16 replies to this topic

[jnsturze123]

i recently took bought a vending machine that was carrying 20 oz bottles. i dont have an account nor do i want to go that route but wanted to find out:

can i use enough shims in my 501E that i can use 16.9 oz plastic bottles instead of 20oz bottles? I tried searching and could only find sporatic answers. Any help would be appreciated.

Basically i am wondering...

1. how many shims do i need for narrow slots to go from 20 to 16.9
2. how many shims do i need for 2 bay slots to go from 20 to 16.9
3. do i need to worry about replacing cams? ( i thought i read that somewhere)

Thanks for your help! i really appreciate it.

[AZVendor]

Your machine can certainly vend all 16.9 oz bottles if you wish. There are varying setups specific to each package size and shape. If you can post the specific products you are going to use, I can tell you what parts you will need. I can tell you that each narrow column will need a new side shim, and at least one rod and spring assy per column. The wide column will need more side shims. All of this depends on the products you want and where they will be in the machine. I have these parts in stock if you need them.

[jnsturze123]

Great. so here is the breakdown
rows 1-4 are the following 16.9 oz bottles
1. sprite
2. dr Pepper
3. diet dr pepper
4. coke
5. Diet coke
6. wide column i have diet coke
7&8 are already set up with Dew and Pepsi

[AZVendor]

In a Dixie Narco 501E, your wide column should be number 1 and the machine should have 9 total columns. If so, is this correct: your wide column will have 16.9 Diet Coke, cols 2 - 6 will be 16.9 Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Diet Dr. Pepper, Coke, another Diet Coke? and then cols 8 and 9 are Mtn. Dew and Pepsi. Are the Dew and Pepsi 16.9 oz or 20 oz? If this is not correct please explain it to me and I will then know what you need.

[jnsturze123]

you are correct,

column 1 is the wide column with diet coke (wide) 16.9oz
column 2 is diet coke (narrow - just another column for diet coke) 16.9oz
column 3 is coke (narrow) 16.9oz
Column 4 is diet dr pepper (narrow) 16.9oz
Column 5 is empty for now(narrow)
column 6 is mtn dew (narrow) 24 oz
column 7 is pepsi (Narrow) 24 oz
column 8 is sprite (narrow) 16.9oz
column 9 is empty for now.(narrow) 16.9oz

[AZVendor]

The wide column of 16.9 Diet Coke needs 4 tall waffle shims - 2 ea side, 6 short waffle shims - 3 ea side, motor cam on #3 and rear spacer on #23.
Narrow Diet Coke, Coke, Sprite need a bottle shim and a rod/spring assy in each column, motor cam on #3 and rear spacer on #23.
Narrow Dr. Pepper, Diet Dr. Pepper with angled bottle need a bottle shim, rod/spring assy. and rear bottle neck guide in each column, motor cam on #2 and rear spacer on #23.
Narrow 24 oz Pepsi and Mtn. Dew use no shims, motor cam set to #4 and rear spacer on #1, bottles will be only one deep. (I think you already have these set up?).

Once you decide what will be in the empty cols let me know and I can give you the setup for them.

Please let me know if you would like me to sell you the needed parts and I can let you know what the prices are.

Thank you.

[jnsturze123]

ive decided i will probably put in dasani water in the open column. just for learning, why does the wide column require tall shims and short shims?

i would like to buy the needed parts from you, that would be great. thanks for the help so far.

[AZVendor]

The shim sizes are dictated by the factory as a result of their product testing. You could probably get by with only using tall waffle shims, but the shorter ones will allow a shimming effect when the bottles are above the oscillator bar, and then provide less shimming and more room for the bottle to vend when it's inside the oscillator bar area. To do Dasani 20 oz in a narrow column you will need one bottle shim. It appears you are going to use column 9 set up for another 16.9 bottle, correct?

[jnsturze123]

for now until i can find a good drink for that i will probably just hold off and just get everything now. what would you recommend in total that i need to get to make these work?

[AZVendor]

I need to know the size of shims currently in the wide column now. The shims you probably have now are 3/32" thick, might be solid or waffled plastic. How tall are they and how many do you have? Your columns of 24 oz. bottles should have no metal shims on the sides, but the other cols would already have the bottle shims if they were set up for 20 oz. bottles. The bottle shim is metal and located on the right side of a narrow column. It just slides down the right side wall to sit next to the rotor. It will have a narrow lip on the bottom to hold the 2nd bottle in place. Please measure the width of the lip so I can verify they are the correct shims and that all have the same size lip. You might already have a couple of loose ones that have been removed from the Pepsi and Mtn Dew cols. How many of this shim do you already have?

Will you need any flavor strips for your selection buttons?

