Drinks in a Vending Machine that is turned on & off and best ways to save power?

[kdog]

Hi,

so I've read that a full Vending fridge in one way to reduce the amount of energy being used.  My issue is what happens to drinks in the Vending machine when it is turned on and off.  I don't want to leave the machine on constantly,as it is still going to be expensive to run 24/7, plus I still need to get the electrical system looked at.  Plus it cools down drinks really quickly.

Also, do drinks that are refrigerated, return to room temp, refrigerated again, room temp again etc loose carbonation or taste different, especially in glass bottles.  I've never had to deal with this issue much as once a drink goes in the fridge, it only comes out to drink.

[ajf5577]

Also, do drinks that are refrigerated, return to room temp, refrigerated again, room temp again etc loose carbonation or taste different, especially in glass bottles.  I've never had to deal with this issue much as once a drink goes in the fridge, it only comes out to drink.

Yes, they will taste bad. Try it with whatever you drink, soda, beer, etc.
if you let them cool, then warm up, then cool, Beer will “skunk” and soda pop will change in taste.

[SIGNGUY]

Consider the extra cost if any and expense of having a vintage machine. or if you take the time and replace the insulation and gaskets and make sure it has a nice tight seal, clean up the cooling unit and condenser coils, it shouldn't cost you much more than any other appliance to run..

[cohammer]

That’s always the best to have electrical updated or looked at and possibly replace before using a vending machine. The drinks will taste bad after cooling and then warm up . I ran my c72 for years and my v23 but never paid much attention to bill when not used .

[kdog]

That’s always the best to have electrical updated or looked at and possibly replace before using a vending machine. The drinks will taste bad after cooling and then warm up . I ran my c72 for years and my v23 but never paid much attention to bill when not used .

I am trying to do exactly, but its harder to do in Australia than it is the the states, and more expensive.

[kdog]

So as part of a Sate Government program, Public Libraries here all have a couple of Electricity auditing kits so we can determine ways to save power.

The 3 things I am going to use out of it to test out my machine is the POwer-Mate (Electricity usage meter) to see how much power it uses per hours/quarter/year after I enter in the kW/h from my power bill.  Also going to use the infrared and spirit thermometer to see what the temp inside is.

Have barely used it for an hour (need 24 hours to get an accurate read through several on off cycles), but so far it says it might cost between $150 to $200 per quarter ($600-800 per year) , but the fridge was still cooling down.

Will be interesting to see.  I'm sure if I didn't use a normal fridge, my power bill would be down a lot per quarter, but I know these old fridges use waaaaaay more power.  No way I will run this 24/7.  Thing is, If I set aside $2.40 per day, should more than cover the extra power needed per year.  At 80 cents per bottle, I'll have to drink 3 bottles a day  

($800 divided by 365 is $2.20 per day)

You honestly don't think $2 a day really matters, until you think about it over the course of a year.  Worth it to have a working Coke Machine though.

Oh, its below $600 per year now on the yearly estimate after almost  an hour of running.

EDIT:  After 2 hours exactly, it has used 9.92 cents.  That means $1.1904 per day , $108.63 per quarter.  About $434.50 per year.  Honestly, its kind of scary seeing what a fridge can draw.  Bring back the old ice box I say, and salt everything

EDIT 2 : After 3 hours, 14.16 cents. $1.1328 per day. Quarterly estimate $103.33. Yearly Estimate $413.59

After 4 hours, 18.18 cents. $1.0908 per day. Quarterly estimate $99.57. Yearly Estimate $398.25

EDIT 3: After 5 hours, 21.83 cents. $1.04784 per day. Quarterly estimate $95.66. Yearly Estimate $382.81

After 6 hours, 26.24 cents. $1.0496 per day. Quarterly estimate $94.55. Yearly Estimate $378.23

[flippa]

Is it full of products or empty?

A full machine will not be cycling as quickly as an empty one.  The product will greatly help with maintaining the internal temperature.  

I would be interested to see how much the running cost would decrease if you kept your machine full.

[kdog]

Right now it is empty by design.  After 15 hours, was down to $1.01 an hour, under $93 per quarter, about $366 a year.  Will run it full later this week once I do some more cleaning.

[MoonDawg]

       in addition to what flippa is saying, your machine will have to work harder (stay on longer) each morning
because you allowed the bottles to return to room temperature overnight.

[kdog]

I won't be switching it off at night.  I can budget for 1 to 2 dollars a day running cost