Drinks Machines

riumplus · 24 September 2016 09:56

I’ve spent some time lately doing some routine maintenance on these machines - cleaning the internals including the condenser fins & rubber seals, polishing the slides, wiping down and sterilising some of the internals that collect gunk, etc. I’ve also done a bunch of things to try and improve their reliability so they’re more likely to dispense correct change. In particular, the float amount in both machines has been dropped from 80% to 40% - because these machines are frequently restocked we don’t need much change in them, and halving the weight on the dispensing mechanism lets them move much easier. I can’t recall a single time in recent history when either of these machines had the “correct change only” light lit when it was actually due to a lack of float coins and not another fault, so hopefully this change will go totally unnoticed.

(There’s still plenty coins left for change)

In addition, the coin return chutes (which are made of old, degrading, now-bumpy-from-wear plastic) were cleaned, polished with steel wool & very lightly lubricated with silicone. This should help get rid of the fault where coins get stuck on the coin return chute and they don’t slide down do the change hole. A future To-Do is to replace them with 3D printed parts that have a deeper slope. Until then, if the machine doesn’t give correct change you can try giving it a small bump (not a violent whack) on the side of the machine near the change hole to knock any stuck coins loose.

(one freshly polished coin return chute!)

Finally, yes I’m aware that the import drinks machine is running low of flavours. I’ve tried more than once to buy more (and each time I tried to buy the store’s entire stockpile), only to be told they either won’t ship them to QLD or their online inventory counter is wrong & they don’t actually have any in stock. One store has told me they’ll have more in stock in a week, so for now these machines will just have to be a little empty. This machine is a bit of an experiment anyway and the flavours offered are strictly on a “while stocks last” basis. So if you’ve fallen in love with one of them, get in quick before it’s all gone!

riumplus · 5 October 2016 10:43

Consumers of canned drinks, rejoice - the international machine has been restocked! All lines have been filled, and this machine is now fully armed and operational. I’ve documented some of the hassles in our Slack channel #drinksmachines for anyone curious about the saga of soft drinks, because getting a hold of them has been a real doosey this time. But skipping right to the goods… Strawberry Fanta has made a comeback!

(now with 20% more berry per straw)

Also, we have a new twist on an old flavour… Grape Fanta! Welch’s is unobtainium all across Australia right now, so I thought it was a chance to try something new.

(I’m slowly raisin the bar. Well, except for when I make bad puns like that one)

As always, these flavours are strictly on a while-stocks-last basis, so enjoy them while we’ve got 'em because I already have something new lined up when we run out of one of the imported flavours. And that’s not all - if these machines weren’t already fruity enough for you, Raspberry has made a return to the Cold Drinks machine. Because why not have so many berry and small fruit flavours on offer at once!

The current lineup for both machines are as follows:

Cold Drinks local brews ($2):
-Coca-Cola
-Diet Lemon
-Raspberry
-Sprite
-Random
-Coke Zero
-Pasito
-Water 600mL

Vigo’s imported emporium ($2.40):
-A&W Root Beer
-Dr Pepper
-Grape Fanta
-Mother Energy Drink
-Strawberry Fanta
-Canada Dry Ginger Ale

riumplus · 12 October 2016 13:53

If you visited the Hackerspace between last weekend and Tuesday afternoon, you might’ve heard the Cold Drinks machine making a horrible noise. The cause turned out to be the condenser fan vibrating against the compressor. With big thanks to Nikki, this has been fixed - and it might just be the placebo effect talking here, but my opinion is that this machine is now quieter than I’ve ever heard it! Nikki also redid all the electrical connections to the fan/compressor too, cause they were looking rather old and corroded. We also noticed that the condenser (aka the hot side radiator) is very, very clogged with dust - cleaning this out is definitely on my ToDo list.

