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Suggestions, tips, for replacing plexiglass on snack machines


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I received a call from someone that offered to pay me $80 to replace broken plexiglass on their snack machine (I don't know the model).

 

Does anyone have  experience repairing glass front machines?

 

Is it a difficult job? Do the rubber seals need to be replaced or can they be reused? Is $80 a good price for parts and labor? Anything else I should be aware of?

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I received a call from someone that offered to pay me $80 to replace broken plexiglass on their snack machine (I don't know the model).

 

Does anyone have  experience repairing glass front machines?

 

Is it a difficult job? Do the rubber seals need to be replaced or can they be reused? Is $80 a good price for parts and labor? Anything else I should be aware of?

I've done this a couple of times and I wouldn't do it for $80.  The tempered glass will run you about $45 alone and you'll have to custom order it from a glass shop as tempered glass can't be trimmed.  I don't think plexiglass is much less and it will get scratched in short order.  To date, I've always been able to reuse the rubber gasket. 

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You can reuse the glass trim but only if you replace the broken glass with the same thickness of plexi.  The glass or plexi alone will cost you $80 so you would have to charge labor on top of that.  The size of the glass/plexi will be determined by the model number of the machine and the model will determine how you go about replacing it.  If you haven't done it before you should plan on 2+ hours of time.  I plan on two hours just because it's sometimes difficult to do and I often have to vacuum out all the old glass.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I had a snack machine (AP Jr.) in the laundry room of a large apartment complex that constantly got messed with. The room was open 24/7 with a "housing" complex next door. One day the glass got broke out by a large rock. So I replaced the broken glass with Lexan ($100) only to have it pried open two days later. The Lexan was seriously beat-up, but never broke and barely scratched. They "body slammed" it enough to bend the mounting hardware slightly to get a bar thru the opening. With the bar thru the opening and heavy prying the Lexan still didn't break. Amazing stuff. I would have pulled the machine right away, but it was such a hot spot I couldn't resist giving it another try. In the end, yeah, I pulled the machine. I still think about putting another one back there. lol.

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I decided to order from a local glass shop. A vendor in AZ gave me the exact dimensions and said to get hard tempered glass. The cost is $54. I was considering plexi at first, but that was actually $5 more... to my surprise.

 

A third option was to order from my local vending supply company, but they wanted $65.

 

My lesson: I didn't realize glass was so expensive. Next time I will charge more than $80 for this type of repair.

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I decided to order from a local glass shop. A vendor in AZ gave me the exact dimensions and said to get hard tempered glass. The cost is $54. I was considering plexi at first, but that was actually $5 more... to my surprise.

 

A third option was to order from my local vending supply company, but they wanted $65.

 

My lesson: I didn't realize glass was so expensive. Next time I will charge more than $80 for this type of repair.

Whenever I have done work for others it has been a agreed fee or rate for labor PLUS parts. If I am going to be responsible for getting them I also mark up the parts 25% just for making the call and receiving the shipment.

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I had a snack machine (AP Jr.) in the laundry room of a large apartment complex that constantly got messed with. The room was open 24/7 with a "housing" complex next door. One day the glass got broke out by a large rock. So I replaced the broken glass with Lexan ($100) only to have it pried open two days later. The Lexan was seriously beat-up, but never broke and barely scratched. They "body slammed" it enough to bend the mounting hardware slightly to get a bar thru the opening. With the bar thru the opening and heavy prying the Lexan still didn't break. Amazing stuff. I would have pulled the machine right away, but it was such a hot spot I couldn't resist giving it another try. In the end, yeah, I pulled the machine. I still think about putting another one back there. lol.

I've learned this lesson the hard way as well.  Now if I have a location that is being vandalized on a regular basis I just shut it down.  No matter how much it makes. you'll just end up chasing your tail forever with an account like that.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Update:

 

I finished the repair. Went to a glass shop and asked for hard tempered glass (a vending guy gave me the dimentions).

 

It was an easy job. Removed the screws, pulled the old glass out, removed the rubber liner around the glass and placed it around the new glass (it's "U" shaped so it holds onto the edges of the glass well), then placed the glass in and screwed it back.

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