own chocolate 1= 1lb bag of nestles whipped cocoa and 1 cup of Ghirardelli sweet ground chocolate , it's been a big hit. I do have a problem with one of my machines 1 the LED is very week you can hardly see it. 2 the coffee grinder will not come on .I think it is the main board after reading some of the blogs has any one had this problem?

[Greatdane]

Nice work. Since you have more than one machine, you can check the row of LED's that are green and these LED's energize when there is power going to a certain electronic part in the sequence. I would check to see what LED lights up when the grinder energizes. I find the molex plugs directly under LED's give you a map of the parts by following wires out of the board.This is a great way to diagnose issues using the led lights. If power is going through the relay then confirmed by LED, you should then have power to the grinder motor.

Just have to learn as you go. I have one in my kitchen with back cover off. When I brew a beverage, I observe the LED's and their sequence. A good thing to know as I am sure if you contact tech support, they will ask you when and what LED's are on or off for problem solving. I do HVAC work and I am lucky to have a solid electrical troubleshooting background as I am sure you are starting to find you need by going "rogue" without National distributor support.

In my opinion, I think it borders on criminal for the national distributor to have people without mechanical or electrical troubleshooting knowledge clean out their saving and retirement accounts for startup money to start a coffee vending business with no basic electricity knowledge. I have not gone through their selection process so this is based on my personal opinion and from information provided by other persons that have gone through the selection process. Now you know how we are getting these new if not slightly used machines at bargain prices. Grandma just doesn't have a clue when these machines have issues. She would go broke hiring someone or be prepared for hit and miss customer service from the national distributor. There are exceptions as you can see by DanW's postings. They are willing to support some but not all based on ? .

Persons in this forum have used different names to get support to no avail. I guess it's hit and miss. I sure wish I spoke Italian as I am sure Saeco international based in Italy would answer their phone and be more than willing to offer support for their awesome product, The Saeco SG200 e.

Peace,

Greatdane

[kiwi]

I would also recommend you not plumb in machine permanently to a water supply as it will save you grief if machine malfunctions due to flooding of the building when no one is around.

I am a plumber by trade and have built a filter system that will hook up to a kitchen sink faucet to fill my water tanks . I also could not agree more about not hooking up to a water supply , there is nothing more devastating then water

Hey guys,

Have you considered using a leak detector or controller like this http://www.waterfilt...Controller.html or a shut-off overflow valve like this https://www.vendingt...DEFF563B6A13CFA to prevent flooding or water damage

Edited April 28, 2013 by Kiwi

[ezcoffee]

Pass the word...

I am in the process of selling 4 machines. All in good working condition, barley ever used.

Too busy with my Full Time Job for another adventure on the side at this time. I believe in the system and this is by far the best forum I have seen that has to do with this business. Unfortunately it just does not fit into my life at this time. They are all in safe storage at my house.

The vends on the 4 machines are as follows: 30 vends, 43 vends, 274 vends, and 348 vends.

They were lightly used in a personal office. The larger vends were from a small amount of time in a post office.

If you are interested or know someone who is please have them email me a ezcoffeesolutions@gmail.com .

I have pictures of the outstide and inside of Every Machine, and I will answer any questions you may have.

Also, I own (Still new in box) Cups, Lids, Stirrers, all of the manuals, keys, etc. I will include All of this with the sale.

Thanks

[nunu1]

 am quoting from DanW's post for the clock chip:

"I actually found what I needed to know while hunting around.  It looks like the chip is a ST Micronics M48T02-150PC1.  They are about $6 on ebay, $11 from online suppliers, and $45 plus shipping from canmax. I'm going to buy one from an online vendor and test it out.  If it works, I'll post it here."

You know you have the chip as it is about 1/4 inch thick and says "Timekeeper Ram" It contains a lithium cell. my number is M48T02-70PC1. It is around the top middle of your main board. You can indeed buy the chip by searching Amazon or Ebay. Lots of results showed up. I have included a Amazon link. Only $5.00 Quite the savings.

