New guy with a Cavalier CSS-8-64J

[VegasVic]

       If you open the main door you will be able to remove 2 screws that hold the light bulb socket in place.

Thanks!  I tried to look for something like that. I only found one screw on the back side behind the light. I took it out and it seemed to have no effect, so I put it back. I'll spend more time investigating.

       

Welcome to the site but beware..........there are more machines coming your way! 

       Thought you might like this machine that the Coca Cola company had us customize as a gift to an important client in Vegas.

Neat! Good ol' Terrible's has been around here a long time. Originally a small chain of gas stations.

[VegasVic]

Hello, and welcome to the site.

Congrats on the Cavalier. My first working machine was a Cavalier like yours, and I love the cooling system. Be careful with the electrical system, as far as I know it's pretty much all 120V@60Hz. Best to power down the machine when working on electricals.

A good check over the wiring before you run it full time would be a good idea.

Thanks! I've been doing that since I'm not familiar with where everything goes and what condition things are in. So far things look pretty good, but I have no desire to get zapped. :-)  I'm thinking as I clean it up, I'll inspect the wiring as I come to it.

NOTE: One potential problem area (but not the only one) is the rubber sheath that carries wires from the cabinet into the door to power the coin mech and lights. This sheath will often have a hard kink in it. (I don't know if this is a design issue, or something that develops over the years.) On our CSS-64, the rubber at this kink has worn in two. With the machine unplugged from electricity, you could check this area for wear, and see if you can tell if their are problems with the wires there. Things like worn or missing insulation on the wires.

This?


The tubing is all pretty dirty of course, and worn right here. Overall it appears to be in good shape, as well as the wires inside that I can see and have looked at. I was thinking of installing new tubing over the wires. I can't find any clear tubing like what it has now though.

I think the wood grain goes pretty good with this particular style of painting - sides predominantly red, with white stripe and decal.

Agreed.  

You have a lighted marquee (Enjoy Coca-Cola sign in upper right corner), always a plus. From internet pictures, most of the Cavalier machines I have seen of this era have lighted marquees, but occasionally you will find on with just a painted metal (non-lighted) marquee. The lighted marquee uses a fluorescent ballast. Be careful with the ballast - it draws 120V directly from the wiring, and the windings may not be insulated. You can get bulbs for the light, I'm not entirely sure of their specification. I have a problem with the bulbs burning out in ours every couple of months, not sure what's wrong. I recommend you leave the machine unplugged for awhile when changing the bulb. Beyond the potential shock hazard from trying to change it while the machine is plugged in, a bad bulb left in the socket with the machine powered up can get hot enough to burn you when you touch it.

Good tip and good info! Thanks! I think I'm going to need it. As soon as I say everything works, the marquee light takes the day off. Well, not entirely. It's on very faintly. I'm assuming it's a dying tube.

A machine like yours is a good way to get into soda machines. You can find good deals on them in working condition. Quite a few parts are available. Even if a part isn't handy new, you can find junk machines with good, compatible parts. They are much simpler in function than "punch-button" machine, making the vending system relatively easy to repair.

I myself am like you, a relative newbie when it comes to collecting soda machines. The members here have been extremely helpful.

Thank you!

[VegasVic]

Inside my coin door, next to the coin return is this rectangular area that looks like something was on it at one time.  Any ideas what it may have been?



How difficult is it to remove the bottle gates?  They're all chipped to some degree, and I was thinking of having them powder coated.



Down in the bottom (I call it the engine room) is where it's the worst, as you might expect. Lots of dirt and debris in there. I'm going to pick out the large bits, vacuum it out, and then hit it with compressed air.  Is there any reason I can't hose it all off after that? Of course unplugged, and allowed to dry thoroughly after. It won't take long to dry around here. ;-)

Edit: Funny, I didn't notice this until seeing it in this photo. I'm missing a lock washer and screw there on the left mount.

[Pixel]

This?


The tubing is all pretty dirty of course, and worn right here. Overall it appears to be in good shape, as well as the wires inside that I can see and have looked at. I was thinking of installing new tubing over the wires. I can't find any clear tubing like what it has now though.

Is that on the inside of the large door, near the bottom? Anyway, that looks very similar condition wise. The wires inside are the main thing.

I got a tremendous deal. He had it listed for about 4 months before I saw it. First was asking $90. Then $75. When I asked if he still had it, he said yes and I could have it for $60. I figured $60 would be worth it even if I ended up parting it out.

