WB 78-6B-20 Light Housing

[Carver]

Hello, Vending Community.

I have a WB 78-6B-20 Coca Cola vending machine, but I know very little about what I have. I actually have two machines that I am in the process of trying to get humming again. My main unit vends just fine, it just doesn’t get cold. I’m trying to find some literature on this machine to try and track down a service guy to help me check the refer lines and potentially get me a new charge.

is there anyone out there that can point me in the right direction for the manual?

Additionally, I looked under the hood, and I have a point of connection for the marquee light that should sit behind the coke sign and really make her pop. But I cannot for the life of me track down the light casing/housing. I’m at a loss. With my limited background in electronics, I feel like it might be possible to retrofit a fluorescent light into this space and tie into this three pronged electrical connector, but I need to ask an expert.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and offer any insight. I appreciate you all welcoming me into this awesome community.

Cheers!

[Vendo Mike]

  Google - vending or refrigeration repair near me.  The same tech could probably wire in an LED lamp that runs directly from 115VAC. They’re sold at the big box stores. 
 

where are you located?

[Carver]

Hey, Mike! I live in the Seattle area. I had a hunch a simple lamp config would work here.

I’ve had some bad luck with service techs in my area. My story on this machine is that I bought my first one a while back, and was able to get someone to take a look. We agreed on a price and he took my compressor to check lines and get it tuned up. But he ducked my calls for a bit.

After a while, he reached out and apologized that he basically took my money and didn’t produce a working compressor. So he ended finding and giving me a “working” machine. An EXACT machine at that. I couldn’t believe it. So now I have two machines which is nice for parts, but it would be nice to have my beer stored in one that chills.

[Vendo Mike]

HVAC guys tend to steer clear of vending.  They know they can charge more to work on a residential unit.  Betson Ent closed their Seattle office but I believe Steve Levy is still their rep and tech in that area.  IF so, he can either look it over or refer you to someone that can.  Based on the issue, you could easily be looking at several hundred dollars for the repair.  Might be worth looking for a used machine that's already functional and cheap if it's just a beer cooler.

Try his email first.  slevy@betson.com

 

[AZVendor]

Too bad you're not in Phoenix.  Plenty of vending knowledge still around here.  In Seattle you might try Evergreen Vending.

[Carver]

@Vendo Mike Thank you for the contact! I sent Steve an email yesterday. Let’s see if I can get some help out to my place. I decided to plug in my machine the other day and let her run for a while and while it doesn’t get to the temp of my fridge, I did notice it is noticeably cooler than I remember it was. Maybe all it needs is a charge. Everything sounds good, but maybe I’m just being overly hopeful.

I ordered a lamp online and I plan on slicing the connections tonight when I get home to see if I can get my marquee lit up. I’ll let you know how it goes.

@AZVendor if only I lived there! I’ll have to check out Evergreen Vending. They didn’t pop up on my initial google search. Thanks for looking out.

[Carver]

Photo of the machine for reference.

[AZVendor]

I'd say it just needs a recharge.  They can use MP39 (R401a) if they don't have R12.