Chard Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 What sort of common issues do you face with the Bev Max 4's? Are there any common issues to look for? Motor jams, sensor blocks, etc we should be aware of? Wanting to do my research before jumping in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacanteen Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 The biggest issue is keeping the slides clean so that the bottles don't fall over. Make sure it's level and has room behind to get rid of the heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvb Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 The picker cup has 3 limit switches and an aluminum cam inside. Cam can wear out, switches can fail or get sticky with syrup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 LA, any tips on the best way to clean the slides? Also, I remember an older thread about the new Gatorade bottles hanging up in the gates, I am having that problem and getting ready to do surgery on the offending slots.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvb Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 I used a ratchet cutter to nip off the claws on the gates, worked awesome, no mess. Wipe down slides at very least, and then a shot of food grade silicon spray lube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacanteen Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 We clean with a foam spray cleaner purchased from Vendors Repair. D&S Vending sells a similar product. I have found that spraying silicone or similar materials speeds up the collection of dirt. The dirt comes from the bottoms of the bottles. Purchase a spare picker cup and delivery port for quick service to the location. These parts are easy and inexpensive to bench repair for later use. Refrigeration failures are rare, as are board failures, if you are buying current production stock. Keep a spare center gate as these tend to crack at the base if you get too aggressive filling the machine. We use the space-to-sales function so product vends evenly and if rotated properly, the older dates vend first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chard Posted September 11, 2017 Author Share Posted September 11, 2017 What problems do these items cause the machine to exhibit? Or in different terms what symptoms indicate the following: dirty slides - beyond visual inspection. Bad picker cup - what symptom will it exhibit and also is this a repair that I can easily do on site? Delivery port - what symptom will it exhibit and also is this a repair that I can easily do on site? I hate having new machines that I'm not familiar with fail in the field and have no idea where to start looking. All the help is greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvb Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 I recently battled the picker cup thing... The picker cup has an actuator that opens the gates. The cam is what drives the actuator and a limit switch tells the machine when the actuator is in or out. If your actuator sticks in/ out or doesn't move at all, look here. the cam should rotate smoothly and engage the actuator, which should activate the limit switch. If the cam cannot be turned smoothly by hand, then the gear motor that drives it is shot. If the picker/ actuator seems to be missing the target slightly, make sure machine is level first. Then check the limit switch on bottom of picker. If it is starting to wear or fail or, commonly, it is all goopy with syrup, you'll see it missing selections in the Y axis. Reason being, this switch indicates Y = 0 or 'home' position. The position encoders do not start to count until the home switches open. If a sticky or worn switch takes even a fraction of a second too long to open, the picker will end up slightly off its intended mark. I really like the idea of having a spare picker as suggested earlier in this thread. That said, a rebuild kit is cheap and should only take 30 mins with the proper tools. I haven't dealt with a bad delivery port yet, so I'll leave that for someone with experience. nvb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chard Posted September 12, 2017 Author Share Posted September 12, 2017 This is excellent. This is the sort of crash course I was looking for! Thank you guys! If there is more, please keep it coming! Over the years I've realized that every machine has characteristics. It make troubleshooting much more efficient. So knowing what to look for before it happens puts me leaps and bounds ahead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacanteen Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Do not attempt to rebuild a picker cup on site. Your fingers will get greasy as will everything you touch. The biggest failure on the cup is the bottom switch, which is Y-Home. That switch gets all of the dirt and oils and syrup leaks. Next most common failure is the picker 'out' switch. If you motor runs 2 or 3 times getting a drink, it is usually this switch. For those of you with older Bev Max machines, the metal picker has been extended and should be upgraded. In order to remove the cup, you first must remove the Y-axis cover. Do not test vend the axis without this cover in place. The chain harness will get tangled and ruined. Remember, you heard it here first. Tip: If you remove the motor screws for any reason, put nail polish or mild thread lock on them when reinstalling. The vibrations will work the screws loose in less than 6 months. The delivery port pretty much opens and closes, or not. It has the same motor as the picker cup. There is a small plastic cam that can break if your customers mess with the port too much, but it's otherwise reliable. When