(the motor in question, removed from the vending machine, all cleaned/dusted, and a temporary plug fitted for testing purposes. Note to future maintenance people - the fan blades are backwards in this image; the bumpy ridges should go towards the motor)

(in case it’s ever relevant in the future, because it’s almost impossible to see it while it’s installed inside the machine, here’s the motor specs)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled sugar.

riumplus · 19 October 2016 05:48

I mentioned in the previous post that the condensers in these machines were rather clogged with dust. A clogged condenser means the machine has to run at a higher duty cycle. This means it uses more electricity & costs us more money, creates more noise, puts more wear & stress on the internal components, and doesn’t chill the cans as effectively or as quickly. I spent this Tuesday cleaning out the radiators on these machines with a combination of a brush, a broom, a skewer, some pliers, and a very careful/light application of some compressed air. I also straightened the bent radiator fins - which really doesn’t impact the condenser’s effectiveness very much, only a tiny fraction of a single percent, but I figured I’d do it while I was in there. Here’s some before/after photos to show how badly this job needed doing:

(Cold Drinks machine condenser before. Yes some of the rows are completely blocked)

(Cold Drinks machine condenser after. Muuuuuuch better. Its air resistance & resulting airflow through it is around 3x - 4x better than it was before!)

(Vigo Vending machine condenser before. Not as bad as the other one, but still needing a clean)

(Vigo Vending machine condenser after. Maybe 2x better resistance/airflow by my rough guess)

riumplus · 15 November 2016 05:26

I’ve been a busy bee the past few weeks. I’ve done a few more things to hopefully improve the energy efficiency of our drinks machines even more. A notably big one is adding a second layer of insulating bubble foil to the vending flaps - these were still getting covered in condensation which means cold is leaking out of the machines & it’s also a potential health hazard. Hopefully two layers should be good enough for us!

(the Cold Drinks machine’s vending flap - now with twice as much insulation!)

(Vigo’s vending flap is now twice as reflective)

Also, we have new flavours in the machines! In the local machine, Fanta has made a comeback along with Kirks Ginger Ale. In the import machine, Canada Dry Ginger Ale is all gone and in its place, we finally have… Cherry Coke! I’ve been trying to get a hold of some for a reasonable price for months and finally obtained some! We’re almost out of Dr Pepper too, and I have another flavour all lined up ready for that position… But I’ll only reveal it once it’s in the machine. (note to other future people who may buy soft drinks - never buy lemonade or Sprite. It doesn’t sell here, and I have to fight the expiry date on the cans - yes they go that slowly)

Also also, just so you know, this is how many cans I put in the machines last week. Some weeks we go through a lot of cans.

(So many cans)

Finally, the random line has something… coconut in it.

(Delicious coconut water - now in can form!)

riumplus · 1 December 2016 06:08

Ahoy there, hackers! I’ll keep this one short & simple. Our supplies of Dr Pepper have been exhausted, so the import drinks machine has a new flavour… Pineapple Fanta! Bet you didn’t even know that was actually a thing.

(Filled with pineapple-y goodness)

Additionally, because we were running low in the store room I’ve had to buy more drinks for us. Rather than show you a nice, neat line of drinks at the space I thought I’d show you what it’s like to actually buy this many drinks. I can generally stack a maximum of around 300 cans in a shopping trolley before I hit the volume limit, which is good because that weighs around 120kg and pushing a 120kg shopping trolley takes a lot of effort to keep it under control. You can see how this starts approaching the hard-limit of economies of scale where I can’t just “grab one more box while I’m at it”, buying more cans involves a whole second trip from the car, through the store, through the checkout counter and back to the car… And for what it’s worth, my small compact car maxes out at a little over 2 trolleys worth before I hit its maximum weight limit so beyond that I need to take a whole second drive. That’s also assuming I haven’t cleared out the shelves of that supermarket already, which I usually do with a just single trolley’s worth for Kirks drinks.

