mojorhino Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I went to check on one of my locations last night (Sunday) found that some stupid Golphers smashed the glass & took all the snacks out of my National 146/Snacktron 2. I found the machine turned around backwards with a sign on the back that said "Sorry Kids Some jerk ruined it for the rest of you. . . Vending machine is OUT OF ORDER" So, I turned the machine around & plugged it in & it powered on. After calling several of the apartment management phone numbers. . . . none of them answered, so I called the police & an officer came out & we filed a report. While doing so several apartment residents came in to use the machine & with there help we were able to determine that it happened sometime between 2 & 4 am Saturday morning. We were also able to determine that some old lady that lives in apartment complex said she saw the thieves running out of the laundry with "WallMart sacks that were full of something" around that time. Luckily, the only thing on the machine that was really damaged was the glass. It appears as if they tried to get to the bill validator but could not due to the extra metal bar that holds the shroud that covers it, because the shroud was only slightly bent. I was able manipulate it back into place & now there is only a couple of scratches you can see on the paint. Here is the machine next to the Dixie Narco 501E with a metal front on it. The pop machine also has 3 places where I can attach locks to it but I only have one attached above the T-handle right now. I actually installed the DN & had no vandalism problems with it & it also does really well $$$ wise which is why I added the snack machine I called the police & am going to meet them down there now that management is in. So now that I have told part of my story at I was hoping to get a thread going & get everyone to post pics or their anti-theft equipment & share advise on how to deter vandalism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry1973 Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I had some generic (signature vending) snack machine in a low income apartment complex and they shook it so hard that at one point the coin mech came off the studs. That machine is a very poor design as far as how the coin mech mounts, and I put in a much heavier ap machine and bolted it to the wall. I hope that what happend to your machine doesnt happen LOL, that would really stink. It does really well money wise, but it might not be worth it in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 You can replace the glass with a sheet of Lexan instead, then weld up a frame with expanded metal that will bolt on with carriage bolts around the perimeter of the glass and cover the viewing area. Design it so the carriage bolts won't touch the edges of the Lexan and won't interfere with the light fixture. You also want to install hockey puck hasps on the lock side of the door of the snack and soda machines. This will happen again because this is what happens in unattended locations. Use a shop vac to remove all the glass. You'll need to pull all the shelves out and vacuum the shelf runners and the area under the bottom shelf. That glass goes everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 The only way to prevent vandalism of your equiment at a apartment complex is to pull it. The only question is how many times and how much crap you want to put up with before you pull it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunCandy Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I know it sucks mojorihno! One mile from my house a location full of non green card carrying mexicans ripped open the door to one of my machines,management and cops did squat, pulled machines and threaten to kick the lead foreman golpher for letting this go on! Pulled machine! F### them! mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I have some experience with this. Last year they broke y glass as well. I have a simple yet effective solution. Go to eBay and order 2 fake cameras. They r like 10 a piece install in 5 minutes. Post a sign saying under 24 hr surveillance and that any vvandalizing or tampering will be forwarded to the police department. Just make sure the manager knows. They LOVE the idea. I went from a weekly tag, shakes, kicks, even kids stopped jamming twigs and arcade tokens. It worked great. I also added two hasp locks to the snack machine. If its a great location we both know you shouldnt pull it. I also had crappy equipment (polyvends) as im not risking a high end machine. My apartment complex makes a steady 500 a month. As for the police nothing will happen, if.you have insurance you can file a.claim but most deductibles are 500 and we.both know Thats probably what the damages were Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojorhino Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 You can replace the glass with a sheet of Lexan instead, then weld up a frame with expanded metal that will bolt on with carriage bolts around the perimeter of the glass and cover the viewing area. Design it so the carriage bolts won't touch the edges of the Lexan and won't interfere with the light fixture. You also want to install hockey puck hasps on the lock side of the door of the snack and soda machines. This will happen again because this is what