Harsh environment for my machines

[gogo]

I recently found a new account  that is posing a challenge.

It is a cabinet-making operation in a small warehouse, about 25 employees.

They want a drink machine, and I think it will get good usage (they work very hard, no refrigerator in the place, no convenience store close). But the problem is there is dust everywhere in the workspace. I do mean everywhere! They sand down cabinets and the dust just fills the air. Everybody wears masks and the air appears cloudy there is so much dust in it. Every flat surface in the place has a thick layer of powder coating it.

The machine has to be located in the workspace (office too small). But I'm afraid the particulates will trash the machine!

Has anybody had any experience with a similar situation? I'm thinking maybe there is some way to make a fabric cover with flaps allowing access to the coin/bill insertion and drink retrieval bay, but the compressor and motor will still have to be exposed to ridiculously dirty air.

Any ideas? Can't put the machine outside.

Thanks

[andyinchville]

HI,

Wow, that does sound like a tough situation....

I know you mentioned that the office was too small to put the machine in BUT why can't you put the machine outside?....Most all soda machines I know of can take the outside....

If outside is totally a no go, I wonder if they wold allow you to build a small enclosure / closet type room around the machine?....Of course if there is really that much dust I guess unless they keep the door shut (and sealed!) I guess the dust will ultimately get there as well!...

I have a friend who has a vending machine in a wood shop BUT theirs is nice and clean....hooded suction fans and filters around all the cutting and sanding machines.....they catch and sell the sawdust! (horse stables, composting etc...)....maybe you could convince that shop to do the same?....I would thin that much dust in the employees face all day (unless they wear a full face mask type respirator) would be a problem....heck it may even be a OSHA problem (not saying you should  say anything but maybe osha could get the place cleaned up for you and your machine?).

If you have to deal with the dust I guess frequent visits and cleaning will have to be done....I can only imagine all the dollar bill validator problems!

Good luck.....I would be interested to see what others may say about this.

Andrew

PS - The worse location I have to deal with is in a stone quarry's break area for their drivers....gravel and gravel dust everywhere BUT at least the machine is in the drivers lounge where they try to keep the door shut when the wind blows outside.

[Technivend]

Old school way is to attach a piece of heavy clear plastic above the validator and let it hang down over the coin entrance as well. This should keep dust to a minimum. The condensor will need to be clean a lot. There will be no way around that. A lot of dust in the air means the workers will get very parched and thirsty.

[mxer518]

I have a few saw mills and finishing locations much as like the one you just described. I do the same thing that was suggested with a plastic cover over the coin slot and DBA. I also made sure that I had a refrigeration deck installed that has the large cooling plates that allow better air flow and do not allow as much dust and such to stick to it. I also get cheap furnace filters and cut them down and install them on the front and rear of the machine to help keep a little more of the junk out, they are super cheap and just replace and throw out the old one every few months. A decent quality machine will hold up very well even in these conditions, just be prepared to replace the validator more often that many other locations but that's a cheap fix for a great location.

[snack dude]

I too have a couple of locations like this. Steel mills. Just go prepared to wipe down the inside of the validator, coin mech and brush the cooling coils everytime you go. I love the furnace filter idea.

[mxer518]

I too have a couple of locations like this. Steel mills. Just go prepared to wipe down the inside of the validator, coin mech and brush the cooling coils everytime you go. I love the furnace filter idea.

It works great, and old school vendor from my area tought me that trick, they make some filters that are dirt cheap that work wonders, and for the amount of time and money saved on the break downs due to the compressors overheating its will worth the small investment.

[mission vending]

I've used a 2 gallon canister for compressed air, kind of like a compressor but without the motor( it's lighter that way) and fill it at home, carry with you to location and blow it out once a month. I'm sure they won't notice the extra dust. I use it in a lot of places for cleaning condensors.

[mxer518]

That reminds me, I have been meaning to post some pics of the coil cleaner that the refrigeration guy gave me, I can find my camera at the moment but I will explain it. Its is a 20oz CO2 tank for a paint ball gun, it has a remote coil hose with a air compressor air gun attached to the end of it. This set up would cost you about 50$ to make and about 3$ to fill every time you need it filled and will clean about 15 machines. It supplies a few hundred pounds of pressure so it get the job done very quickly.

[Technivend]

You can also use an old water type fire extinguisher for air only. You can usually pick them up on the cheap.

[mission vending]

mxer

I'd like to see that set up if possible, it would sure beat my 2 gallon tank in size and weight.

[mxer518]

oh for sure, you can probably build one for less than 20$ if you get on eBay and look for paintball stuff. It works great for cleaning the machines you can actually make it a lot smaller or bigger depending on the tank size. I think I am going to try and get a 50oz tank so I do not need to get it filled as often. When I locate my digital camera ill shoot a pic of it and post it on here.