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Vendstar Gumball Mod


Outlander

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Outlander did this mod work ok for you? Looks good, I may try it, I have a vendstar in the breakroom where I work and one of the guys asked me if I could put gumballs in it. I put the mini gumballs in it and it has jammed up twice now in as many weeks. He has asked if I could put the 1 inch in there and being that he puts about a dollar a day in that machine I need to keep him happy! Thanks

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wrench327 wrote:

Outlander did this mod work ok for you? Looks good, I may try it, I have a vendstar in the breakroom where I work and one of the guys asked me if I could put gumballs in it. I put the mini gumballs in it and it has jammed up twice now in as many weeks. He has asked if I could put the 1 inch in there and being that he puts about a dollar a day in that machine I need to keep him happy! Thanks

Wayne,

Yes it has worked fine for me on a number of Vendstars. The center spring needs to be a stiff spring and angled upwards to "stir" the gumballs and keep them from making a bridge. When you mount the center spring, be sure you set your dispense amount correctly because once mounted there is no more adjustment.

Use stainless steel springs. I managed to get mine at Ace Hardware, sometimes they only have zinc plated and they will corrode over time but will work.

I used a scroll saw to modify the top plate.

Vendstar does offer a gumball wheel now, so you may not have to go the lengths I did, think it cost $19.

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This would be a good mod for the Mod thread. I like the idea and may try it. I have thought about setting the vend to all the way closed and drilling a hole just larger then 1" in each section. Then I would glue some small pieces of lexan to fill the void and keep it from vending more then one at a time. Again this would be a one way street with no way to convert it back just like your mod.

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Beer,

I was just taking a look and I see that a NW gumball wheel could be modified to fit the Vendstar by a small amount of sanding around the circumference of the wheel. A jig could be made to place the wheel on and rotate for sanding to the proper dimension.

Don't know if the cost would be prohibitive compared to just buying the Vendstar offering. I will not be doing any more as I am replacing all my Vendstars.

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When I first got into vending a few years ago, I knew nothing about the differences between the gumball wheel and the pan candy wheel.  The first machines I bought were crappy plastic Candy Kings and I got them from a co-worker who had gotten out of the business.

Anyways, they had only the pan candy wheel (just like the vendstar), and I tried to vend gumballs out of them by opening it up as big as it would go.  What I found out was that the wheel would slice the gumball in half when it vended.  I prolly opened it up too much and that allowed more than one gumball to 'almost' fit into the well.  The gumball that 'almost' fit was the one that got sliced.

Does this ever happen to you when you use this configuration?

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Outlander,

Im with you on replacing the Vendstars.  I'm beginning to have quite a few broken - think I lost 3 complete machines on my last route (or almost a total loss). 

I've paid for mine several times over as I got them for around 30 a piece or less, but man, they sure are king of the cheapo machines.  I'm just moving around parts to keep as many machines in play as possible and then I'm done with them.

...unless of course I get the deal of the century on some on location!

Mark

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Yup they have their place. Good for a newbie to get in cheap and see if they like the action. 3 heads and a stand for $30 or less is a small investment to start and if they find they like .25 for a "Hand full" business, they can upgrade them later as the revenue comes.

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Did you post 4 pics of the modified gumball wheel for a vendstar a while back? Someone did and I can't find it anymore :(

JPVNot sure what other piece you are referring to. The pic has all 4 of the dispense mech pieces assembled.

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