happens in unattended locations. Use a shop vac to remove all the glass. You'll need to pull all the shelves out and vacuum the shelf runners and the area under the bottom shelf. That glass goes everywhere. Where do you get Lexan & how do you get it cut to the correct size. . . . . . A local glass dealer? Also do you have any pics of a hockey puck hasp installed on a machine because I Goggled them and found pictures but I am not understanding how to actually install/attach them to this machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojorhino Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 I have some experience with this. Last year they broke y glass as well. I have a simple yet effective solution. Go to eBay and order 2 fake cameras. They r like 10 a piece install in 5 minutes. Post a sign saying under 24 hr surveillance and that any vvandalizing or tampering will be forwarded to the police department. Just make sure the manager knows. They LOVE the idea. I went from a weekly tag, shakes, kicks, even kids stopped jamming twigs and arcade tokens. It worked great. I also added two hasp locks to the snack machine. If its a great location we both know you shouldnt pull it. I also had crappy equipment (polyvends) as im not risking a high end machine. My apartment complex makes a steady 500 a month. As for the police nothing will happen, if.you have insurance you can file a.claim but most deductibles are 500 and we.both know Thats probably what the damages were When I initially installed the machine in the laundry room at this location there were actually 3 working cameras installed 2 outside the entrance (catching people coming & going) & one inside the location (facing the machine & covering most of the laundry room). Which is why I installed the machine. Can you post pics of the hasp locks on your machine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojorhino Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 Update: The bad news Yesterday I went back to the location & met the manager with the a police officer to see what the 3 security cameras caught. . . . . & found basically nothing video wise. 1 camera was cut down & stolen by someone who stuck a laundry basked over their head to do it. The 2nd camera was moved to a building across the way but the humidity was so high that all we could tell was that the door to the laundry room was opened sometime around 2:45 The 3rd camera was not working due to not having power. The good news: The manager had a garbage sack with what she pulled from the machine on Saturday morning. I took it home & dumped it out & was able to recover about 75% of what I thought was stolen. I also worked with the police & the apartment manager to come up with the name of the old lady who "saw the vandals coming out of the laundry room between 2 & 4am" The police told me they would speak to her & investigate the issue further. They also said that an investigator would be calling me back , but I am not gonna hold my breath because personally I've not had much luck with the police doing anything (unless I am watching an episode of COPS) anytime I've ever had something stolen. I once had someone break into my car & steal a stereo & there was a big thumb print on the window but they wouldn't even fingerprint it. I am not a big fan of the police in general in case you haven't noticed because it seems to me like & just hand out speeding & no seat belt tickets rather than try to catch & prosecute the real criminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Because the edge of your door is recessed into the cabinet and because you have a narrow edge on your door, you will have to use a butt hasp. You will bolt one half to the edge of your door with one or two spacer plates underneath it to shim it out from the door, and then bolt the other half to the cabinet with no spacers. You will have to mount the door piece first as there is probably no room other than what the hasp will fit on, then you will close the door and lock it so you can line up the other half to come within about 1/8" of the door mounted part. Line up the hole for the lock and mark where your holes will go. Drill then put fender and lock washers under the nuts (same as on the door). Tighten it down and check your alignment. I would recommend a hockey puck lock be installed as it will cover most of the bolt heads and is the most secure lock. You might consider two of these on the lock side. I can send you one of the hasps and I have hockey puck locks too, if your interested. You might be able to get Lexan at a glass shop, but I get mine from a plastics distributor. You will need to get it the same size as the regular glass would be. That way it will fit your glass retainers and the gasket will also fit around the edges. The dimensions for the glass on a National 146 are 20 3/4" x 42 7/8" x 3/16" thick so you need to get Lexan in that size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojorhino Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 I went to Lowes & they will cut a piece of plexiglass to fit his machine for me. I figured while I was at it I would upgrade the validator to a MEI VN2000 series if possible? Then I could use the validator currently in this machine as a spare. What do I need to do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I am also looking to upgrade