Drinks Machines

riumplus · 1 February 2019 04:25

I haven’t had a chance to do much more diagnostic work on why line #2 is still playing up, but I’ve found & fixed at least one potential problem. A small nick in the insulation was found on one of the motor grounding connectors by line #1 and it could’ve been shorting to ground. As these are all daisy-chained and it’s right next to line #2, it’s possible this could’ve caused it (or at least contributed to it), but I don’t think it’s likely to explain everything. As always, someone who isn’t me is very, very welcome to start tracing wires & inspecting them for damages because there’s only so many hours per month I can devote to volunteering for the hackerspace - the keys are in the server room.

(Damaged insulation in the wire at the bottom here, that’s never a good thing)

Another new interesting flavour is in the random line- Coffee! Or should I say, “WINCOFE”. It’s made by Hey-Song Corporation, comes from Taiwain, is “strong”, contains a small amount of Green Tea Extract mixed in, should probably have caffeine & dairy warnings on it, and probably tastes better if heated to 55’C instead of drinking cold. Don’t ask me any questions beyond that though because I can’t read 95% of the can’s writing.

(For the WinCovfefe!)

riumplus · 26 February 2019 14:45

I’m up late due to anxiety attacks, so I thought I might as well try to be productive until the sedatives kick in. Apologies for not having my usual playful candour.

Two new random cans have been stocked in the machine since my last update. The first is “Hola Tequila Sparkling Apple”. Coming from Korea, this one has non-alcoholic Tequila flavour in it, but don’t ask me what it tastes like. I don’t try 'em, I just buy 'em!

The other one in the machine is a Lychee Drink. This one’s Taiwanese. Y’know, just in case you thought I wasn’t serious about trying to get drinks from as many different places as possible for you all.

riumplus · 3 May 2019 11:10

There’s been no updates for a while, but that’s mostly because I haven’t had time to post them. Stuff has still been happening. So here’s a quick photo dump catch-up!

The international drinks machine has been fully restocked. It took just a few boxes of drinks to make that happen.

(So many boxes you’d think it’s the upcoming election’s ballot paper)

Here’s some of the recent additions to the Random line, making sure it lives up to its name… At least one will be returning shortly, so fear not if you missed them!

(Apple Sidra, “without chemical colors” - if that’s not disturbing enough, note that its ingredients list “apple flavor”, “natural apple concentrate”, “natural apple flavor” and “apple juice” all separately!)

(Frantelle Sparkling Water with a hint of Lime & Lemon, sugar free)

(Frantelle Sparkling Water with a hint of Raspberry & Blackcurrant, sugar free)

(Hola Tequila Flavor Calamansi Sparkling, Mexico Style - quite a mouthful in the name. If you’ve never tasted one, Calamondins are a citrus hybrid between kumquats, mandarins & limes. As always, this is a non-alcoholic Tequila flavour)

(drinho Chrysamthemum Tea, which contains a hint of liquorice roots and the can is printed in four languages!)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled hacking.

riumplus · 16 October 2019 12:00

Just a small little update this time because I’m bad at documenting all the maintenance work these machines receive and there’s only one way to fix that. The condensation drainage hose for the Vigo machine managed to clog itself and water started leaking over the lobby area. I’ve removed the hose, given it a good cleaning with some pipe cleaners and reinstalled it. Okay a hose isn’t exactly a pipe, but still, using a pipe cleaner to clean something like a pipe amuses me.

(Did you ever think that maybe hoses are called hoses 'cause they have O’ses at each end?)

The machine should be fully functional again now.

riumplus · 15 June 2020 15:04

During lockdown, our vending machines were turned off to save power and almost all stock was moved off-site to discourage any opportunist thieves. Since we’re starting to slowly open up again, I’ve returned my carload of stock to the space and got the drink machines running again!

(Drinks Return - The Sequel You Never Knew You Wanted)

Supplies are a bit all over the place right now, which means the things on offer are a bit different from usual, and it means some new flavours too!

First new flavour, Pibb Xtra from USA. Officially called “spicy cherry soda”, it’s something similar to Dr Pepper or Cherry Coke.

Second new flavour, Lilt Zero! Hailing from the UK, tasting like Pineapple and Grapefruit, with zero sugar and only 50kJ per can. And just a reminder since I know many doctors fail to mention this, if you’re on a medication that means you can’t have things with furanocoumarins/Grapefruit in it, such as some antidepressants, anti-anxieties, statins and a bunch of random others, steer clear of this one. Wikipedia has a handy list you can check.

Third new flavour, Ben Shaw’s Cream Soda from the UK! No this is nothing at all like the Kirks “Creaming Soda” you can get here, this stuff’s much smoother and, well, creamier.

The random line is also back, with these two flavours somewhere in there:

(Wincofe)

(Foco Soursop Juice | Jugo de Guanabana)

The current line-ups are as follows:

Local machine:

Coke
Unicorns (out of stock)
Coke No Sugar
Sunkist
Random
Solo
Water 600mL bottle

Vigo’s Imported Emporium:

A&W Root Beer
Mountain Dew Energized
Pibb Xtra (cherry)
Ben Shaw’s Cream Soda
Lilt Zero (pineapple & grapefruit)
Cherry Coke

Unicorns continue to be out of supply; apparently it has to do with businesses using them to bypass travel restrictions.

The popcorn machine will also return soon; I’m prioritising my time getting HSBNE infrastructure up and running again before I get my own machine going.

Happy hacking!

riumplus · 10 August 2020 02:47

Time for another new flavour in the local drinks vending machine! Frantelle Sparkling Water with a hint of Pineapple & Orange. This is a sugar-free sparkling water that doesn’t have any artificial sweeteners and still has only 8kJ of energy per can, so have at it!