What is the best snack machine?

[Daniel215]

Hello, I’m looking to educate myself on what would be the best types of snack machines to purchase. I’ve found out that maybe and A&M would probably be best. But if there’s any other that is great as well, I’d love to know. Thanks!

[Southeast Treats]

A&M is not a type of machine, they sell machines from different companies.

Avoid imported machines such as Seaga, they have no parts or technical support and are poorly built.  Any newer model US made machine from USI, Crane, or AMS would probably be a good choice.  Get a machine that uses the MDB protocol for the validator, coin mech, and card systems.  There are a lot of older machines out there you can get cheap that are pre MDB, and a lot of them are good, but they will not work with cashless (some can be upgraded but not all).  Even if you are not planning to install card readers, buy for the resale value of having a machine that can handle them.

 

 

[Daniel215]

14 minutes ago, Southeast Treats said:

A&M is not a type of machine, they sell machines from different companies.

Avoid imported machines such as Seaga, they have no parts or technical support and are poorly built.  Any newer model US made machine from USI, Crane, or AMS would probably be a good choice.  Get a machine that uses the MDB protocol for the validator, coin mech, and card systems.  There are a lot of older machines out there you can get cheap that are pre MDB, and a lot of them are good, but they will not work with cashless (some can be upgraded but not all).  Even if you are not planning to install card readers, buy for the resale value of having a machine that can handle them.

 

 

This is a huge help thanks!

[orsd]

AP also made good equipment. The 7600 and 113 are older non MDB but can be upgraded for 400 bucks.

The 123 and 122 are solid machines and are MDB.

Edited August 19, 2021 by orsd

[Daniel215]

12 hours ago, orsd said:

AP also made good equipment. The 7600 and 113 are older non MDB but can be upgraded for 400 bucks.

The 123 and 122 are solid machines and are MDB.

Thanks! I will put them on my list.

[AngryChris]

I prefer national 167's when I can get them for a good price.  They do everything, they look nice, they have dual coil, they seem to have a smaller foot print, and I think they are easier to service during repairs than a lot of other models.  For new machines, I prefer AMS.  I'll probably still have some old APs 10 years from now too.

[Daniel215]

Thanks! I will add national 167's to my list as well! Also, when you say "smaller foot print" you mean it's smaller in size, or something different?

Edited August 22, 2021 by Daniel215

[AngryChris]

4 hours ago, Daniel215 said:

Thanks! I will add national 167's to my list as well! Also, when you say "smaller foot print" you mean it's smaller in size, or something different?

Not so much the 167 (38" wide) but the 168 is a few inches narrower than most other 4-wides out there.  The national 146 (you don't want to buy these) has something like a 30.5" width which is amazing because it will fit through most doorways without door swinging.. something most modern 4-wides can't do most of the time.  The 168 (4-wide equivalent of the 167) is about 32.5" wide.  Sometimes this can make a huge difference.