(Keeping control of a 120kg shopping trolley down the ramps is fuuuun!)

colby · 1 December 2016 23:06

MVP

riumplus · 17 December 2016 07:18

The machines have been rejecting coins lately, so I’ve given both machine’s mechanisms a clean. This should help make them behave a bit better.

Also, Mountain Dew has made a comeback! This means between both machines we now offer five different flavours that contain caffeine. Delicious, delicious caffeine for all that intense hacker concentration.

Finally, when I went to refill the change exchange today I noted that it was only at $37.20 when it’s supposed to be at $40 at all times. Meaning, someone’s been either taking money or “borrowing” from it. This is a reminder that we no longer replenish the change exchange from the vending machines, we only convert notes back into coins again. So if it runs low it will stay that way until the person who took extra money replenishes it, or someone else makes a donation to cover your naughty borrowing ways. If it runs low, there may not be enough coins left for future people to get change and we may just remove the change exchange entirely. So don’t take money or “borrow” from it unless you feel like ruining it for everyone.

The current lineup in both machines is as follows:

Local “Cold Drinks” machine:
-Coca-Cola
-Fanta
-Mountain Dew
-Solo/Lift
-Random
-Coke Zero
-Pasito
-Water 600mL

Imported Vigo machine:
-A&W Root Beer
-Pineapple Fanta
-Grape Fanta
-Mother Energy Drink
-Strawberry Fanta
-Cherry Coke

riumplus · 22 February 2017 11:30

It’s time for another shake-up of the International drinks machine. We’re running low on a few of our regular flavours so I’ve put a new one in there as a test… Appletiser! Originally from South Africa, this carbonated Apple juice has a sweet taste yet has no added sugar. Normally available here only in fancy glass bottles, I’ve managed to acquire some full-sized 375mL cans. There isn’t many cans of this, so get in quick!

(These cans of Appletiser also have a unique semi-matte texture to them, too)

Speaking of new flavours, if you’re feeling lucky you might get something… brewed in the random line.

(Brewed ginger beer makes for the best ginger beer)

riumplus · 11 March 2017 06:19

I’m still having trouble buying suitable imported drinks. Most of my suppliers are out of the stuff we usually get. That means it’s time for another new flavour!

Nexba Cola looks and tastes like an imported Mexican Cola, but it’s actually Australian Made & Owned. This sugar-free drink has only 11 calories per can and it uses Apple extract & Black Carrot Juice for its flavour, so it’s strong in its Cola flavour without being overly sweet. It’s proving to be more popular than I expected so who knows how long this one will stick around!

(Nothing artificial, everything delicious)

riumplus · 30 March 2017 14:05

I’ve been paying so much attention to the premium import drinks machine, it’s been a long time since I introduced a new flavour to the local drinks machine. Well I wanted a new replacement for Pasito so I went to a few different shops than usual, and making a comeback after many years of absence is… Lemon-Lime Solo! It tastes decidedly “green” - no really, if you imagined green as a flavour, this is pretty close.

(No relation to Han Solo. But if Han was having a soft drink, you can bet he would “drink first”)

The current lineup in both machines is as follows:

Local “Cold Drinks” machine:

Coca-Cola
Lemon-Lime Solo
Kirks Ginger Beer
Lift
Random
Coca-Cola Zero
Mountain Dew
600mL Water

Premium import “Vigo” machine:

A&W Root Beer
Appletiser
Dr Pepper
Mother Energy Drink
Nexba Cola
[blank]

riumplus · 2 June 2017 11:56

There was a bit of a jam in the Vigo drinks machine coin acceptor that I’ve cleared out. The culprit was someone inserting coins too quickly. A good rule to follow is never quicker than one coin per second, or if you’re not so good with guessing time just wait until you hear the coin finish clunking into place before inserting the next one.

(This coin accepting mechanism… has been jammed!)

