Antares combo jamming on bottom cans?

If you've ever had problems with the bottom 3 selections of an Antares drink vending machine where the cans are turning and jamming, here is some insight.

Now this applies to the selections that are slightly wider than the can only columns:
- the bottom 3 selections on 1994 - 2004 models
- the bottom right selection on 2005+ models

These columns are slightly wider in order to handle items such as 10oz juice bottles, some energy drinks, & other beverages that will fit.

One of our employees was loading an Antares the other day and had a problem with the cans on these wider columns turning while rolling down. They would stall in the middle of the column or slide to the very bottom and block the auger from being able to turn. Since these columns are wider, they allow the cans have enough room to rotate and block the lane.

There were 2 issues here.
- the small metal shim was missing
- he was not loading the cans properly

In order to properly direct the cans through the auger at the bottom of the column, a metal shim is needed to go on the right side wall inside the column by the auger.
This keeps the cans in place to the left side and it also blocks the ability of someone being able to twist the can past the right side of the auger since the can has enough room to rotate in the column and come out without turning the auger.

Secondly, he did not realize that in order to keep the cans rolling evenly down the columns, it is best to put the end of the can SQUARELY against the left hand column wall before letting go so that the can may roll as straight as possible being guided by the wall.

So, if you've ever had this problem, get some shims!

We sometimes have them available pre-owned at www.USEDvending.com or they can be ordered directly from the manufacturer.

See how to service an Antares vending machine

If you've never seen a mechanical vending machine or never used one, be sure to visit this video that shows an Antares snack and soda vending machine combo in action!

You'll see how the 3 vending machines (snack, soda, dollar bill changer) act as 1 machine. You'll see them inside and out! See how they are filled with product and change. Learn how to use one to vend an item.

This video shows a 2005 model which is the newest style as of today (August 2007).
The video also explains how this newer style differs from 2004 and older models...
Antares vending machine Demonstration video

New Style for Antares Vending Machines in 2005

In case you're wondering about the Blue machine at the top of the blog and the grey Antares machine farther down the page, the difference is the year model. Machines manufactured in 2005 or later have the blue graphics panels on them. Antares machines from 1995 to 2004 have the grey & black graphics as shown in the lower picture.

Along with the color change, these 2005+ blue machines do have a different configuration on the soda machine for the size items they can vend. The grey combos had 4 lanes for 12 oz. cans in the top half of the machine and 3 lanes for either 12 oz. cans or 10 oz. juice bottles in the bottom half of the soda vending machine. The newer blue ones have 6 lanes for vending 12 oz. cans (3 on top and 3 on bottom) as well as 1 lane (runs from top to bottom) that can vend larger items such as gatorade bottles.

Before 1995 Antares / Orion machines also had blue graphics that were gridlike and looked completely different from the new models. There aren't too many pre 1995 machines around these days :-)