Candyman Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I have an old Rowe 4900 snack machine which works fine but is very tatty to look at, do you think this machine is worth refurbishing or am I wasting my time? Validator and coin mech are good but did have some trouble with the coin mech dumping out all the coins a while back, also would vend then return the money, would this mean a problem with the board. Has been fine for the past few weeks. Any input would be welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 The Rowe machine is okay for refurbing if you have a good, complete machine to start with. You can no longer get delivery doors and antitheft doors for the delivery bins or almost any metal part, for that matter. You can get boards and motors and refront kits for them. There may even be retrofit boards that allow you to put in guaranteed delivery and MDB, but that is more money than the machine is worth. If you can refurb it for less than the cost of a location-ready machine from someone, you should consider it. The likely value of a Rowe 4900 is $500 - 900 depending on the buyer. Your trouble with the coin mech is probably a bad mech, but the problem wouldn't just go away on its own, so the board, or more likely a wire, could be the problem. If you still have a Rowe CBA or UBA validator, it will need to be upgraded, you might need to paint and refront it and then maybe a new coin mech or board. The cost of all of this could be more than the machine would be worth, but if you are going to use it yourself, it might be better than buying a machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I have an old Rowe 4900 snack machine which works fine but is very tatty to look at, do you think this machine is worth refurbishing or am I wasting my time? Validator and coin mech are good but did have some trouble with the coin mech dumping out all the coins a while back, also would vend then return the money, would this mean a problem with the board. Has been fine for the past few weeks. Any input would be welcome. I have a 4900 that is in complete working order, but have opted to parts it out rather than refurbish it. Given the glut of machines on the market here, I don't see refurbishing a machine this old as an option. Depending on your local situation, you might consider refurbishing it but Rowe has been out of business for quite a while and parts are becoming harder to come by - I'd give this machine about 5 years max. That said, I do see the local pro refurbishers asking $900 and up for this machine - maybe somebody's still buying them (not me) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candyman Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 This machine has been working fine for the past couple of years apart from the coin mech dumping, its very clean inside just a mess on the outside, I would just refurb it and try and sell it, maybe I would be better off parting it out. Thanks for the input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Painting one and refronting it is not a big deal, nor is changing the coin mech. and you will then have a location-ready machine as long as the validator is working fine. The biggest expense would be upgrading a CBA validator to something newer. The easiest upgrade, especially since you need a new coin mech, is to install a Coinco 9340L which has a special plug for a long cable that will go to the door and connect to a Coinco BA30 validator. You will also need a new validator bezel to mount the Coinco and might have to do a little cutting to accomodate the Coinco. If your coin mech is currently a 9300L, it can be changed to a 9340L by replacing the coin mech board and harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candyman Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 The machine already has a coinco ba30 and 9340L, It was on location but I swapped it out with an AP mainly because of its rough appearance. It has always been reliable up until a few weeks ago with the coin problem, but after that issue it seemed to work fine. Maybe I will just get a replacement coin mech and see if it happens again. I always seem to get intermitent problems with my machines, they have a problem then they work for a couple of months then the same problem appears, makes it hard to diagnose how to fix them! Going off subject AZ vendor, what newer snack machine would you recommend as a reliable choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Sorry for the delay in answering, for some reason I didn't get a notification that you posted again. You should be okay after replacing the coin mech. The Rowes will, after a lot of years and depending on the abuse they have taken, sometimes have intermittent issues with motors or shelves not being recognized by the board. This is usually caused by misalignment of the rear shelf connector but sometimes from a pinched wire between the logic board and the shelf. The pinching can usually be found around the rear of the gum/mint chute. The chute lifts up and slides off its hooks if you ever need to look behind it. If you want to upgrade any Rowe snack locations, the AP7600's or 113's are great machines. They are also easily refurbished and they have a lot more parts available than the Rowes have. Later model National's after the 147 series are good as well, though a little harder to figure out how they work. Depending on your area, you may or may not find many used National's around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Sorry for the delay in answering, for some reason I didn't get a notification that you posted again. You should be okay after replacing the coin mech. The Rowes will, after a lot of years and depending on the abuse they have taken, sometimes have intermittent issues with motors or shelves not being recognized by the board. This is usually caused by misalignment of the rear shelf connector but sometimes from a pinched wire between the logic board and the shelf. The pinching can usually be found around the rear of the gum/mint chute. The chute lifts up and slides off its hooks if you ever need to look behind it. If you want to upgrade any Rowe snack locations, the AP7600's or 113's are great machines. They are also easily refurbished and they have a lot more parts available than the Rowes have. Later model National's after the 147 series are good as well, though a little harder to figure out how they work. Depending on your area, you may or may not find many used National's around. The AP 7600 and 113 can be upgraded with the VE Revision Door if you need all the bells and whistles down the road. The National 147 can be upgraded in the same manner but I don't care for the tray connections in these machines. Stick with the AP's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candyman Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 Thankyou, thats very useful information I think I will refurbish the Rowe, I don't think its going to cost too much so I may as well. I do have an AP 7600 but that is one I have been having trouble with, works fine for a few days then just stops accepting bills or coins, when I turn it of and on again its fine then goes off again after a few days. Did post this a couple of months back and it was suggested it maybe the light, put in a new tube but still getting the problem. Going to replace the coin mech next to see if something is causing a short in that. Don't know if maybe AZVendor could help with this? I guess if I upgraded with the VE Revision Door this may solve the problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 The AP 7600 could be picking up interference from not only the light in the machine, if it ever flickers, or from lights in the ceiling that flicker. Look for lights near the machine, even in a nearby soda machine, overhead that might look like they are off compared to how many lights are on in other fixtures. If there are seemingly burned out lamps overhead or in the soda machine, they will occasionally flicker when they try to start. Any nearby burned out lamps need to be replaced or removed to prevent interference. The flickering will cause the lamps to emit electromagnetic radiation that can cause the snack logic board to become confused by the strange input and lock the board up. Turning off and back on clears this situation. It's doubtful you have a bad coin mech or validator, but you might have an intermittent problem in your logic board if all the lights around are on steadily. You should also check for a good ground in your machine back to the ground prong on the power plug and also check for proper voltages on the outlet. You should have 105V (preferably 110V+) or more from the small slot in the outlet to ground and from the small slot to the wide slot. Less than 105V can cause problems with the board. You should also have 0V from the wide slot to ground. If you read any voltage from the wide slot to ground, there is a faulty ground in the circuit that will feed back into the machine and cause problems. This will then need to be repaired by an electrician, and locations hate to be told that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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