It’s also time for another small shake-up of the flavours! I’ve had a request for an alternate diet soft drink, so since we have Nexba Cola in Vigo, Coke Zero has temporarily been replaced by Kirk’s Diet Creaming Soda. There isn’t much of this so get in quick while we have it; once it’s gone, there’s a small supply of Kirk’s Diet Lemon ready to come next.

Appletiser is gone from the Vigo machine & it’s been replaced by some old favourites… Cherry Coke and Strawberry Fanta. Enjoy!

riumplus · 25 October 2017 06:10

Another intermittent update on these machines!

It’s been working for a while but hasn’t been announced in this thread yet, but RFID payment via your HSBNE membership card is now available on both the local drinks and the important drinks machine! We’re still working on creating a super easy way to load money onto your card that doesn’t require a person to do it for you, but for now talk to @nogthree and he can sort you out.

More local drinks have been purchased. I’m having difficulty getting international drinks at a decent price, so my apologies for this machine running a bit low. I hope to have new international drinks on offer soon.

(mmm, sugary goodness)

I’ve been changing around the drinks on offer quite a bit. Most recently, Mountain Dew is back, as is Pasito! Also for a limited time, Vanilla Pepsi Max is on offer, just to keep things interesting.

Also, people are still stealing from the Change Exchange. This is another reminder that it’s for exchanging change only, not for borrowing or loaning, and it is most certainly not a take-a-dollar-leave-a-dollar style charity tray. If you take coins from it and don’t immediately put in the same amount of notes, you are stealing, and that ain’t cool, yo. In an effort to try and prevent this from happening, I’m going to start reporting on how much is stolen, and when. I have historical records of this too, but I’ve decided to only start posting the recent ones.

Between 8:30PM on Tuesday 17th of October and 4:30PM on Saturday 21st of October, $1 was stolen from the Change Exchange.

Finally the international machine’s offerings are a bit bare and I’m about to change it up so I won’t list its current options right now, but the local drinks machine options currently on offer are as follows:

Coke
Fanta
Mountain Dew
Pasito
Random
Vanilla Pepsi Max
Creaming Soda
600mL Water

riumplus · 27 November 2017 05:20

I’m still having difficulty acquiring imported soft drinks at a reasonable price (well I can get them for $3.50 a can, but given we currently sell them for $2.40 that’s not really feasible ). And my sources for 375ml cans of Mother have all dried up too. I’m not giving up though, and I still have some surprises planned. Nevertheless, I’ve changed things around and added new options - to both machines!

First up, a price drop! To make room for some newcomers in the international machine, Nexba Cola has been permanently shifted from the import machine to the local machine. This sugar-free, caffeine-free Cola is a favourite of some of the members, and now it’s only $2 a can. This is because I do my best to find the cheapest prices and then I pass the savings on to yoooooou!

But that’s not all that’s been happening in sugar-free land. Our small stock of Vanilla Pepsi Max has been depleted, so it’s time for another never-before-stocked flavour… Coke No Sugar! Even though it contains 0% sugar, this drink tastes incredibly close to actual Coca-Cola, way closer than Coke Zero, with almost none of that bitter after-taste that most artificially-sweetened drinks have. Coca-Cola Amatil have mentioned that they plan for this flavour to eventually completely replace Coke Zero, but until that happens I may alternate between Coke No Sugar and Coke Zero, depending on what people prefer.

(No Sugar > Zero Sugar)

But wait, there’s more! A second new flavour has appeared, this time in the international machine, and it’s… Coconut Water! Straight from Thailand and special for those who have been requesting healthier options, these cans of 100% coconut water have no added sugar other than the sweet, sweet taste of all-natural coconuts.

(No relation to the Stargate SG-1 character Chaka)

It’s also important for me to mention this right here - these cans of coconut water may have the usual style lever & push-hole on the top, but the cans are closer to actual cans than than normal drinks. They are much stronger, mostly because they are not made of Aluminium. Aside from the fact that you can stick magnets to them, this means you should not attempt to use them in the can crusher as you’ll break the crusher, and you should not put them into the aluminium can smelting bin but the regular recycling bin. In fact I’m going to say that a second time but bigger:

The Coconut Water cans are not made of Aluminium. Do not attempt to crush them in the can crusher or you’ll break the crusher. Do not put them in the smelting bin with the other cans or you’ll taint the metal.