[jnsturze123]

so i went and got pictures that hopefully will answer your questions.

in the wide column there were 2 shims (1 on each side of the column) they are black and are fairly thin (about the size of a quarter) ive attached a link to see the shim and the length...
http://johnsturzeneg...erfly.com/11886

i only have 2 of those types of shims.

As far as the 24oz bottles i dont have any shims on the sides and you are correct in the other columns already have bottle shims on the right side.i forgot to measure the shim but if memory serves me correct they are about 3/8" each one.

i will need flavor strips for the diet Dr pepper.

i will get back to you with the measurements of the shims and the number of each i have. thanks again for the help.

[AZVendor]

Based on you pictures, the black shims you showed are 2 of the 3/32" short shims you will need. You will still need 4 more of the short shim and 4 of the tall 3/32" shims. Your metal shims in the narrow columns should be for bottles already as you said there were 20 oz bottles in the machine before you got it. Send me the width of the lip and I'll measure the two sizes in my parts room to confirm whether your metal shims are correct. Will you only need one Diet Dr. Pepper bottle label?

[jnsturze123]

each narrow column has a metal shim that is 1/4" wide, even the mt dew and dr pepper (which i assume is hould take out) i took a couple pics to sort of show you the shim.

http://johnsturzeneg...erfly.com/11890 is the basic picture
http://johnsturzeneg...com/11890#11889 here you can see the width which is basically 1/4"

Also, i dont know if this makes a difference or even if it is the same thing but i said it was a 501E, the part# shows it is a DN501E. does that matter? also , i have decided i want to put dasani water into the empty narrow slot (16.9 oz bottles) and would need whatever it is for that as well.

Since putting in the dasani, i will want the Diet Dr pepper label, Dasani, an A&W label (for another vending machine) and a Strawberry lemonade label if you have one.

Thanks for the help. let me know next steps.

[AZVendor]

Yes those are the correct shims for bottles and you did say it is a 501E which does matter. Are the A&W and Strawberry lemonade labels for cans or bottles? I'm not sure if I have the Lemonade label in Strawberry flavor. So here is my understanding:

Col. 1 - 16.9 Diet Coke
Col. 2 - 16.9 Diet Coke
Col. 3 - 16.9 Coke
Col. 4 - 16.9 Diet Dr. Pepper
Col. 5 - 16.9 Dr. Pepper
Col. 6 - 24 oz Pepsi already set up
Col. 7 - 24 oz Mtn. Dew already set up
Col. 8 - 16.9 Sprite
Col. 9 - now to be 16.9 Dasani

A word about water in general and 16.9 Dasani in particular. The problem with water bottles is that many of them are made of soft plastic. When a water bottle gets cold, it shrinks in volumn and the bottle naturally gets softer. If the bottles you use are soft when you buy them warm, then they will get softer in the machine, squish down and jam the column. You can get some regional waters from Nestle under the name of Arrowhead, Zephyrhills, Poland Springs, etc. that are available in a ribbed bottle that stays stiff in a machine. Dasani comes in packages intended for retail and for vending. If it is for vending, the bottles are charged with nitrogen to make them hard when warm and keeping them hard when cold. If the Dasani you want to use is soft on the shelf, then you can't use it in your machine. Dasani from Coke and Aquafina from Pepsi are the only ones you might find injected with nitrogen. This won't be mentioned on the label, you can only tell by the feel of the bottle firmness.

Let me know about the label details.

[jnsturze123]

The A&W and strawberry lemonade are for 12 oz cans.

you are correct on what is in each one of the columns, down to the column, size and type of bottle in each.

My apologies, here is the picture i took that gave the model# and serial# for the machine. it is a DN501E

http://johnsturzeneg...erfly.com/11891

The Dasani Water bottles i have must be the right ones because they are hard and firm in warm weather, so i am guessing they are filled with nitrogen. i did not know that. thanks for the heads up.

[AZVendor]

Please send me your name and address and I can get the parts shipped to you. Here are the prices:

4 tall 3/32" plastic shims @5.66 ea = 22.64
4 short 3/32" shims @5.66 ea = 25.64
6 rod/spring assemblies @9.97 ea = 59.82
4 Flavor strips @ .45 ea = 1.80
Total parts = 106.90 plus shipping

[jnsturze123]

so i sent you a message, but i dont need any metal shims because the 1/4" in the narrow columns should work fine correct? Thanks again for all your help. Last quick question, for the wide column, i have 2 of the 3/32 short shims. you suggested that i get 4 more of the short and 4 of the tall. any particular way of using them in the machine? i assume 5 shims on the left and 5 shims on the right is it on the left side of the wide column (3 short, then 2 tall) then on the right side (2 tall, then 3 short?)