First Broken Machine

[Nate9303]

Well...I'm a new vendor. I've got 16 machines out right now. Things are going great. I got a call today that one of my vendesign four cannister machines is having a problem with one of the coin mechanisms. I figured the Mike and Ikes and stuck again so I go out to fix it. As soon as I look at the machine I know it's not the Mike and Ikes.

Someone put electrical tape on a quarter and attached a string to it. Guess they wanted free candy. It didn't work of course. What it did do is jam the coin ramp that runs into the coin bank. People kept buying Mike and Ike's and the coins backed up into the coin mech and jammed the coined mech. If they had stopped there it would have been fine. But (I think) someone use pliers or someone to grab the handle and force the mech to turn and broke the internal mechanism. Now the handle turns but nothing else does at all. I took the mechanism apart and had little metal pieces that hold something on fall out. So, It's broken. That sucks but is the price of business. I think an employee did it but he manager said there were some kids messing with it. So, they moved the machine where they could watch it. That's fine. I replaced the machine today with my spare and am working on the coin mech. I doubt I'll be able to fix it unless any of you have any amazing repair advice.

So....Two points.

1. Anybody have some amazing advice for repairing the coin mechanism?

OR.

2. Anybody know a good source for buying a new mechanism? I can see them on ebay but they cost about what I paid for each machine. Seems a little counter productive.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[PerformaVending]

Here's what I can figure. Coin mechanisms are built to "sacrifice" themselves if some idiot tries to force them. The handles will break off the machine in a twisted mess before they give up your products for free. First, if you can, get that machine out of the location and into a shop setting- a broken machine won't make the location very happy if they get wind of it. Swap it for a backup machine if you have one that isn't placed. Take the mech apart- not always an easy task, and see if the mech handle can be reinstalled. If the shaft is trashed, it's probably easier just to replace the the whole mech. Good luck Nate, I've only dealt with this once, and it was not fun.

[bullyfrog]

You can get complete Vendesign mechs on ebay for $20. They're easy to replace. Hold the chute door open and they slide straight up.

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[Rick Falcon]

Here's what I can figure. Coin mechanisms are built to "sacrifice" themselves if some idiot tries to force them. The handles will break off the machine in a twisted mess before they give up your products for free. First, if you can, get that machine out of the location and into a shop setting- a broken machine won't make the location very happy if they get wind of it. Swap it for a backup machine if you have one that isn't placed. Take the mech apart- not always an easy task, and see if the mech handle can be reinstalled. If the shaft is trashed, it's probably easier just to replace the the whole mech. Good luck Nate, I've only dealt with this once, and it was not fun.

I have a problem with a north western coin mech. where the handle makes a full 360 turn causing free vends,any ideas on how to fix this problem

[PerformaVending]

I have a problem with a north western coin mech. where the handle makes a full 360 turn causing free vends,any ideas on how to fix this problem

Hmm... I'm not up on terminology, but there should be a clutch that holds the coin carrier wheel- this prevents the spin. See if that has been damaged. I'm no expert on mech repair, but if you have a general idea of how a good one works, you can take the broken one apart to diagnose what's wrong, and go from there. I've got an old spare that I used for comparison. I'll take a look at mine tomorrow and see if I can help you out.