Automatic Products 213 coffee maker won't maintin temp

[57thTom]

Yesterday in the morning the water was at room temp. By running the purge cycle and using the spray nozzle I drained a half bucket out of the tank. when the second purge cycle was happening the heater indicator light on the side of the tank would blink on when valves opened. By the time that half bucket of water was out of the tank the heater came on and stayed on. The water then comes to temp in about 45 minutes. If there is continuous demand the heaters maintain the water temp. If the machine sits dormant it goes cold.

Is that the upper thermostat?

[AZVendor]

Who in the world sold you this POS?  Reconditioned my arse.  If you have any kind of high demand on the machine it needed to be totally disassembled and truly rebuilt so that it can sustain itself without breaking down while serving cup after cup.  Your machine cannot do that, obviously.

You need a vending tech to diagnose what might be wrong.  It could be a thermostat, a heater, the relay board, lime in the tank, etc.

A proper overhaul of this machine is rebuilding or preferably replacing all the water valves including the inlet valve, pull the tank and delime it, replace the heaters and seals and thermostats, replace the overtemp thermostat, tank lid seal, tank drain valve, rebuild the whippers, replace damaged troughs, new water filter, probably a new heater harness.  Vendors Exchange used to sell rebuilt water tanks with new valves and heaters.  It would be a wise investment for you to make. 

We used to do this under contract for the blind vendors here due to the volume of coffee they sold in some of the government buildings.  Once a year each 213FB machine got a total overhaul so it could last another year.  While that was overkill a total overhaul of your machine is what's required now.

 

[57thTom]

No doubt. But it ain't gonna happen. The tech will be at the machine next week.

I know who the machine came from, but I don't know the details of the deal. Whatever it is it's probably not pretty. Since I might need this resource (Vendiscuss) with all of it's knowledgeable members I won't tell you where it came from.  People are loyal to the company they work for, sometimes and I don't need to offend that loyalty.

If it were up to me a vending company would be doing all the vending where I work; but it isn't up to me. My problem is that while everybody connected to these machines is trying to get paid for a 40 hour week while working 20 or 30 hours and wield power over anyone nearby, they don't want to act like vendors. So I'm the one that gives a sht. For a hundred fifty a week, no less. I keep the job because I don't steal. It keeps me in my position as the low man on the totem pole.

I just want this machine to work.

[lacanteen]

I would start by replacing both thermostats, making sure the tank lid is clean where they make contact and that both thermostats are the same temperature range. Next, ohm both heating elements, looking for approx 22 Ohms. If those 2 steps fail, it's likely the baffle area for the lower tank sector is jammed up with lime which would require complete removal and professional service. 

[57thTom]

I'll update what happens. If we get no satisfaction I'll pitch my ability to the company.

This machine is selling more than 70 12 oz. cups a day;

 

This machine should sell 30 or so and rake up 15 cups from the downstairs machine;

If I can get it running.

[57thTom]

The tech came Tuesday afternoon with two thermostats in his pack. He fussed around for about ten minutes and came to the conclusion that the problem was a loose connection on the top thermostat. He left with a promise to come back and rewire it if I have more problems.

Then the fun started.

I went downstairs to get a couple stacks of cups to hold the guys over until tomorrow, and when I returned the lights were out and the TV was off and the residents were talking about the circuit breaker had flipped from running the microwave. I told them the microwave needed to go and they told me that the third shift RA would just move it back. So I went to my supervisor and explained the problem. He called his boss and feathers began to fly. 

I took the out of order sign off the machine and gave away a couple of free coffees and asked the guys to put the sign back if the machine is cold in the morning. I'll see how that works out this morning.

[Sgolembiewski0903]

Not sure if I followed correctly... but so what's getting done to solve this 3rd shift RA problem?!

[57thTom]

On 2/2/2018 at 2:01 AM, Sgolembiewski0903 said:

Not sure if I followed correctly... but so what's getting done to solve this 3rd shift RA problem?!

I rat them out to management. You can't compete with free.

[57thTom]

The tech came back and replaced the top thermostat and the wire . The machine works.

Next, we went through the bad coinmech routine where the machine wouldn't take money reliably. It would accept bills, then it wouldn't. It would make change with all the quarters but wouldn't give change with dimes and nickles. A rebuilt coinmech fixed that.

The machnie works now. Time for a new topic on these 213s.