ap213 coffee machine??????????

[vendnoob]

Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of  the ap213 coffee machine. I am think of putting one in next to my pop machine at one of my locations. Pop sales are great in the spring and summer but fall way off in fall and winter. So I thought about trying a coffee machine. I know nothing at all about them so any info would be great.

[IVEND11]

Ap 213 was the workhorse of coffee machines in its day.

Good things about the 213

Can make a great cup of coffee as long as its not a bean grinder. It will last forever and some. Parts are easy to get and just about everyone has parts for them.

Bad stuff

There getting older every day and I know I said last forever but stuff just wears out. Repairs are easy to me but I can rebuild just anything. The brewer is a pain if you don't know what your doing and when the brewer starts acting up its just better to rebuild it. Its only 24 volt or 110 volt can not be mdb without a new control board if anyone makes one for it 

[vendnoob]

Any recomendations on a good used machine to start with for my first coffee machine?

[mission vending]

Any brand of coffee machine, especially used, requires TLC. You will need to spend extra time with cleaning to keep everything working well and the ants out of the machine.

The AP is a great machine if you can get a good price on it. Like with any used equipment make sure to test all functions and in this case open the top of the tank and check for lime and calcium buildup.

[IVEND11]

To be honest. I like crane 673 the most. I have ap and crane. I like 633 653 by crane there good working machines. I am a big crane guy I can tear one of them down to the ground an put it back together in a day. I have a guy that will only have ap that's what he likes. Best thing I can teLl you is try to look at both and see what u like just don't buy 623 crane coffee its old and low tech software good luck and one more thing ap has a much better water tank then crane and at 500 dollars a tank make sure u get a good tank with whatever machine you get 

[Technivend]

Coffee machines are not like running snack and soda machines. They will require a lot more maintenance and upkeep as Mission states. However your profitability can be great as it typically costs you about twenty cents to make a good cup of coffee. Some of the biggest mistakes I see when someone gets into coffee is 1) skimping on the quality of your product because of cost. Coffee machines are like a computer in that sense, garbage in garbage out. If the coffee is crap you won't sell a thing and then your product gets stale and it becomes a viscous cycle. 2) Neglect, you MUST keep the machine clean and the product fresh in the machine. 3) Lack of knowledge, there are a lot of adjustments that can be made in a machine to make a good cup of coffee but few people ever take the time to learn them. Also there are la lot of moving parts in the machine that will require a more extensive mechanical knowledge to keep these running properly.

Now used coffee machines are a different machine into itself as depending on the age they may not have all the foo foo coffee's like your latte's, espresso's, etc. These are fast becoming the bigger sellers over regular coffee. Also, as these machine are more the more expensive machines new. When you find them on the secondhand market cheaply there has probably been a cost analysis that the original owner has done that  they have determined it is no longer cost effective to rebuild/repair and it is time to buy a new one.

I don't recommend anyone to dabble in coffee without making a commitment. I wouldn't recommend buying "used" unless you are very mechanically inclined and don't mind working on equipment and have the proper tools to do so (a meter is a must). A rebuilt unit from a reputable distributor is a viable alternative, but now you just got away from a "cheap" coffee machine as these are traditionally expensive to correctly rebuild.

The AP is a good coffee machine as is the Crane NV. Stay away from the real old MDM's, RMI's, USI's and Coffeemats. Between these two (AP, NV) it depends on which machine you cut your teeth on as to which is better. Mission likes the AP, Ivend likes the Crane and both are right.

It's kinda like smart phones, which is better, Iphone, Blackberry, Android? Whatever phone suits your needs best is the correct answer. Each have there own quirks and benefits and the key is what quirks and benefits are best suited to your needs.

[vendnoob]

Well that answers alot. Thanks. I would be putting it in a scrap yard which averages about 200 customers per day walking right past my machines to the pay window. But the down side is this place is very very dirty!!!  dust  and dirt even get inside of the snack machine.

So, if these coffe machine require alot of tlc to keep running in a normal environment then maybe a scrap yard is the wrong place to put on.

Thanks for all your input.

[mission vending]

Well that answers alot. Thanks. I would be putting it in a scrap yard which averages about 200 customers per day walking right past my machines to the pay window. But the down side is this place is very very dirty!!!  dust  and dirt even get inside of the snack machine.

So, if these coffe machine require alot of tlc to keep running in a normal environment then maybe a scrap yard is the wrong place to put on.

Thanks for all your input.

In that type of location you would be asking for nothing but headaches.