some 145's (or equivalent board). I'm sure someone will chime in here, but if I have all of my ducks in a row, you need: 1) data harness from a National 145 to Mars 110v validator 2) power harness for Mars 3) the proper brackets to mount the mars validator 4) mars vn 2511 or equivalent 110v validator You can find kits for these online. Someone on this site may have the kit as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojorhino Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 I tried to edit my previous post but had some laptop problems so I am re-posting with additional info. I went to Lowes & they will cut a piece of plexiglass to fit his machine for me. I figured while I was at it I would upgrade the validator to a MEI VN2000 series if possible? Then I could use the validator currently in this machine as a spare. What do I need to do this? I called American Vending machines & asked them if it was possible & then told them I would call them back with additional parts needed for other machines & a few days later I came home & this was at my doorstep It was a bill for for $60.22 .... For something I only asked if it was possible to do? $46.13 plus $14.09 shipping for something I didn't even order seems kinda steep to me. Does anyone have this part for less? If so I am going to send this back & get a full refund. I already have a VN2511 validator so just need the bracket + cable or whatever else I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walta Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Name brand Plexiglas = generic “Acrylic sheet” Name brand Lexan = generic polycarbonate. Polycarbonate costs about 3 times as much as acrylic. Acrylic sheet is almost as brittle as glass it will crack and break. Laxan bends but does break without adding reinforcing bars they will just push it into the machine. Walta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 That's actually a reasonable price for the kit. I could probably do it at $40 plus shipping if you want to save a little and send a message to Capital that they can't just send parts after answering a question. It's very strange that they decided to send you something unsolicited and without prepayment. It sounds to me like they are trying to force parts sales on people. What validator do you have in the machine now? If it's a Mars VFM and you already have the power pigtail for the VN2501, then you only need the bracket kit which would be $25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojorhino Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Its MAKA NB-something or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I sent another PM to you with prices and my email address for photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojorhino Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Name brand Plexiglas = generic “Acrylic sheet” Name brand Lexan = generic polycarbonate. Polycarbonate costs about 3 times as much as acrylic. Acrylic sheet is almost as brittle as glass it will crack and break. Laxan bends but does break without adding reinforcing bars they will just push it into the machine. Walta I was using the term plexiglass loosely because I am not sure what they actually call it. It was the strongest stuff they had. Do you have a recommendation as where else to get what I need to replace the glass that was smashed in the machine? I am not going to put this machine back at this location but I am going to fix it & put it somewhere else. I plan on putting an old Fawn machine in that was given to me for free because this location was doing very well & there are also a bunch of disappointed kids there that keep asking me if I am ever going to put another machine back in. I plan on installing some type metal fence/cage (for lack of a better term) in front of or behind the glass as well as a motion activated camera with some type of battery back up inside the machine, that way if this happens again I will be able to get the police to do something about it. Does anyone have any experience with installing cage on/inside a machine or a camera inside a machine & if so do you have any recommendations as to what to use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I was using the term plexiglass loosely because I am not sure what they actually call it. It was the strongest stuff they had. Do you have a recommendation as where else to get what I need to replace the glass that was smashed in the machine? I am not going to put this machine back at this location but I am going to fix it & put it somewhere else. I plan on putting an old Fawn machine in that was given to me for free because this location was doing very well & there are also a bunch of disappointed kids there that keep asking me if I am ever going to put another machine back in. I plan on installing some type metal fence/cage (for lack of a better term) in front of or behind the glass as well as a motion activated camera with some type of battery back up inside the machine, that way if this happens again I will be able to get the police to do something about it. Does anyone have any experience with installing cage on/inside a machine or a camera inside a machine & if so do you have any recommendations as to what to use? I went through this on the camera a few months back and one of our Canadian members found a tip activated, battery