The current drinks line-ups are as follows:

Local Cold Drinks:

Coca-Cola
Nexba Cola
Mountain Dew
Pasito
Random
Coke No Sugar
Creaming Soda
Water 600ml

Vigo’s Imported Emporium:

Cherry Coke
Dr Pepper
A&W Root Beer
Coconut Water
Strawberry Fanta

Redhatter · 13 January 2018 01:58

Okay, the former part I worked out before attempting to destroy the crusher. Basically I noticed it was taking more force than normal and stopped right there.

The latter … I (mis-)understood the bin for “cans”, not specifically aluminium cans. I do apologise for that, but didn’t know that fact until I stumbled on this very post. Your message is clear, and succinct, but misplaced: a message on the vending machine would fix that.

riumplus · 28 January 2018 13:06

At some point between around 11pm of Tuesday the 9th of January and 4pm of Tuesday the 23rd of January, someone helped themselves to some of the Cherry Coke that was in storage. Because this individual didn’t even open the box correctly, cans fell out of the floor and were badly dented. This individual then tried to re-pack the box (minus their taking), but because some of the cans were so misshapen, this could not be done properly. In fact these cans were so dented they cannot go in the vending machines (or even stand upright), so the effective cost to us is not just what was taken but the ones that can’t go in the machines as well. And before anyone asks, no it wasn’t a matter of someone wanting an alternative flavour (not that that would make this behaviour okay) - Cherry Coke was already in the import machine, with more than enough already in there that it was nowhere near running out.

(Photo taken the 9th of January - the Cherry Coke where it should be)

(Photo taken the 23rd of January - the Cherry Coke box has been opened, dented cans sitting in the top minus what was removed)

I can’t believe I have to actually say this, but I guess it needs to be said - don’t steal from the drinks machines, the change exchange or those sitting in storage. I do this not just as a service to members but also as a fundraiser. And it is incredibly demoralising for me to put in so much work sourcing, stocking & maintaining these machines to earn us some money only to have people outright disrespect them to the point of literally stealing from my efforts.

riumplus · 2 April 2018 11:34

It’s been a few months since my last update. Know what that means? NEW FLAVOURS TIME!

I’ve had trouble finding some of our old flavours so I’ve now got another supplier I’m dealing with, particularly for the international drinks. Since we were running low I’ve gone and stocked us up again.

(522 cans. Filled to the very top. The back seat & front passenger seat were both full too!)

First, the local machine. Nexba Cola is out, unfortunately likely for good, because I can’t find a good supply for it in can form. In its place is… Kirks Diet Lemon! Still a “low energy content” option, the tang of the lemon does a good job to hide the fact that it uses artificial sweetners. Our supplies of Creaming Soda have been exhausted too, so replacing that option we have Kirks Ginger Beer making a comeback! I do love me some ginger beer.

Now for Vigo’s Imported Emporium! Coconut Water is gone for now - this was one of the most controversial flavours we’ve ever had, with some people strongly loving it while others strongly hated it. Curious! Either way, in its place is the ol’ faithful Grape Fanta back again!

(You may remember this flavour from the recent broadway adaptation of the classic story, “Grape Expectations”)

That’s not all though. Because it’s been hard to find regular suppliers of multiple flavours, It’s been a while since Vigo has a completely full selection available. I’ve managed to remedy this, with once again a brand new flavour we’ve never had before. Please welcome… L&P!

(Lemon and Paeroa, together at last.)

Straight here from over the ditch in New Zealand, this tastes pretty close to its name - spiced lemon. Normally only available here at insane prices (seriously $4 a can isn’t uncommon), I’ve got a source for this option at a reasonable price. I’m still not sure how that works, but I think it involves black magic.

