Vendorlator vf56b-k

[BryanH]

I'm new into these machines.  Just bought the Vendorlator vf56b-k and have several questions:

- Any idea on how old is it?  I've seen posts on how to determine the age of Vendo machines by serial# but not Vendorlator.  (pic of mfg tag is below)

- Any recommendations on how to get a parts list &/or manual?

- Any special tools required?  The screws are different than what I've seen before...  Kind of oblong like a pill?

- other than this site any recommendations on where to get parts?  It needs a couple shelves, bottle opener, bottle cap box, light parts (not sure which ones), lock and possibly a new coin mechanism (if I can't fix the one it has).

Thanks in advance, Bryan

[loman4ec]

welcome to the site. As far as I know there is no way to determine the exact year of your machine. If you wat to post a pic of the machine a few of us wll be able to give you an approx date. For parts there is a company named Funtronics that makes a huge number of parts for your machine. Call them at 301-371-5246. They have a catalog that sells for $7. It is well woth it. I hope this helps. I have restored a few Vendorlator 56's and they are really nice machines.

[BrianB]

First off, congratulations on your new purchase!

Age - I've heard various things when it comes to deciphering Vendorlator. When I was attempting to get the age on mine, I never got a straight answer. So....I ended up calling Steve at The Soda Jerk Works and he was of great help in determining the age of my machine using the Vendo serial number decoding system and also using the general appearance of the machine (decals and signage).

Parts - One of my faveorite places for parts is The Soda Jerk Works they have a great selection of parts. The owner, Steve, is a great guy and very helpfull. If you ever have a question, no matter how obscure, he will probably have an answer or knows somebody that has the answer! Another great places  (especially for Coke) is Funtronics. There is no website at this time. The contact info for Funtronics is listed on this site.

When it comes to the parts that you desire (shelves,bottle opener,bottle cap box, light parts) either place will have what you need. When it comes to Coin Mechs, I have found that E-Bay has worked pretty good. The Coin Mech's that work best in you machine are the Coinco S75-9800A or S75-9800B. I have been able to score them for under $15 a peice.

Special Tools - The screws you are talking about are called "Clutch Drive" they look like the hourglass from the Black Widow Spider. I searched high and low for those for my Vendorlator to no avail. I replaced them with stainless screws with a more standard drive (phillips / pan) Other than that, there are really no special tools that I know of need, at least I haven't need one and I'm about 95% done with a complete restoration.

[BryanH]

Joshua / Brian - thanks for the info.  

Brian - how did you get the original screws off without a proper bit?  Did you just cut them off?

As for the coin machine... The unit on the machine says it's an FP9800-887 (887 is questionable as it's hard to read) by Coin Acceptor Inc.  Is that the same as Coinco?

Thanks again, Bryan

[loman4ec]

You can buy a bit for the clutch head screws at any hardware store. I just bought on a few weeks ago for working on a vendorlator 56 and a 127. Yes coin acceptor inc and coinco is the same company. I personally prefer to update my changers with the Mars 5800 series but any 115-117 volt changer will work.

[BryanH]

Joshua - I'm interested in why you prefer the MARS5800 series of changers.  I'm new to this game so any insights or thoughts you have on why one manufacturer is better than another would be appreciated.

Would any MC5800 model work on this machine.

[loman4ec]

I just like them because they seem to be rather inexpensive and there seems to be plenty of them. They are newer than the coinco s75 9800's. I guess what I am saying is that it is only personal preference. I also think that they look good. Yes any coin mech should work as long as it is single price, is 117 volt and has the standard 9 pin Jones plug. If you look at the pictures of the machines I have done in the photo album section there should be some pics of the changers in some of my machines.