operated camera which I bought for $80 online. It's called a Zetta and the dimensions are about the same as a credit card but it's an inch thick - perfect for Velcro-ing to the bottom of the top shelf. It can also be used in a motion detection mode but you might have a problem with the battery unless you hard wired the charger unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I was using the term plexiglass loosely because I am not sure what they actually call it. It was the strongest stuff they had. Do you have a recommendation as where else to get what I need to replace the glass that was smashed in the machine? I am not going to put this machine back at this location but I am going to fix it & put it somewhere else. I plan on putting an old Fawn machine in that was given to me for free because this location was doing very well & there are also a bunch of disappointed kids there that keep asking me if I am ever going to put another machine back in. I plan on installing some type metal fence/cage (for lack of a better term) in front of or behind the glass as well as a motion activated camera with some type of battery back up inside the machine, that way if this happens again I will be able to get the police to do something about it. Does anyone have any experience with installing cage on/inside a machine or a camera inside a machine & if so do you have any recommendations as to what to use? If you are going to put the National into another location that will treat it well, I would recommend putting glass back in it. The Lexan will get scratched up and can get cloudy sometimes. It won't look good in a nice location. You need safety glass and you can get it at any good glass shop that does windows or store fronts. The dimensions you will need the glass to be are 27 13/16" x 42 7/8" x 3/16" thick. The Fawn should have Lexan in it already so just put a piece of expanded metal cut to fit the inside of the window with an inch or so of overlap and secure it with carriage bolts and fender washers using flat steel strips inside the door to hold the expanded metal in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris in bc Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Hi I will be using this stuff in my next outdoor vending machines. They use this stuff to stop pucks from breaking the vending machine glass at rinks! here ya go http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.made-in-china.com/image/2f0j00VCLQwITrTUuEM/Expanded-Metal-Mesh-SQ-1-.jpg&imgrefurl=http://sanqiang.en.hisupplier.com/product-310256-expanded-mesh.html&h=445&w=839&sz=78&tbnid=CS9lSuTYnJEVLM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=170&zoom=1&usg=__zwjvwqQ5ut0fyn2u4tdHTaZo5uY=&docid=kxckdDt-cxD-DM&sa=X&ei=KXtfUsOGKYiEiwLd-4DoBQ&ved=0CF4Q9QEwBA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojorhino Posted June 17, 2014 Author Share Posted June 17, 2014 I've had this tank of a 501E machine (with a metal front, extra places for locks & an extra cover over the flavor strips) at this apartment laundromat location for over a year now without any problems other than kids putting things that don't belong in the coin chute. Until about 2 weeks ago . . . . . I normally have this lock on the machine (I know it was a cheap piece of @#$@, but I've been using it for a couple of years without any problems) so never thought twice about changing it. So, I go to fill up the machine & the lock is missing this time. I didn't even notice or think about it, even after then the maintenance person comes up to me while I was filling it & says "Did you notice that your lock was missing?" I thought I must have forgotten to put it back on the last time I filled the machine . After filling the machine I go to tighten the T-handle & a sharp piece of metal gets stuck in my finger. As you can see someone did try to break into the machine by sticking something sharp into the side of it & trying to pry it open; luckily were unsuccessful . So, I went to Wal-Mart & purchased 2 locks for about $25 that use the same key & added one to the T-handle cover & & also to the bracket at the top of the machine After speaking to the apartment management they told me that they noticed that fire extinguisher was missing & it appears as though whomever tried to break into the machine actually used the fire extinguisher to smash the previous lock. Guess its time to increase my prices some more, to cover the locks & any future problems I may have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris1953 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 If memory serves me when replacing a maka validator you will also have to change the eproms on the board when installing a Mars validator.... It will show a dollar credit but won't vend..... It might be more cost effective to upgrade to a MDB kit for $150 and eliminate that hassle. Also upgrading to MDB means you can take Fives and Tens That dollar bill board on that N 145 costs about a $100 if it goes bad.... You will still need the metal parts to mount the bill validator but no harness. This would be a good time to think about the future of this machine. Unless the laundry is locked so only residents can use it I would find another location for the vendor... Just saying. IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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