15 replies to this topic

[For The Kids Vending]

I've read elsewhere that there used to be or still is brands of water that can fit in a can only vending machine, either water in a can or in a smaller bottle. Does any of you have any experience with this? I want to target medium sized businesses as well (yes I know profits will be small, won't be worth my time, but a mix of business sizes might not be bad for just starting out) and the cheapest quality combo vending machines don't do bottled water. I just want to know if it is a possibility.

If not I may have to stick with a second hand antares or a larger combo because it has a bottle slot. I don't want to spend more than $1200-$1300 (hopefully less) on a machine that may only do $200 a month. I also want to use used full size machines that may be can only. I would really like all my machines to be able to do bottled water because it is so popular right now.

[danl]

I've heard that Dasani and Deja Blue sell water in cans but have never seen them in the discount stores where I buy my products. I've also heard that you can stock machines that normally hold 12 oz cans with bottled water. I think the size is 16.9 oz but don't quote me on that. Dasani was specifically mentioned as the best candidate to be used in can machines because it supposedly has a harder plastic shell than other bottled waters. One problem with stocking bottled water in machines that normally dispense cans is that you can't stock the bottles as high as in the columns as you can with cans. I've found that to be true with the few machines that I sell bottled water from.

[oldcity]

I've heard that Dasani and Deja Blue sell water in cans but have never seen them in the discount stores where I buy my products. I've also heard that you can stock machines that normally hold 12 oz cans with bottled water. I think the size is 16.9 oz but don't quote me on that. Dasani was specifically mentioned as the best candidate to be used in can machines because it supposedly has a harder plastic shell than other bottled waters. One problem with stocking bottled water in machines that normally dispense cans is that you can't stock the bottles as high as in the columns as you can with cans. I've found that to be true with the few machines that I sell bottled water from.

in order to solve the problem of bottled water getting jammed due to soft plastic shell try to crack open the lid just a bit and then tighten it back. don't break the seal all the way. it might help you stock few more bottles in the machine.
hope this helps.

[BVI]

in order to solve the problem of bottled water getting jammed due to soft plastic shell try to crack open the lid just a bit and then tighten it back. don't break the seal all the way. it might help you stock few more bottles in the machine.
hope this helps.

I don't understand why you would do such a thing. You want the plastic bottle to be hard - like a soda bottle - so that it won't jam. Coke puffs up their Dasani bottles with nitrogen just for that reason - to make them harder. Try opening a bottle of Dasani sometime and you'll see what I mean... you will hear a pffft, just like with a bottle of soda.

And for that reason, I suggest vending Dasani only.

I just don't think it's a good idea to go breaking seals on bottled water. Sorry.

[oldcity]

I don't understand why you would do such a thing. You want the plastic bottle to be hard - like a soda bottle - so that it won't jam. Coke puffs up their Dasani bottles with nitrogen just for that reason - to make them harder. Try opening a bottle of Dasani sometime and you'll see what I mean... you will hear a pffft, just like with a bottle of soda.

And for that reason, I suggest vending Dasani only.

I just don't think it's a good idea to go breaking seals on bottled water. Sorry.

i didn't mean to do that for the Dasani bottles but for the other ones like Zephrills and Nestle.
i'd love to vend only dasany but they're more expensive than the others.

[BVI]

i didn't mean to do that for the Dasani bottles but for the other ones like Zephrills and Nestle.
i'd love to vend only dasany but they're more expensive than the others.

Thanks for clarifying... yeah, I finally had to break from buying Deer Park from Sam's Club (along with most other things, even though they are cheaper) just because it got to be too much to put on my truck all at one time. Just a lot easier to buy all of that directly from Coke and Pepsi. Saves me a lot of time and the gas from running over there and back. But I like the fact that I can stack a whole case of Dasani in a single column and not jam anything, which I could not do with Deer Park.

[oldcity]

Thanks for clarifying... yeah, I finally had to break from buying Deer Park from Sam's Club (along with most other things, even though they are cheaper) just because it got to be too much to put on my truck all at one time. Just a lot easier to buy all of that directly from Coke and Pepsi. Saves me a lot of time and the gas from running over there and back. But I like the fact that I can stack a whole case of Dasani in a single column and not jam anything, which I could not do with Deer Park.

how many dasani bottles are you able to stack up in a machine without jamming???

[bcron]

I have Dixie Narco 501Ts that I was told I had to convert to put bottles in. Somebody on this site said that you didn't have to convert the single columns for bottled water, but you had to be picky on the type of water.

