Convert from Bottles to Cans

[johnieG]

I Found this one on the Detroit metro area Craigs list, It's a Very late 70's model Vendo V/VF/63-7 Pepsi machine, the ID tag states that it was made by Vendo In Italy,

This style ( Black & Red/Pepsi) has to be about the end of the model run for the V63 glass-door style vendors, as this color scheme ran thru the mid 80's as I recall, what was odd about the machine once I got the door lock drilled out ( no key of course) is tha it had can shelves inside , and no bottle opener ( or a crown catcher inside for that matter) but was equipped with a bottle gate, soooooo, I pulled a can rack out of a Faygo VF56 Parts machine I have & in about 1/2 an hour, it's now set to vend 12-oz. aluminum cans!

It came with a Coinco S75/9800B series coinmech with about $2.00 worth of nickels in the tubes, the latest dated coin was 1985, so that kind of figures with the dating of the model year.

so I installed a new doorlock & put a new F14/t8 lamp in the Pepsi lightup & a replacement F2 starter & the marquee came back to its glowing glory, it also needed a vending portal 7watt lamp & a good cleaning inside. more pictures tomorrow, as I forgot my camera at home while I was at the shop working on it..  

[Pat Pixley]

Great score John,  can't wait to see more photo's of it .
 hey I'll give you a call tomorrow.

[johnieG]

Ok, Here are the Pictures I promised.

In the first set, you can see the difference in depth between the original bottle racks
(right) vs. the can rack (left) approximately 14 inches & 12 inches respectively, also note the rear standoff pegs the shallower one is for the bottle rack, while the taller on is for the can rack that came out of a VF 56 donor machine, but due to the different depths of the liners between the VF56 (shallower) and the VF63 liner.

I had to add some additional ¾” steel spacers and a set of #10 x 2” sheet metal screws to secure the mounting pegs to the rear of the cabinet liner to make up the difference, otherwise the can rack is just floating on its front mounting screws, and it would be quite “floppy” in the cabinet even with the shelves in place.

[johnieG]

Here’s the comparison  of the VF63 can shelves vs. the VF56 can shelves, again the length is about 2” longer (for the VF63).

[johnieG]

Next is a modification for installing a fluorescent cabinet light onto the liner wall just behind the rack, this is a 20” / T4 unit I picked up from LOWES hardware off a clearance rack for $5.00, it adds a nice touch to the otherwise dark bottle rack area
( or can rack) and looks great with bottles in the rack of a bottle machine, ( as opposed to the weak standard 7-watt portal lamp, in my opinion anyway)

I tap into the line voltage harness down below in the compressor deck area.

[Pat Pixley]

Looks good John , good use of the pictures showing how you did
this .   

Pat

[johnieG]

Here I’ll just post the remainder of the reassembly shots. As it’s getting late & I suppose I’ll have to get up for work tomorrow !

[johnieG]

And the ID tag of course!  

[Pat Pixley]

I like that Id Tag very cool  .
Again I like the use of the light that looks great lite up at night.

[code9ster]

I just bought the exact same machine but the compressor doesn't work on it any ideas on where to get a new one. It has been changed to cans as well. I am excited as this is my first machine. looking forward to restoring.

[johnieG]

depends on your location.

[loman4ec]

I have a nice original working and cooling V63 cooling system if you need one. PM me if you are interested. Where are you located?

[pepsi man]

Hello, I just saw your post about the VF 63. I just so happen to have the exact same machine, allthough mine was a DP machine converted to Pepsi.
I was wondering if you still had the bottle stack and shelves out of it? Mine is a can machine now but i believe it was a bottle machine.

I would be willing to purchase/trade my stack and shelves for the bottle type if anyone is interested. feel free to give me a call at 720-244-6131 if interested.
                                                                                                                                              Thanks, Beau

[Rebel]

Like that light a bunch. Just installed a green LED over my door but think I may try this out.

[Pixel]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but I gotta ask - Will the can stack(s) vend the small 6.5 oz bottles, or are they 100% strictly cans? The reason I'm asking is I've seen what I think is a V63-7C with a bottle opener on the coin door.

[johnieG]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but I gotta ask - Will the can stack(s) vend the small 6.5 oz bottles, or are they 100% strictly cans? The reason I'm asking is I've seen what I think is a V63-7C with a bottle opener on the coin door.

You know I've never tried to vend a small coke 6/8 oz glass bottle in a Vendo pull-lever style can stack, it should work, I mean the bottles a bit taller than a 12-oz aluminum can, but the crown should clear the lever nicely, but it should also prevent anyone from just yanking out a "free" bottle from the stack.

But the shelves are quite different as you can see from my "converting from bottles to cans discussion" from what I see. Note that the Can stack has a little pusher-arm that shoves the can forward as you pull the vending selection lever out. now with the newer style 8-oz glass bottles being slimmer in the "waist" area. this might not work on these newer style bottles.

[Pixel]

Here's a picture of the machine in question. It it a V63? I'm not overly familiar with Vendo machines, but I'm starting to learn.