Amazon
 

Peace,
Greatdane

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Hello Greatdane and everyone!

Amazing!

It took 5 days and my machines are with a Timekeeper chips and running well.

Let me tell you my experience so everyone in need can use it! Following the advice and recommended Amazon link by our priceless Creatdane I ordered on line - eleven chips (do not need all at the moment but...) M48T02-70PC1 – 6$ each plus 25$ DHL-FedEx shipping .Total – 91$ and 4 days for delivery from China. Easy to install and running smoot!

  Thanks again Greatdane and Danw for your help!

Edited April 30, 2013 by nunu1

[mission vending]

 am quoting from DanW's post for the clock chip:

"I actually found what I needed to know while hunting around.  It looks like the chip is a ST Micronics M48T02-150PC1.  They are about $6 on ebay, $11 from online suppliers, and $45 plus shipping from canmax. I'm going to buy one from an online vendor and test it out.  If it works, I'll post it here."

You know you have the chip as it is about 1/4 inch thick and says "Timekeeper Ram" It contains a lithium cell. my number is M48T02-70PC1. It is around the top middle of your main board. You can indeed buy the chip by searching Amazon or Ebay. Lots of results showed up. I have included a Amazon link. Only $5.00 Quite the savings.

Amazon

 

Peace,

Greatdane

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Hello Greatdane and everyone!

Amazing!

It took 5 days and my machines are with a Timekeeper chips and running well.

Let me tell you my experience so everyone in need can use it! Following the advice and recommended Amazon link by our priceless Creatdane I ordered on line - eleven chips (do not need all at the moment but...) M48T02-70PC1 – 6$ each plus 25$ DHL-FedEx shipping .Total – 91$ and 4 days for delivery from China. Easy to install and running smoot!

  Thanks again Greatdane and Danw for your help!

 

Glad to hear that you Seaco SG200 Barrista Supremo is working well with the new chips.

 

As a side note, the more often that the phrase Saeco SG200 Barrista Supremo is posted the higher the search engine bots will rank it when they index the pages. This keeps us at the top of the rankings for those searching for information about Saeco SG200 Barrista Supremo and needing help.

[Greatdane]

 

Hello Greatdane and everyone!

Amazing!

It took 5 days and my machines are with a Timekeeper chips and running well.

Let me tell you my experience so everyone in need can use it! Following the advice and recommended Amazon link by our priceless Creatdane I ordered on line - eleven chips (do not need all at the moment but...) M48T02-70PC1 – 6$ each plus 25$ DHL-FedEx shipping .Total – 91$ and 4 days for delivery from China. Easy to install and running smoot!

  Thanks again Greatdane and Danw for your help!

 

Nice work You saved an impressive amount of money $91.00 is a big difference from 11 x $45.00 = $495.00 + shipping

. 

 

You will find that the Saeco SG200 is more of a multifunctional unit with the clock chip. A nice way to upsell the customer more office coffee service options. Every week I service my machine, I set one random day where at noon, the Saeco SG200 vends free coffee between noon and 12:15. It keeps them on their toes and always alert to the machine's "Free Coffee Break" day. It keeps the coffee beans nice and fresh as it seems most of my locations consume the whipper mixes  which I do not mark down. I use my digital picture frames to advertise and push whatever coffee beans I have put in the machine. This week's coffee is Rivermoon Brazil Mogiana. A local micro roaster. It was a Livingsocial deal $40.00 in coffee for $20.00. I love to switch it up a bit. This also shows the customer you are using fresh QUALITY coffee beans.

 

A word of advice is to get a really small shop vacuum so that when you close the coffee hopper outlet blade and lift bin off the grinder to dump out old beans, you use the vacuum to retrieve any loose coffee bean's that can foul the grinder after reinserting the coffee bean hopper. This will prevent the inevitable out of coffee error if not thoroughly cleaned. Generally there is a few cups left and I just add the new flavor on top and I search for people in the break room to give free cups to. Why dump down the drain when you have a chance to offer free product and get a new customer.

