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Terrible way to start new location Machine down Day #1


m2736185

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So I just picked up a warehouse location for snacks. thought the move would be super easy. I have a Crane National 145 on wheels.  Got the machine into the warehouse...just needed to get it indoors into the break room. Well It would not go into the door no matter what angle I pushed it at. I finally tried to open the door and get it in that way. Well while trying to do this I must have bumped my validator and coin mech a dozen times. I finally decided to try to take the door off....and what do you know...it went right in. So I plug it in and it says coins only. I try coins and they get returned right away. I guess they both need to be replaced. I had planned on replacing the old Maka validator anyways, but I didn't plan on putting a out of order sign on a machine that just got placed.

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National snack machines have plates on the top of the cabinet and in the floor that can be removed so that there is room to clamshell the cabinet through the door.  Keep that in mind for your next move.  This only applies to National machines.  Most other machines have a deep enough door that when it's opened you will have clearance for the cabinet. 

 

Make sure your door switch is working properly - not broken in the move and closing against it's actuator bracket.  This is what puts the machine into the vend mode.  If you did take the door off it might be misaligned or there was damage to the switch.

 

If your switch and actuator are fine then you might need to replace the mech and/or validator.  The validator does rely on a working coin mech and sufficient coins in the nickle tube for it to be enabled.

 

PM me if you need a mech or are ready to upgrade the validator.

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I guess I can check, but the machine said "coins only". One of the scew hinges for the bill holder came out so I assumed the sensor in the validator was not working due to that. However once I tried to put in coins it just came out the return

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well,

 

it would be great if that was the problem. So I guess the door switch would be on the inside of the machine in the middle on the side the hinges are? What is that bar that sticks out of the bill validator? Looks like an iron hanger.

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I am beginning to have second thoughts on vending. It sure isn't easy. So you guys were correct. Even tough the door appeared to be hitting the door switch it wasn't pushing it enough. I taped something to the door for now to ensure it would make enough contact...and then exactly what I was hoping wouldn't happen happened. The bottom door bracket falls out of place when the door is open. I tried putting in a new screw to keep it in place, but it doesn't thread....soo no the top fell out of place. Took me about a half hour or more to get the door on the bottom bracket and the door to close. Now the door is just being held by the lock and the bottom bracket. If it were easy to get this machine out I would just pull it. Any bright ideas on what I should do?

 

 

 

 

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Man I feel for you!

 

It sucks big time when something like that happens.

 

Just don't give up just yet, get your machine fixed and give it a chance.  I have no Nationals , so I can't help you.  Mechanically I can fix stuff like the problem your having, electronics I learned a lot, and still have stuff to learn.

 

Good luck with your machine. 

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There is someone around me selling a few lance USI 2038s . But I would really like to see how this location does before investing more money. If I can get this door to work I think the machine should hold up.

 

Is there anyway to secure these hinges? Is there anyway I can access the floor of the machine where I can put a nut to thread a screw in where it fell out?

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Either lift it up with a forklift or a pallet jack w/ boards on it to get the machine as high as possible so you can get the second hinge bolt in. Or you can lean it gently against the wall to work on it. In any event you must get the hinge properly attached so it will sit high enough for the upper hinge to hold the top of the door in place.

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I was able.to.lift.the.door onto.the..lower.hinge.but.its.not.high enough to.fit.into.the.top. what holds these. rods in.place?

and how do I repair the lower hinge since the.bolt or thread came off

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Vending is definitely not easy but I have to say that you have one of the easiest machines I have ever worked on.  I have rarely ever seen anything happen to a National 145/146.  With that said, once you get this thing fixed, there really isn't a whole lot that can go wrong except for maybe some pinched wires or a failed board.  Even if your board were to fail, you could put about $500 into the machine and upgrade the whole thing to MDB/new board and perhaps a drop sensor.  I would ONLY recommend this if it turns out to be a pretty good account, the machine has been very reliable, AND the board has gone out.  Chances are... this machine could sit there (if it's not vandalized/shaken) for years and years without anything other than basic maintenance (cleaning, refurbishing coin-mech/validator).  The door switches do mess up but a door switch isn't always that big of a deal.  You usually just have to buy/install a new one OR rig something up like you did so that the switch gets hit all the way.

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You might have misplaced any shims that were on the lower hinge or you might have bent the upper hinge upward?  As I mentioned before, if you have a broken bolt in the lower hinge hole you will need to use an Easy-out to extract the remaining bolt then the new one should thread in.

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Well, its the other way around the bottom one is bent downward. My question is what holds the rod in place on the brackets? As for the hinge hole, what I was trying to say is there is no bolt or thread in there. It is hollow so there is nothing for a screw to hold on to.

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Then get a nut and lock washer that fits the bolt and secure it that way.  If the bolt is too large for the holes then you'll need a smaller one.  The rod that holds the door open is secured to the inside bottom corner of the door and then slid though an opening in the left side upright under the bottom shelf.

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Right,

 

I understand I need a nut, but there is no access for me to get the nut on the inside so the bolt can screw on. 

 

I know where the rod slides in, but my question is what holds the rod in place in the picture above. The door use to be held in place from just the top hinge until it popped out and whatever held it in place came out with it.

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This is from my Crane manual - not a 145, but if it is similar it shows the mounts that attach to the cabinet are the inboard ones from the leg assembly. You may have the mount for the bottom bracket misplaced when the wheels were attached.

As far as the door you need to lift the door until the top pin sits inside the top bracket, then attach the bottom bracket, then lower the door until it sits on the bottom bracket.

This should leave both the top and bottom pins engaged - if not one (or both) of the hinge brackets are bent.

crane cabinet.bmp

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looks like I am back in service. I used a car jack to lift the door into the.top hinge. then I removed the bottom plate and used a 1/2" metal drill bit to drill above the hole. since the threads are no longer there I.dropped in a bolt and secured.it.to.the bracket.

everyone that has seen the machine keeps.calling.it.old so I have to make sure.it doesn't take any money or not drop.snacks. I.removed the small rice crispies because every now and then one would get stuck. here is what my selection looks.like now. y2a6esyv.jpg

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Well I'm glad you have the machine repaired!

 

Looking at how you have machine loaded, your begging for a good shaking of machine.

 

The product can slip thru coils the way you have it loaded. Load product between coils where it want slide underneath coils.  I know you just

 

starting out try not to put two rows of same product in machine. 

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Your products should always be tucked into the spirals with the bottom edge of  the product sitting on the shelf floor and slightly leaning back.  This allows for the entire spiral diameter to push the product off the shelf. 

 

I can see that you don't actually have a candy shelf in this machine and that it appears that you have 5 candy spirals on each of the bottom two shelves.  This means the machine was originally a chip only machine or someone traded out a candy shelf for a snack shelf.  With that shelf setup, you might be better off laying your candy items down horizontally if they don't vend correctly.  I see the spiral in the lower right corner is 180 deg. out of time.  Remove the spiral from the motor and turn it the correct way for proper vending (you might have to remove the motor screws to do that).

 

You should also take the items on the third shelf and turn them so they sit horizontally.  This allows them to fill the entire width of the selection and be more stable in the spiral. 

 

I'm glad you got the hinge problem solved now.  You must have gotten a jacked up machine to begin with.

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