Finally, the member card swipe payment system is now at a point that it’s available to more users! That’s something that’s so complicated and an achievement important enough that it deserves its own thread. Check it out over here for details, including how you can add money to your member card and start using it straight away. Super big props to everyone involved in making that happen.

The current stock in both machines are as follows:

Local Cold Drinks:

Coca-Cola
Diet Lemon
Mountain Dew
Pasito
Random
Coke No Sugar
Ginger Beer
Water 600ml

Vigo’s Imported Emporium:

L & P
Cherry Coke
Dr Pepper
A&W Root Beer
Grape Fanta
Strawberry Fanta

riumplus · 14 May 2018 05:52

A curious thing happened a few weeks ago - the local Cold Drinks machine started playing playing up, entering random states of operation, wouldn’t always vend products, wouldn’t always accept coins (or would sometimes just eat them), etc. I pulled some things apart and you’ll never believe the cause… The solid metal frame to one of the dispensing mechanisms cracked. For real - snapped all the way through, in fact. This caused a can to get stuck, the mechanism to lock up, and then the mechanism lost its points of reference in its rotation. These machines are very dependant on everything running correctly all at once to operate, so this single fault caused a cascade of others throughout the machine as electricity found alernate routes through the relays. No wonder it was playing up!

(The can stuck in the broken mechanism)

(Inside of the vending machine, the vending motors & sensors all exposed - one of these things is not like the others…)

(That metal wasn’t very thin either. There’s a surprising amount of torque in these 110V motors!)

With the help of @Drew_Spriggs the broken parts of the mechanism have been swapped with an extra spare one that I ordered way back in 2013 when I was first repairing these machines. Looks like planning ahead paid off!

However, this is also a good time for me to clean and lubricate everything in both machine. There was a bit of friction in the mechanism of the failed line, not enough that I think it solely caused the failure but it definitely contributed to it. I don’t think I’ve ever done a full service of everything before, so now’s as good a time as any. This is a rather tedious task taking nearly an hour each line, and unfortunately there’s only room for one person to stand in front of the machine with their arms up inside it, so it’s not something that could be sped up with more help. I’ve done most of the local/Cold Drinks machine mechanisms (only 2 left), and once that’s done I’ll attend to the electronics then move on to the import/Vigo machine. The machines are mostly operational while I’m working on them - swipe payment may be down while I’m physically working on them but otherwise everything should be okay with them.

Oh yeah, and Pasito has been swapped with Kirks Creaming Soda too!

riumplus · 14 May 2018 06:08

…And one more thing that deserves its own post.

I’ve been threatening to do something like this for literally years, and it’s finally happened.

With the AGM and the new Exec, I thought now was a good time to celebrate with something a little different.

The Random line now contains a single can of Oatmeal. For reals.

(Oatmeal is “mostly” a liquid after all)

If you’re the lucky one to score this, it’s your choice to have it cold or heat it up first (opening the can a crack then placing the can in boiling water works if you don’t want to dirty another bowl).There’s even a little foldable spoon in the plastic bit on top!

In case you’re worried, this is not going to become a regular thing (not unless people like it & ask me for more randomness in the random line). I just couldn’t resist being a little evil for once. Mwahaha.

riumplus · 7 June 2018 07:52

Since it first broke down in April, it’s been many weeks & late nights of constant work, but I’ve finished most of the servicing necessary on the local Cold Drinks machine. All that remains is to diagnose some flickery neon lights in lines 4 & 8 (currently Mountain Dew & Water). These lights aren’t just for aesthetics to let you know when a line is empty - they do triple duty as both motor ballasts and grounding points as the machine operates, so having them work properly is important. We may just need to replace them; if so I’ll wait until I’ve finished servicing the other machine so I can order any necessary parts all at once.

Now to do it all over again on the Vigo import machine…