 

Play with the menus now to get a hang of things and best of all have fun with the Saeco SG200 e Barista Supremo using the new options at your locations.

 

Peace,

Greatdane

[Charlie]

Hello everyone,

Saw this biz opp recently, and while doing DD came across this forum. I really liked the idea, but thought they were pricey. Anyone have any success finding locations agreeing to take a machine before you actually have it in hand? Also, what in your experience is a good amount of daily traffic. They said 40/day at the show. Personally I love coffee, but like to put the cream in myself. I was very impressed with the coffee from the machine, but it was "free". I'm not sure if I would have tried it "blind"

Thanks for your input.

[Greatdane]

I loved the show, biz-op idea too. I must have had 1 hot chocolate  and 2 Espressos    out of the Barista Supremo.

If I recall correctly, I felt a pretty good lift while speaking with the Canmax reps.The saeco sg200 really makes them fresh. Sure got me in a talkative mood. It was a slow time for them and had plenty of time to talk to the Canmax Barista Supremo System Authorized Operator they had flown in for the Franchise Expo. He told me he averages six figures a year with his locations. Wonder if six figures includes cents. He also said that the novelty of the Sg 200 in high traffic repetitive worker drone areas is a nice place to start. I have one located in a insurance call center that would fall into that category and one in a auto parts store that sells 20+ a day just by locating in the lobby, sales,order area. It's a one man small town auto parts store where people sit and talk'a'spell. Lots of traffic and time to drink it. 

 

Being I paid less than .15 cents to the dollar for the machines, I find that after 10 minutes of simple maintenance, product refill and giving away free samples to passerbuyers, opening a machine and a couple hundred dollars withdrawn is enough. If I had paid machine retail $5,000 +$10,000 start up fee? I don't think I would be satisfied with the return. If a location that takes in 20 cups a day x 5 =$100 and after $33.00 in product cost (.33 x 100 cups) that leaves you with about $65.00 for overhead to include debt repayment a week. Four machines and that would be about $1000 a month. I have no debt payments and very low overhead that makes my position possible. Those that have not done their research may find their actual returns  is not enough. Most of the machines I bought have average NO (new) or 400-600 total cup counts. Not many cups. I would guess they were not happy with their return. The machine should have a total machine history cup count of about 12,000 for me to believe their return was enough. 

 

 

I happen to get my first location just by asking friends. The friends got me the location ok before I even did the soft sell. The free coffee break was the machine stress test. I would do a little research and survey areas around you that has traffic capable of 40 a day. This includes places that already have coffee available setups. Check out your competition. I found the areas I put my Supremo had no novelty hot beverages available such as French Vanilla, Hot Chocolate, and Hazelnut whipped hot beverages. The coffee is the upsell where the magic/novelty of the machine sells itself. I did try the presell but marketing and machine specifics were very hard to come by. I had to verbally explain how the Barista Supremo system worked. I just had a picture. I looked all over the web for a video of one actually running with commentary about capabilities but found none. Theres a million hit idea! Where there is a need, a Barista Supremo Saeco sg200 youtube video can be made.   By the calls I get needing help, there is a black hole in the market for a instruction, education and marketing type videos. I would have paid $ for info about the Saeco Barista System while I was doing my research. By the looks of this forum, others are doing their research as well before making an educated decision. 

 

Let us know how your progress goes,

Greatdane

 

 

[kiwi]

 

. I had to verbally explain how the Barista Supremo system worked. I just had a picture. I looked all over the web for a video of one actually running with commentary about capabilities but found none. Theres a million hit idea! Where there is a need, a Barista Supremo Saeco sg200 youtube video can be made. 

 

Greatdane

 

Hi Greatdane, here is a link to a brochure for a Saeco sg200 if you need it..

 

http://www.gtp.com.au/espressoitalia/inewsfiles/SG200%20Brochure.pdf

 

You are right about there being no instructional videos on the Saeco sg200 which I find strange. I'm sure you could make some videos up yourself that others would find very helpful.