they do break down, I suggest replacing it and rebuilding the old one. The plastic will be dirty and nasty, and not something you want to do on location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfdogs Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 2 hours ago, lacanteen said: Do not attempt to rebuild a picker cup on site. Your fingers will get greasy as will everything you touch. The biggest failure on the cup is the bottom switch, which is Y-Home. That switch gets all of the dirt and oils and syrup leaks. Next most common failure is the picker 'out' switch. If you motor runs 2 or 3 times getting a drink, it is usually this switch. For those of you with older Bev Max machines, the metal picker has been extended and should be upgraded. In order to remove the cup, you first must remove the Y-axis cover. Do not test vend the axis without this cover in place. The chain harness will get tangled and ruined. Remember, you heard it here first. Tip: If you remove the motor screws for any reason, put nail polish or mild thread lock on them when reinstalling. The vibrations will work the screws loose in less than 6 months. The delivery port pretty much opens and closes, or not. It has the same motor as the picker cup. There is a small plastic cam that can break if your customers mess with the port too much, but it's otherwise reliable. When they do break down, I suggest replacing it and rebuilding the old one. The plastic will be dirty and nasty, and not something you want to do on location. Do you have a part number for the extended metal picker? Is this the cure for Gatorade hangups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvb Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Vendors Tech cover the Gatorade hangup solution here: http://stores.vendorstech.com/blog/tech-tips-bevmax-2346-gatorade-hang-up-solution/ This video is a great primer for working on a Bevmax machine. I found it very useful my first time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfdogs Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 On 9/12/2017 at 1:40 PM, Golfdogs said: Do you have a part number for the extended metal picker? Is this the cure for Gatorade hangups? Bump. Parts supplier has no idea what I am asking for...Please and thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 The latest cup version IS the extended cup. They probably don't have the old version and don't know about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacanteen Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 The part number for the picker arm itself is CR0023106, and the part number for the whole cup is CR0025156. Picker arm is approx $15, the whole assy approx $200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfdogs Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgolembiewski0903 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 On 9/12/2017 at 11:04 AM, nvb said: Vendors Tech cover the Gatorade hangup solution here: http://stores.vendorstech.com/blog/tech-tips-bevmax-2346-gatorade-hang-up-solution/ This video is a great primer for working on a Bevmax machine. I found it very useful my first time! I don't have one of these... I used to think I would really want one but realized they might be above the skill level of a person who isn't naturally good at repairs, updating, etc.... like myself!! This guy in the video definitely is smart... I think, in fact I know... If I had one of these machines it would benefit me to just pay for a service call rather than trying to address an issue/update by myself Some people on here might think I'm talking crazy.... but those people are very smart about things similar to the content of this video.....! Me, personally, it would take me TRIPLE-FOUR-TIMES as much time as most people to figure out how to do the things on this video... AND I STILL MIGHT NOT DO IT RIGHT!!! Hell, I'd rather spend $200 on a service call and save myself several hours of time, and also save the headache! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkinthepark Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 14 hours ago, Sgolembiewski0903 said: I don't have one of these... I used to think I would really want one but realized they might be above the skill level of a person who isn't naturally good at repairs, updating, etc.... like myself!! This guy in the video definitely is smart... I think, in fact I know... If I had one of these machines it would benefit me to just pay for a service call rather than trying to address an issue/update by myself Some people on here might think I'm talking crazy.... but those people are very smart about things similar to the content of this video.....! Me, personally, it would take me TRIPLE-FOUR-TIMES as much time as most people to figure out how to do the things on this video... AND I STILL MIGHT NOT DO IT RIGHT!!! Hell, I'd rather spend $200 on a service call and save myself several hours of time, and also save the headache! "A man needs to know his limitations." - Dirty Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 I pay someone else to work on refrigeration for certain machines, including the bevmax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 refrigeration is my limit as well. I can swap a deck in a stack machine, but that's about it. Still learning. The first time you work on any problem is an investment in learning, so the extra time may be well spent if you gain an ability you will use over and over again... and it helps to have a good teacher. Speaking of, I know Crane sometimes does a tech school for operators, does anyone know of any others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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