Mike32110 Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 Well the title says it all, I was wondering if there are any rules when it comes to plugging in the machines. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technivend Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 Most breakers in the US are 15 amp breakers. So in theory you can put up to 15 amps worth of equipment, This could be (again in theory) 5 snack machines or 2 soda machines or a combination of such. Of course this wouldn't work well in real life though. 2 soda machines on one circuit would work until both compressors kciked on at the same time. Most of the time you can get away with a soda and a snack on one circuit but even then you may run into some problems due to line noise. The other thing to remember is that most buildings are not wired with all the outlets on one circuit in the same area. This ensures that you do not lose all power in one area (ie:lights). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 Like Bill said it depends on the amperage limit of the circuit and what else is loaded on it. If you have a dedicated 20 amp then running two soda machines on it should not be a problem. If you are sharing the circuit with lights or something else then probably a soda and snack at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 Normally in a commercial/industrial facility all 120v breakers will be rated at 20 amps per circuit. However, from a design standpoint, you should never load any circuit past 15 amps, leaving yourself some leeway in case of small voltage drops and other anomalies. Don't assume that when placing equipment that the circuit is dedicated to just the outlet you're using - there might be other apparatus already using that circuit. Electrical codes vary from place to place but it would not be unlikely to find as many as 8 outlets on 1 circuit. Fortunately, snack and soda machines don't use that much power unless a compressor is operating (usually only when you're filling the machine). Most soda machines have the same cubic footage as a small to medium sized refrigerator that only gets opened 3 or 4 times a month so they're fairly efficient. The easiest way to find out what's on a circuit is to turn off the breaker and see what's not working. I use an Amprobe and physically measure the load on the line but you need to open the sub panel to do this (I've got 20 years of electrical construction experience) which might not be comfortable or safe for a lot of people. If you turn off a breaker make sure the staff knows what your doing so you don't "kill" anything critical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike32110 Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 I should mention that I currently have 3 machines in two different sockets, that are about 3 feet apart, and I have not checked to see if they are on seperate breakers. I have an AMS US II - 39, Vendo 721, and a Saeco SG200. What I do know though, is that the last two times that I have serviced the machine, the coffee machine was off, and i hit the "reset" button on the builtin breaker, and it works fine. I think that maybe when the pop compressor and coffee heater are on at the same time, it maybe trips the circuit, thus turning off the coffee machine. Another issue was that when I went in a week ago the light was flickering between the flourescent and the starter in the AMS. I accidently dropped the light, and it didn't work at all (i assumed I fried it when I dropped it), so when I came back with a new lightbulb, it still did not work. I had a theory that maybe there was not enough electricity to juice up the starter to turn the lights on? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike32110 Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 I just found out the AMS is 3 amps, the vendo is 8, and the coffee machine is somehow 11.2! So I guess the mystery has been solved. I am going to move the coffee machine, but I am assuming the pop and snack should be fine with 11 combined amps? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Anything that uses a heating element is going to draw a lot more power. Commercial coffee makers work best on a dedicated circuit - or in this case, separate it from the popcorn machine (heating element again) The amperage on the soda and snack machine is their maximum draw not their average Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hey Mike, I tried to edit that last post but the system wouldn't let me. The soda machine only draws 8 amps when the compressor cycles but coffee machine draws 11 amps every time somebody uses it - separate these two. The GFC outlets (with the reset button) are notoriously finicky and will often pop for no good reason. If your fluorescent system uses a starter (really old technology) change out the starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I tried to edit that last post but the system wouldn't let me. The software is set so that you can only edit posts for up to a hour after posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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