SMC Discussion Areas

Just wondering, I have a Westinghouse WC 42 T, original unrestored, very nice condition. fully functional. Gets very cold, has great paint. It is the White top version, Says "heres a coke for you" on the sides. Was wondering what the value might be and if anyone might be interested. Thanks, Gary

Do you have any pictures? That would help out a lot. And I would be interested, but I am sure the distance between out two different locations would make it unfeasable. But post the pictures anyway. I would like to see them. Thanks

Hard to pin a value on an unseen item.
Post some pics and we all can give you a better idea of its' worth.
I know a guy has been posting one on Craigslist around me (PHX) for a month or so.
$1200 -> $1000 -> $900... Looks to be in pretty good shape from the one pic I've seen and even has the bottle rack on the side, but no takers yet I guess.
Realistically - I usually do not see them go for more than $600 and more commonly in the $400-$500 range.
Where are you located?

I wouldn't mind getting one, but I would only be interested in it if it's cost was in the lower range. And only if it were complete. But then again, the cost of shipping it will most likely make it cost prohibative for me.

Neat little machines but weigh a ton, and only vend small bottles.. great for a collector, but not for practical use... I got a guy around me trying to get 1200, then down to 1000 for over a year... I offered 550.00 and he turned it down... I like the embossing on them, but again, just not practical... if I had the room for one of every kind, sure I'd love to have one and maybe spend a bit more.

They are good looking machines. I almost bought one when I lived in Florida. They are heavy little buggers. I agree that only vending small bottles is tough but I know that there are a few members here that refill their own. That would be the way to do it. I also heard somewhere that with some tinkering you can get them to vend cans. I am not sure how true that is. i am surprised that they aren't more popular being that they are so small.

That is what we do for all our machines...we refill the original period bottles after a good cleaning.  It's so cool to see people's reactions when they put a nickel/dime in one of our machines, turn the crank, and then get an ice cold FRESH soda out of an original bottle!  Sure beats paying the price of a six-pack of the 8 oz Cokes/Dr. Peppers!

My first machine years ago. I really like the looks of these. Too bad I did a amateur (-) restoration on it. It now sits in a storage shed, maybe someday I will restore to former glory.

I've heard of a few trick for refilling bottles.... how do you do it Greg, and how long does the carbonation in the pop last? also what do you use to recap? I have plenty of old 6.5 oz bottles, need caps and a capper? that could be fun...

Fun-Tronics lists a capper and generic gold caps in their catalog...the current catalog says the capper is no longer available, but the caps are for $5.00 per 100. Steve Ebner might be able to point you in a direction for the capper.
I have seen cappers offered on eBay - vintage and new.
I've heard that the carbonation will last about one month, but I have no personal experience with it.

We have a capper, a funnel, and lots of unused crown caps.   Our capper came from an antique shop, but they are always on ebay as well and not expensive at all.  You can buy blank caps made for home brewing, or buy them in bulk with old logos on them.  Our current batch are Hires Root Beer.  We go buy the 3 liter bottles of Coke/Dr. Pepper to fill the bottles with, since that is the cheapest route.  We fill the bottles to within about 1 1/2 inches from the top using the funnel, then cap them with the capper and wipe them down so they aren't sticky.  As long as you get a good seal (read: push down pretty hard with the capper), they will last a good long time.  We still have 2 or 3 bottles of Dr. Pepper that was bottled about 5 years ago and were what was left in the S-48 when the freon line split inside the machine and leaked out (still need to get that fixed, got a quote for $300 from a guy here last month   :Oo: ).   I opened one, and it still was as fizzy as when bottled.  Again, the better the seal, the longer it lasts.  Make sure your old bottles don't have any flea bites in the rim.  I've only ever had one of the DP bottles break while vending down the chute in the S-48, and it may have had a stress flaw somewhere.  

It usually took us about 30 minutes to fill and cap enough for a full load plus pre-cool in the S-48.  It's fun, like you said, and well worth the effort!

I do exactly the same with my V-39 and my coke bottles.

Signguy - If you do have difficulty getting hold of a capper let me know and I'll pick you up one at
a homebrew shop just up the road from me and bring it across in April...

My bottles don't last much more than a week cos we drink them...

 

     If Steve doesn't sell Coca Cola caps, then nobody does? I would like to start
refilling old bottles rather than dispense the new bottles, in the machines that are
for sale in my store and properly labeled bottle caps would certainly be a plus.
     

I bought 500 unused silver CC caps off eBay a couple of years ago - cheap too! I bet you can still acquire some.

Thanks Guys.... I'll have to try that ...
It have over 100 cases of old bottles still... will just have to wash them REAL GOOD... maybe even boil them, as they have been sitting a long time...

Thanks, I'll check into the capper from a home brew shop...there are several around me..

I have over 100 cases of the old 6.5 Green Hobbleskirts left... will have to really clean them or maybe boil them to sterilize?

Thanks

I don't suppose you have any old pepsi bottles???

When I clean mine the first time, I use antibacterial dish soap and a bottle brush (or a piece of paper towel and dowel rod) to scrub down the bottles on the inside.  For the Coke hobbleskirts and Dr. Pepper embossed, we run them through the dishwasher as well for sterilizing.  This may be a bit more labor intensive with 100 cases, but...   :Oo:  For subsequent cleanings, just a soak in a soapy sink or a run through the dishwasher works fine.  Be careful that too many runs through a dishwasher will take the paint of non-embossed bottles!