I decided to try one in a machine. I use Aquafina 16.9 oz. (one of the recommended brands for botle hardness.) I started out stacking half of the stack and then kept adding as I got no complaints of jams. Now I stack them nearly full. The only adjustments I had to make were to move the rear "wall" forward to the size of the bottle and change the cam setting to single deep setting from 3 deep setting that it was on for cans.

Also it was advised that you alternate the bottles when you load them....neck facing the back, neck facing front, neck facing back, etc as you stacked them to reduce chances of problems. That is what I have done and have been selling water well and have received no complaints of misvends.

[danl]

bcron - I had completely forgotten about the alternate stacking you mentioned. I had read about it sometime ago and hadn't thought about it until you mentioned it. I'm going to try it in my machines to see if I can get the stack higher. Thanks for mentioning it.

[BVI]

how many dasani bottles are you able to stack up in a machine without jamming???

An entire case of 24. Dasani very rarely jams.

[BVI]

Also it was advised that you alternate the bottles when you load them....neck facing the back, neck facing front, neck facing back, etc as you stacked them to reduce chances of problems. That is what I have done and have been selling water well and have received no complaints of misvends.

I've never tried that, but I think I will. Seems that it would keep the bottles from tipping forward like they do if you stack them neck-forward.

[clvending]

It might be worth just to switch to Dasani. I use Arrowhead that I buy at Sam's. I have tried the alternate method. I had a couple of them get jammed. I stack 10 high in DN 368. Max it holds is 17. I have also read that some bottlers are changing their bottle design to be more like cans.

Lee

[bcron]

<<An entire case of 24. Dasani very rarely jams.>>

In what slot are you getting an entire case in? I am in a single-wide slot, only one deep and can only get about 15-18 or so in. How can you get 24 in? Is it a double-wide slot? And won't they jam as they roll down?

[BVI]

<<An entire case of 24. Dasani very rarely jams.>>

In what slot are you getting an entire case in? I am in a single-wide slot, only one deep and can only get about 15-18 or so in. How can you get 24 in? Is it a double-wide slot? And won't they jam as they roll down?

For the most part, I only use USI CB500 drink machines and Royal 650 branded machines (3rd party). Both utilize the same type of column design, which is generally either 5 columns in the front and 5 in the back, or 6 in the front and 6 in the back. Each column is wide enough to easily accommodate 24 bottles.

On the Royals, I have found it is best to put them in the front columns because if you put them in the back, sometimes the neck drops in a way that it hits the funnel near the top (in the back of the machine) and stays there without dropping down. If you stack in the front, this does not happen. Same thing with Powerade.

Some don't like this type of column because if what you stock in the back sells faster than what you stocked in the front, you have to remove part of what you stocked in the front column to load the back. However, for some reason, these are easier for me to work with since I got used to using them when I started buying my USIs. And, the Royals perform very well for me, so I decided to just stick with what I'm used to.

[coinvestor]

For the most part, I only use USI CB500 drink machines and Royal 650 branded machines (3rd party). Both utilize the same type of column design, which is generally either 5 columns in the front and 5 in the back, or 6 in the front and 6 in the back. Each column is wide enough to easily accommodate 24 bottles.

On the Royals, I have found it is best to put them in the front columns because if you put them in the back, sometimes the neck drops in a way that it hits the funnel near the top (in the back of the machine) and stays there without dropping down. If you stack in the front, this does not happen. Same thing with Powerade.

Some don't like this type of column because if what you stock in the back sells faster than what you stocked in the front, you have to remove part of what you stocked in the front column to load the back. However, for some reason, these are easier for me to work with since I got used to using them when I started buying my USIs. And, the Royals perform very well for me, so I decided to just stick with what I'm used to.

BVI,
The Royal 650 and the CB500 look like very simular machines. I was thinking of using the 650's instead of CB500's because they are cheaper and have larger capacity. Are they about the same to load and switch back and forth to cans and bottles?

Thanks

JD

[BVI]

BVI,
The Royal 650 and the CB500 look like very simular machines. I was thinking of using the 650's instead of CB500's because they are cheaper and have larger capacity. Are they about the same to load and switch back and forth to cans and bottles?

Thanks

JD

No. As far as the loading goes, they are pretty much the same, but the programming is altogether different. USI is by far easier, without question, but once you learn the 650s, they're not hard, they just take some getting used to.