 

There are some short instruction videos on the veglobal.net site on their equipment if you are needing any idea's for making a instruction video for the Barista Supremo.

 

I did find a sales video on youtube of the saeco sg200 that may also be helpful.

 

 

 

 

[FrCorey]

this machine is complicated. you should set one up in your office home or shop  and learn it thouroly. setup, programming and cleaning. I never played with one myself, but if it's like a AP machine, just learning to program and setup the recipes is a lot of fun on it's own.

[moondog]

Well,

 

It looks like I may be getting sucked into the coffee biz (hopefully not backwards)  I had a customer inquire about coffee service yesterday and told her I'd look into it.  This is a decent account with eighty employees where I currently have two soda machines and a snack machine grossing about $700 a month with every other week service intervals.

 

I've been lurking on this thread for awhile now and get the impression that these machines can be a real pain.  While I admire Greatdane's campaign against Saeco,  I'm not sure I want to join that battle.  What I'm looking for is a reliable machine that's easy to maintain with available parts. "KISS"

 

Unfortunately,  when I spoke to my customer yesterday,  I was at the tail end of a 13 machine route and one major can jam (Vendo of course) so my salesman's hat was a little trampled.  I did tell her that operating one of these machines "in house" was something she'd want to avoid and explained the difference between OCS and a vendor supplied machine.  I think she wants the machine but haven't checked the plumbing situation yet a far as where the machine would sit.

[Greatdane]

I love the Saeco SG200. Just not impressed with the biz-op philosophy and over inflated retail/start up costs.

You'll notice the main problems are with first person start up of the Saeco SG200. Bleeding the air out and filling with water. Once the Saeco is set up, I have had next to no problems but simple maintenance. If you go to http://baristasupremo.blogspot.com/ I have links to machines for sale. A widget I set up. Just enter the search and you'll find today's machines for sale around the country. If you can score a Gourmet Coffee Barista Supremo Saeco SG200 for under a thousand, I would jump in because you have a location already. Investment return can be achieved by a monthly fee combined with individual sales.

 

The links to Saeco manuals I have posted have a lot of troubleshooting that most people encounter and need solving. You can always resell if it does not work out. I notice that price fluctuates by the seller need to sell. I have had offers of $2500 x 9 for all of my machines not including shipping. I could have tripled my investment by selling them but as of now they are giving me a worthwhile return on investment. Supplies can be found at your wholesaler and coffee beans are readily available on Amazon. Many types to choose from. If that is not a option, try the Kurig cup's I find in vending times. Looks like a simple coffee option. Not sure about cost. Page 50 Vending Times April edition Multi-Max. They look rather nice and compact. A DBA connected to a Kurig cup dispenser. Pretty basic. Almost like my honor box Kurig cup idea. Just put a Kurig brewer next to the box. I have a feeling people might be cheap and bring or make their own cups too. It looks like their vendor allows the Kurig to operate only with purchase

 

Peace

Greatdane. 

 

[Danw]

I am not part of the biz-op, but have had no issues getting parts for machines. CanMax has always sold me any parts I've needed with no hassles. I think the major issue people have is they do not offer a lot of tech support unless you are part of the group. I have bought 6 machines on the second hand market, 3 new in box, 1 lightly used, and 2 with over 20k on the counters. If you properly maintain the machines, you will have no issues.

I think you have a different problem. If you are used to visiting a vending site once every 2 weeks, you will need to get used to the idea of going every 3 days. Coffee will go stale once exposed to air, so even if it gets little to no use, you will need to swap out old beans. I can only fit about 120 cups in my machines, so that's another issue.

Maybe for your needs, a cristallo would be a better option. They hold more product and might stretch you out to going once a week.

Just my opinion...

[FrCorey]

thats not bad considering a new modern coffee machine starts at around 5 to over 10 grand. yeah, thou it uses special supplys and parts thou. these machines are still a fine deal. I bought a old ap 213 that needed a tone of work and reprogramming. but I got a 8 grand machine for around 3 grand. and it took a month to get it together and make it work right.