Favorite soda machines.

[KreKol]

Pixel Said:

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Soda machines always fascinated me with their mechanics. Unfortunately, very few of them can be watched in action if you don't own or maintain them. The DN5000 (maybe aka DN5591) is quite an exception. All of the rows and columns of beverages can be seen. The version commonly branded by Pepsi is just a drop model, but the Coca-Cola model is something special. It has a conveyor belt that rides on an elevator system. It moves vertically and rolls your drink out to you. Watching this machine work is one of the neatest things I've ever seen

I have seen both versions the machine you are talking about.  It is cool to watch but it is one machine I would not buy especially if you plan to have it at a site and sell products from it.  I have seen people shake the machine, not hard to the point the machine is rocking back and forth but a good vibration.  As soon as you get the right vibration (usually with in 10 to 20 seconds) the soda bottles will start popping out of holders.  I guarantee you can empty the machine out in less the five minutes.  Cool looking machine, BAD Engineering.

Right now my favorite is my La Crosse CCB-64-8.  The Refrigeration Unit came with factory attached connections to hook up gages and to charge/discharge the unit, and the connections are at the front of the machine for easy access.  In fact everything is easy to get to and change.  You can change the lights, starters, adjust the shelves, ect…. without unscrewing a screw.  La Crosse knew how to make a Soda Machine.

[Pixel]

On the DN5k - It seems made cheap too. Most of the older machines have solid steel columns holding the drinks, this thing only has thin metal tubing like the coolers in Wal-Mart.

I can see your point about people shaking it. I don't think I'd sell drinks though. I'd be happy to just let it keep my drinks cold and watch them move through the machine. I'll give it this, the machine cools a Coke pretty well.

Some of my least favorite soda "machines" are those open front coolers in stores. They look useless because they just let the store's air right into the front of the cooling area and very rarely do the drinks get more than somewhat cool.

[Skeleton Man]

The DN5K looks like quite a cool machine.. first time I've seen a machine with "happy hour".. (Manual)

[johnieG]

I'm a Vendo fan, my first machine is still my favorite, my little VF56/Faygo, still running after all these years, (7+) out in the garage keeping the bottles cold & the lightup sign's always there to welcome you when the garage door rolls up! My wife's 7-year old's favorite is the Westinghouse/Coke  Select-a-Matic in the basment, really lights it up on family movie night! and it'll vend both bottles & cans!

[Pixel]

Looks like the Westinghouse has a single selector dial on it. That's a really neat setup, I haven't seen one like that before.

*correction* I think I might have seen one before in a photo.