boldandmodern Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I wanted to see what you all think is the best brand out there for soda machines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEen Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 My favorite is the Dixie Narco 501E. Dependable as heck, and somewhat easy to fix when there are issues. Can handle (with proper shims, depth settings and cam settings) most soda sizes you might consider selling. Each selection can have a different price. And the best point (for some) is they're everywhere. You can find machines and/or parts from many sources including eBay and Craigslist. This means you can find good deals on them quite often ($200-$300 for a fully functioning machine is not unheard of.) Hope that helps, Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcron Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Good timing MrEen...Just was working on my DN 501 E today trying to get 20 oz waters in there. I have been using 16.9 Aquafina, but they have changed their bottles and they are much softer now...causing jams. Wanted to go to 20 oz. Ice Mountains that are meant for vending. Much harder bottle but it kept getting stuck when the barrel would try to roll to vend them. Any ideas on how I can put these in my 501E? Do I need different shims or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEen Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Hey bcron, If it's sticking high, you have too fat a shim (which is what I'd expect if you had been doing 16.9oz previously.) I don't know Ice Mountain, but if it's similar to 20oz Aquafina as far as bottle shape is concerned, you'll want the same shims the other 20oz bottles have (I'm assuming you have some 20oz PET in the machine.) I completely understand the squishy bottle jamming issue, and often experience this every summer even with Aquafina, but those jams are usually a bottle getting stuck/pierced in the cam. To clarify this some, I'm betting your shim is a little too fat for the bottle shape. When the cam turns, the bottle doesn't drop easily into the opening due to the pressure of the shim. When the cam turns again, it gets caught on the bottle, instead of turning freely OVER the bottle. A 12oz can shim will often cause this problem. Does that help? Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldandmodern Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 MrEen, Thank you for the info. What about other Dixie Narco are they any good like the 440? I am looking at getting one (DN 440) from a seller that has two of them one for $450 and the other for $500 it's in better shape. I am looking to pick up a machine that I will not have to many issues with. Again thanks for all of the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEen Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 boldandmodern, I'd like to let another vendor weigh in on the 440. I have not worked with them, myself. I'm sure many here have, and they'd be more knowledgeable on the subject. If no one speaks up soon enough, I'm sure Technivend can help answer any questions about them. Scott Edit: One issue, I'm pretty sure that is a single price machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Good timing MrEen...Just was working on my DN 501 E today trying to get 20 oz waters in there. I have been using 16.9 Aquafina, but they have changed their bottles and they are much softer now...causing jams. Wanted to go to 20 oz. Ice Mountains that are meant for vending. Much harder bottle but it kept getting stuck when the barrel would try to roll to vend them. Any ideas on how I can put these in my 501E? Do I need different shims or what? I read somewhere that the squishy bottle problem on the 501's can be solved by not filling the machine. Only fill those water selections about 1/2 way and see if it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEen Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 sherlock, That often will work, but can be a useless workaround. One account I service was, until recently, going through seven to nine cases of water per week (I expanded to three columns to minimize sold out conditions while servicing the account three times per week.) Filling only half way would mean I'd need six of the nine available selections to be "squishy water" (all other selections sell a minimum of one case a week as well, so dropping more selections wasn't really an option.) Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 sherlock, That often will work, but can be a useless workaround. One account I service was, until recently, going through seven to nine cases of water per week (I expanded to three columns to minimize sold out conditions while servicing the account three times per week.) Filling only half way would mean I'd need six of the nine available selections to be "squishy water" (all other selections sell a minimum of one case a week as well, so dropping more selections wasn't really an option.) Scott Good point. Different shims is a much better solution. So for the record, you haven't had any problems using the shim for 20oz while vending 16.9oz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I have a ton of Dixie 501's and they are a solid machine besides the typical Dixie Narco crappy refrigeration decks. I have recently started using Royal machines and let me tell you they are wayyyy better built machines and very easy to fix as well as program. It really depends on what you are vending, I like the 501 for 20oz and Royals for cans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEen Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 For the record, I've never found a 16.9oz bottle that was NOT squishy. The only bottles I've not had problems with are all 20oz and they are Dasani and Aquafina (the occasional bottle will be squishy in the summer,) as well as Table Rock (I believe less than $6/case from Vendors Supply.) I'm pretty sure there is a "proper" shim for the 16.9oz bottle that is different from the 20oz shim, but I'll never need it, as I've never found a 16.9oz bottle of water made for vending outside of a glassfront (Bev-Max.) Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEen Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I have a ton of Dixie 501's and they are a solid machine besides the typical Dixie Narco crappy refrigeration decks. I have recently started using Royal machines and let me tell you they are wayyyy better built machines and very easy to fix as well as program. It really depends on what you are vending, I like the 501 for 20oz and Royals for cans. I've had to swap out ALMOST as many refer decks on Royals as DN's (And found the job easier on DN's.) Changing product sizes (on site) is typically easier on the 501 (I don't have to empty the column in front/behind to make the change and no sdep change in the programming.) And the DN has no chain (NOT fun to change, especially the first time!) Overall, I do like the Royals, and have had very few issues with them. I just like the 501E better. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDERSONVENDING Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I have a 440 on location for the last 2 years without a single issue(except a bad coin changer) very reliable.As for the water issue I now get the 16oz vend bottle from Vistar(thicker plastic) I can now fill the column all the way up.Yes it is a single price machine. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I have DN, Royal and USI for drink machines. Like others have mentioned I like the DN501 and newer USI units for bottles and Royal and older USI for cans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldandmodern Posted September 2, 2009 Author Share Posted September 2, 2009 Thank you to all of you for your help. This has helped me in my selection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 I found the best non sticking water bottle was DejaBlue from 7-Up. You can step on them, toss them against a wall, and they will not give, plus they taste pretty good and the pricing was great on them too. I am a fan of the Dixie 501's too. Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcron Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Hey bcron, If it's sticking high, you have too fat a shim (which is what I'd expect if you had been doing 16.9oz previously.) I don't know Ice Mountain, but if it's similar to 20oz Aquafina as far as bottle shape is concerned, you'll want the same shims the other 20oz bottles have (I'm assuming you have some 20oz PET in the machine.) I completely understand the squishy bottle jamming issue, and often experience this every summer even with Aquafina, but those jams are usually a bottle getting stuck/pierced in the cam. To clarify this some, I'm betting your shim is a little too fat for the bottle shape. When the cam turns, the bottle doesn't drop easily into the opening due to the pressure of the shim. When the cam turns again, it gets caught on the bottle, instead of turning freely OVER the bottle. A 12oz can shim will often cause this problem. Does that help? Scott I don't know that the shim is the problem...I have shims in there for 12 0z cans because that's what I vend in the rest of the columns. The cam turns away from the shim and the bottle gets caught up against the wall on the opposite side as the shim. I was wanting to do the Ice Mountain 20's simply because of ease of stocking them (that's about the only other option my Sam's carries). I guess if I have to look elsewhere for a harder 16.9, I may have to go that route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEen Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Ahh, you're using a can shim while trying to vend a 20oz bottle. I'm pretty sure changing to the shim for 20oz PET will solve your problem. Here's an easy way to test. Get the cam facing up (so bottles drop into it) while the column is empty. Now try to place a bottle into the cam. You should not have to "force" the bottle into place, but I'll bet you'll need to with the current setup. The bottles should easily drop down into the cam. Hope that gets you fixed, Scott P.S. The can shim has a longer lip on the bottom than the 20oz shim. This also causes some problems, but not the problems you're having. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcron Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 I'll give that a try tomorrow and let you know what happens. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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