Question about Vending Machines

Before I really dive into finding and rebuilding one of these...


Has anyone done any research on whether we can use the vintage 50/60s Coke/Pepsi glass bottle vending machines to dispense beer bottles?

All I seem to be able to find of them online is they did dispense 12oz bottles. But no size of said bottles.



Thoughts?

JayInJersey said:

Before I really dive into finding and rebuilding one of these...


Has anyone done any research on whether we can use the vintage 50/60s Coke/Pepsi glass bottle vending machines to dispense beer bottles?

All I seem to be able to find of them online is they did dispense 12oz bottles. But no size of said bottles.



Thoughts?

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I don't know if they would be able to take a beer bottle. I am guessing that they can't to prevent someone from trying. How would you stop Minors from buying beer from a machine? I know they would be a nice conversation piece for a basement bar but I have no idea if the will take a beer bottle.

I'm not seeing any pictures so it's hard to guess which machine you're talking about.

Some machines were adjustable with a spacer for different sized bottles.

I have a Dixie-Narco 440 that can vend cans and can be retrofitted to vend plastic bottles.

Keep in mind that while those soda machines were very well made, their electricity usage is pretty heavy, much more than a modern fridge.

Try to figure out which model (and model number) you're wanting, and we can help from there.

M_C

Looking at the Vendo 81 or 56...or perhaps the Cavalier 72 or 96.


As for stopping minors...well in the 50s and 60s that was done by the parents



After writing this I found a source that said most of the 50/60's machines (with the exception of the Vendo 39) will do "long necks".
BARSandBOOTHS.com also said they update the refidge system in them when they refirb them.

I'm looking at around $8k if I want one...sleep but the style is impressive

JayInJersey said:

As for stopping minors...well in the 50s and 60s that was done by the parents

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I think that is wishful thinking today. I grew up during the late 50's the early 60's. If I got into a fight, the worst that would happen was I would come home beaten up. Today, 11 and 12 year olds become involved in gun fights on the street. The age of innocence is over.

I have a Vendorlator VF90B-C -Pepsi Machine (link and ) It holds and dispenses all our commercial beers (which we don't have much anymore YEA HOMEBREW)

It holds but won't dispense the larger bottles though, we do keep them in there to keep them cold though. :fro:

If I may ask...how many does it hold in each "row"?

hummmmm......a 12 pack will fill over one row? maybe 1 3/4 of a row I can look tonight if you like.

here is a link to one on ebay with a pic of the inside

The pull-through's are always nice. The Vendo 56 & 81 are in the Top 10 as you saw. I would never pay 8k for a soda machine, that's just nuts.

My dad had a Vendo 44 that he bought new from the Coke distributor, he paid I think $230 for it in the 50's, forward to 1990, one guy offered him $2,600 and my dad took it. It was in top shape, too.

Coke had older pale blue machines that would distribute coke from Cornelius. You'd put in 10cents (or whatever the price was), select a flavor, it would dispense a cup and fill it from a corny. Those would be awesome to have (for the obvious capability with Corny's!)

M_C

JayInJersey said:

If I may ask...how many does it hold in each "row"?

Click to expand...

stephm said:

hummmmm......a 12 pack will fill over one row? maybe 1 3/4 of a row I can look tonight if you like.

here is a link to one on ebay with a pic of the inside

Click to expand...

Really 8 bottles to a row? I seem to remember as a kid filling the RC machine at my dad and uncles hardware store and I am almost certain that each row held twelve of the 16oz returnable soda bottles. But that old RC machine might have been wider than the pepsi machine in the link. Memory is a funny thing.

Edit: FWIW I always wanted one of those chest style vending machines that had the bottles hanging by the lip at the top where a wing capper grabs the bottle. I think for bottle conditioned beer that would be better than having the bottles on their side rolling down the track.

Sawdustguy said:

JayInJersey said:

...As for stopping minors...well in the 50s and 60s that was done by the parents ...

Click to expand...

I think that is wishful thinking today. I grew up during the late 50's the early 60's. If I got into a fight, the worst that would happen was I would come home beaten up. Today, 11 and 12 year olds become involved in gun fights on the street. The age of innocence is over.

Click to expand...

Tell me about it, when I was a kid in fourth grade the teacher was having a problem with one of the old film strip projectors and needed a screwdriver. I open the screwdriver blade of my trusty cub scout knife and handed it to him and when he was finished he handed it back. Today I'd probably be suspended from school for a week.

Did you do any actually googling? I typed in Antique Beer Vending Machines. And found mention in a lot of coke or pepsi machine ads about using beer. And even pictures.



From here for example http://www.retroantiques.com.au/VendingMachines/Index.html

That's the inside of our Pepsi machine!

stephm said:

That's the inside of our Pepsi machine!

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Yup. Isn't that the question? Can a soda vending machine be used to serve beer in? The answer is yes.

Plus I have vague recollections of beer vending machines in movies from the 50's.

Looks like they're common in the rest of the world.



This is a spanish brewery.

Mine holds beer too



Holds about 2 1/2 cases in the racks. NOT ALL Bottles fit. I have problems sometimes with Sierra Nevada bottles, Grolsch and Sprecher. Basically the diameter of the bottle. Haven't had a problem with length.

My buddy has a Vendo 90 Coke machine probably from the early 60's, and it has an adjustable shelf system that allows for taller bottles to fit properly. We've put long necks in it before. It also is one heavy mofo, i bet it weighs 500lbs!

Spam?

Yep, it was spam... post removed, nothing to see here, folks. Show's ovah!

Sawdustguy said:

I am guessing that they can't to prevent someone from trying. How would you stop Minors from buying beer from a machine?

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I suppose, and I am just guessing here, that vendors just wouldn't stock beer in said machines.

I would love a vending machine to distribute my beers, though since I have switched to kegging, less so. The only problem that I can see, which is a big one, is that since most homebrewers bottle condition their beers, laying the bottle on its side for a prolonged period of time and then the dispensing action would cause the sediment to get pushed back into solution. Chunky beers are not fun.

DrunkleJon said:

I would love a vending machine to distribute my beers, though since I have switched to kegging, less so. The only problem that I can see, which is a big one, is that since most homebrewers bottle condition their beers, laying the bottle on its side for a prolonged period of time and then the dispensing action would cause the sediment to get pushed back into solution. Chunky beers are not fun.

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Knox gelatin in the secondary should take care of that for you.

MC

I have an old Pepsi machine like the one pictured above. When we put a coin in we hear a click and that's it. The bottles no longer pull out. Any advice?

Jankaygreen said:

I have an old Pepsi machine like the one pictured above. When we put a coin in we hear a click and that's it. The bottles no longer pull out. Any advice?

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Usually that's because the coin is not recognized, or sometimes the change stack is empty. I don't know which machine you have. Post the Brand + Model.

MC