Notice that it has a can stack, and is painted in the red-black color scheme from the mid 80's/late in the slant-shelf era. What is of interest to me is the bottle-opener on the right of the machine coin door. Is there any reason to think both the can-stack and bottle opener are original to this machine?

[MoonDawg]

        Small bottles will not fit, I just checked.  They are too long.

       That is a late model Vendo 56 in the picture.  Bottle openers were standard on all early machines and the only real change to the later 56 was an interchangable can stack. There was really not enough reason to redesign the coin door just to eliminate the bottle opener.

[Pixel]

Small bottles will not fit, I just checked.  They are too long.

That's a shame, I thought I might have discovered something potentially useful.  

That is a late model Vendo 56 in the picture.

Ah, a 56. One less shelf, etc. than the 63?

Bottle openers were standard on all early machines and the only real change to the later 56 was an interchangable can stack. There was really not enough reason to redesign the coin door just to eliminate the bottle opener.

So they left the coin door the same. As the opener itself serves no apparent purpose for the machine, did Vendo install it just for the looks, or would that have been added later?

You mentioned the later machines have an interchangeable can stack. Does that mean those machines no longer required the modifications detailed at the start of this thread to be fitted with a can stack?

[Pixel]

I'm silly. If the stacks are interchangeable, either a bottle stack was in it, or could be swapped in later. Then the opener would be useful.

*I'm a Derp*

[MoonDawg]

        I just installed a can stack and shelves from a late model 63 into an early 56 today.

        The only modification I had to do was cut 7 shelves shorter.

[Pixel]

I'm still trying to understand the whole 56/63 thing.

Does the can version of the 56 share it's vend stack (but not it's shelves) with the can version of the 63?

[Creighton]

>>Does the can version of the 56 share it's vend stack (but not it's shelves) with the can version of the 63?

Yes, as far as I understand these things. Major difference between 56 and 63 was the width of the machine. And the length of the shelves.

Glen please share how and where you cut down shelves. If it be a trade secret I understand :-)

Creighton
 

[sodaman]

Wow!!  Thanks guys I got some useful stuff from that discussion.

[Creighton]

Traveling but will check on Tue.
Creighton

[sjt1803]

I have been working to revive a 60's Pepsi machine. This question of converting or modifying my machine to vend cans came up quickly.

When I used these machines as a kid they vended bottles. I did not really want to change the machine to vend cans only. I then looked into alternatives. I thought it should be possible to modify the vending stack to make that happen for a few shelves by adding the ability to vend cans as well.
I did a search on here and found someone else had the same idea. His solution was very sound. It requires drilling a hole in the front bottle rack plate and installing a rod and knob to allow the can to be pulled forward.

I was ready to make this modification, then I decided to look out in the world and see if there was any other possible solutions....there is.

My solution requires NO modification to a bottle vending stack at all.
It is inexpensive.

There are only 2 things to be considered. First, the vending stack must work smoothly.
The second is, along with dealing with the empty can , you need to recycle the adapter.

There are adapters made for cans that allow them to have a cap. They effectively turn a can into a bottle!
They are cheap.
I wasn't sure, they would be on tight enough to overcome the force needed to pull it through the gate.
They are.
Of course, if this was a location machine, the adapters would be pulled off by those trying to pull a soda for free, in the home environment this is not an issue.

See the photos attached.

They show a adapted Pepsi can, a Mexican Pepsi bottle, and a Vintage Pepsi bottle refilled by me.

All of the above vend from my machine, and more.

The machine is a VFA56B-B


 

[MoonDawg]

        Very cool, thanks for sharing!......................

        Now where can we get some of these?   

[belairbrian]

        Very cool, thanks for sharing!......................

        Now where can we get some of these?   

As with most things Amazon has them under the name Can Convert. I've also seen them at Dollar Tree.  The original intent was to make it possible to close a half used can for later.

[sjt1803]

I didn't know about dollar tree will take a look  for them. (mine came from ebay)
Wish I could order them in a single color. (for Pepsi -blue)
They normally are packaged one per color.

When using them, don't just lightly press on but press on with weight behind it for a firm fit.
If your gates are working smoothly, the adapter caps should stay in place and allow the can to be pulled past them.

Just remove the adapter once vended, and re-use later. Simple solution.

Steve

[vendo81d]

Thanks for the tip on Can Convert Sgt1803.  I bought six from Amazon and just got them.  They came from Thailand and took forever to come.  I just ordered another batch from eBay and they'll come from Michigan, so I should get them a lot faster.  I paid less than $11 for 18 of them.  I checked the local Dollar Tree and didn't see any there. 

I tested them in a Cavalier 72.  I had to move the shelves to the front notch and it's still a bit of a reach but it is workable.

[sjt1803]

 

The one thing about these can toppers is they are not all made exactly the same.
The standards for making them appear to not be very high.
So..some fit tight, some not so much.
You will need to probably discard a few, that just don't work reliably.

The gates on your machine have got to be in good shape, move freely and easily.
I have had some come off the cans, trying to pull them through the gates.

Make sure they are on good and tight. If needed use a rubber mallet to seat them on the can.

[johnieG]

you're welcome...

[Rebel]

On lighting I did same but used green LED tube lights behind rack and green neon under machine.