VF-90 New to the forum New to Soda machines....

[addamb]

Good morning everyone! I just picked up my first soda machine last week; it's a Pepsi Vendorlator VF-90. I've collected and worked on Pinball Machines and Arcade games in the past, but have always wanted a soda machine, and the wife isn't too keen on the room that the pinballs used to take up so this was a great compromise!

I was about to pick up a late 70s Pepsi can machine (the flat front "normal" looking soda machine) when i saw the ad for this one on Craigslist. The guy selling it said the last time he had it plugged in (two years ago) his bottles were freezing up and it never turned off so it was listed as non-working. I was kinda nervous to take the plunge on a "broken" machine as my first, but i really wanted a bottle machine like this over the other machine so i went with my gut and drove to his house to at least take a look at it. I realized right away what was wrong. I though initially the thermostat was bad based on what he said about it never shutting off, which was an easy fix from what I’ve read, but in reality somehow he managed to shut the door without fully latching it all the way, so there was about a 1/4" gap on the bottom right side of the door where outside air was getting sucked it (and it was sucking humid outside garage air on top of that!). I made him and offer ($150.00!!), THEN proceeded to seat the door correctly and the issue was solved right there!

I'm EXTREMELY happy with my purchase, especially for what i paid. It needs cleaned up, the compressor harness replaced (doing that this weekend, it's VERY brittle) and i replaced the door glass already since the inner pane was cracked (Got all three pieces locally for $20!!). It doesn't have a coin mech, but i just set it to free vend with a switch wired to the coin return lever. But i don’t' feel like it's gonna nickel dime me to death like my pinball machines did!

Sorry for the crappy pics. I used my phone and the light on front of the machine screwed up the exposure. I'll take some pics with a real camera this week, these don't do it justice! I didnt' like the fake woodgrain at first, but it's growing on me, i think i'm gonna keep it that way.

[addamb]

More pics..

[addamb]

One question i do have, i think everything is cooling well, but the thermostat looks original so I did some temperature trend analysis and here are my results. (Let me know if anything looks fishy)...

Readings are with a thermometer in the bottle door area so i don’t' have to open anything up and let air in/out.

With only a little product in the machine (about 24 bottles) the compressor kicks on for about 15 mins and stays off for about 45 mins. It kicks on around 43 degrees, and turns off at around 29 degrees.

With a full machine (Mix of glass bottles and plastic bottles) the compressor kicks on for about 28 mins and off for about an hour and a half. Same temps.

To me, from what i have read, that seems about normal. The cut in, cut out may need adjustment since the temperature span is kinda wide, but i may just let it be.

Any thoughts/comments??

[MoonDawg]

guy selling it said the last time he had it plugged in (two years ago) his bottles were freezing up and it never turned off so it was listed as non-working.

 so there was about a 1/4" gap on the bottom right side of the door where outside air was getting sucked it (and it was sucking humid outside garage air on top of that!).

        The gap in the door will do the opposite and not allow freezing.
The thermostat may have stuck on him and could fail on you in the near future. Order a spare.

[addamb]

        The gap in the door will do the opposite and not allow freezing.
The thermostat may have stuck on him and could fail on you in the near future. Order a spare.

Ahh ok, yeah i guess that makes better sense. Thanks!

[Fire708]

Congrats! Looks like a nice machine for what the Picts show.

[addamb]

Congrats! Looks like a nice machine for what the Picts show.

Thanks! It's cleaning up O.K. Luckily I’m not nearly as OCD as i was when i was younger, so I’m enjoying the "usage" scars that are here and there on it. I found a little rust on the outside that i missed and based on where they're at, i think at one time the drain must of been clogged because it's right level with the bottom of the tank. So i think it rusted through from the insulation area between the tank and the outer shell.

I had a heck of a time getting the years of yellow off the machine. I used Novus 2, cleaner wax, rubbing compound, and that all made it plenty smooth but it was still yellow, so i took a chance with soft scrub with bleach and it looks fantastic now! I didn’t scrub too hard, and i followed up with paste carnauba afterwards, but it was a worthy risk!