I would say $60 is a fantastic deal on a cooling machine.

[VegasVic]

Is that on the inside of the large door, near the bottom? Anyway, that looks very similar condition wise. The wires inside are the main thing.

That is inside the coin door. You can see the wires near the bottom inside the large door in the pic I posted of the compressor.

I would say $60 is a fantastic deal on a cooling machine.

It definitely cools, but it remains to be seen how cold it gets. I haven't run it for more than 20-30 continuous minutes. It got down into the 40's before I unplugged it. That was starting from about 100 (it's in the garage), so I'm hopeful it's good.  I need to check the thermostat too. I set it to "off". It kept running for a minute or two before shutting off. But it did shut off. It was about 75 degrees at that point.  I did notice that it holds the cold pretty well. I went out a couple of hours after unplugging it one night and felt inside the bottle door. It was actually still a little cool in there. Pretty remarkable for how hot it's been here. I was impressed with that.

[Pixel]

It definitely cools, but it remains to be seen how cold it gets. I haven't run it for more than 20-30 continuous minutes. It got down into the 40's before I unplugged it. That was starting from about 100 (it's in the garage), so I'm hopeful it's good.  I need to check the thermostat too. I set it to "off". It kept running for a minute or two before shutting off. But it did shut off. It was about 75 degrees at that point.  I did notice that it holds the cold pretty well. I went out a couple of hours after unplugging it one night and felt inside the bottle door. It was actually still a little cool in there. Pretty remarkable for how it's been here. I was impressed with that.

Fine deal all around, you really can't go wrong for $60. Ours has been in the family for nearly 11 years. Needs some work though.

[Creighton]

Ok,
Let me know what I have missed or I'm sure others will chine in. Pretty sure you are missing the entire coin mech. Does that imprint line up with where you would insert a Coin? Never have had your exact model so going on general procedures here.

First thing take pictures next is get everything clean. Unplug. A big and small paintbrush come in handy. Vacum and use the brushes to knock things loose. Next brushes and air compressor to blow out the crevice nasties. Outdoors with a couple of fans blowing everything away and a mask are not a bad idea. Don't want to intake any of that dust. May want to repeat this a couple of times. Then a damp towel to wipe off the wiring enclosures and such.

Not a good idea to spray water on electrical bits. The water will get into the darnest of places.

Check all of your wiring for any breaks in the clear tubing or the wires themselves. These need to be insulated from the metal frame. I always replace the main power cord. The ones with a CFI box on the wall plug end are best. Wise to have the machine as only user on a 30amp circuit breaker.

At this point safe to try the machine. You will want to have it filled with something. Cheap bottles of water work well. Set the thermostat on 4 or so. Do not change it with the machine plugged in and running. Have main door open and plug in. The fans should spin and compressor should kick on. Close door and put a small temp gauge in the bottle door where you can see it.

If the engine compartment sounds like it is humming along all good. Screeching, smoke, electrical arcing etc... Require unplugging and the finding source of same :-).

Everything will run for a couple of hours. Should see the temp reading come down. At setting 4 should stabilize around +/- 45 degrees. Top fan will run all the time. Bottom fan and compressor should kick in every twenty minutes or so to maintain the set temp.

Condensation will happen from the product getting cooled. You appear to have the tray but not sure the tube that runs from the bottom of the main product area to the tray is there. Check that and make sue the drain hole is clear. Do not want water draining out un-directed.

The lights are based on old starter, FS-2/ballest and flouresant tubes setup. LED is much better.

Taking apart the bottle stack is best left to another day. Just make sure everything is clean and not binding. Powder coating the wrong parts causes problems. This has turned into a very long tome. Regrets.

Best advice, Before/during and after take lots of pictures.

Creighton


    

[VegasVic]

Ok,
Let me know what I have missed or I'm sure others will chine in. Pretty sure you are missing the entire coin mech. Does that imprint line up with where you would insert a Coin? Never have had your exact model so going on general procedures here.

LOL! No, you haven't missed anything. You're just seeing it wrong. That is the back side of the coin door. The coin mech is inside the door, but attached to the big door.

In this pic, the curious rectangle is to the left of the coin return.

[Creighton]

Second picture helps. Glad the coin mech is on the unit.
Creighton

[Pixel]

I'm not sure what the spot is on your coin door, but I don't see a label. Cavalier's often have a label on the inside of the coin door that gives model number, serial number, manufacture date, etc. It repeats info on the ID tag on the left side of the machine exterior.