Just bought my first towers (South Lanarkshire)

[radical.richard]

From my experience a lot of the older second hand towers with the fluted sides, it is almost impossible to remove the coin mech with an adults hand, there is a plastic wall that gets in the way, this has been cut out on later units allowing easier access. I have resorted in totally stripping down all the old units I buy and cutting out the plastic flange that hides the coin mech lever so it can be accessed in the field if necessary, however as you will probably find its much easier and quicker to keep a spare tower fully loaded with you, and then if you do get a broken machine you can simply swap it out and repair it at home.

[Tufty]

Brilliant advice again,thank you for all your help.

In your profile it says you are a newbie too? Is that right or have you been doing it a while?

If new you have picked loads of info up very quickly. Is it all going well for you?

[Style]

Zenjet? Never heard of them. I have over 300 towers all ages and types. Lots of Snack a can Chinese ones, some different Chinese ones that we brought from Belgium, Clemport ones and a few Laiv ones. The Laiv ones dont have a catch to remove the mech, you have to take the tower to bits. (but these are ancient towers, at least 20 years old) All the others I can flick the mechs off easily on site, once you have the knack its easy.

[radical.richard]

I wouldnt say the Chinese machines are trouble, but they do need a bit more TLC and some spare parts to get then going especially as if you have the flat plate coin mechanism that is shown in the YouTube video you will have the older style of coin mech, these are certainly older and more worn and so create more problems. The handle coming off is probably because the circlip was worn or not properly tensioned before being put back on the spindle after upgrading for the new pound coin. The newer chinese coin mechs I would say are far superior mechanically to the clenports they have been totally redesigned and dont rely on the weak cam followers that stop the mech being turned backwards, on the older chinese mechs these wear the face plate and eventually fail puttinng the tower into free vend mode, so only place these mechs in places that have honest people working there certainly not in a public place.

[Tufty]

Thanks Style, 300 must keep you busy!

The seller called them Zenjet but I don't really know anything at all about them. They don't look like the ancient ones you mentioned though. Nice chrome looking things.

It is as if there is no catch on the inside of mech so maybe I will take the advice and strip down the whole thing and see what I'm dealing with. The handle came off along with a wee clip. I did a search on the forum and noticed you had previously had a similar problem. Did you find a replacement clip or did you manage to modify it somehow?

My sausage fingers are definitely not designed for working on these towers

[radical.richard]

Yeah Im new but learn quickly, I started off with a 10 tower business package from Paul as a toe in the water a little like you have done with your second hand purchase, so you have hopefully saved a fortune in startup costs compared to me. I have grown quite quickly with help from Barbara and Paul and now have 40 towers in the field, apart from ease of putting the unit in the field, I see no real difference between a new unit and a refurbed one, apart from the time it takes to clean it up,and importantly time to break even. I have bought second hand towers from people looking to get out of the business as it no longer suits their situation, each person I have bought from has been fantastic, giving me tips and help as well as importantly loads of spare parts which as very useful when refurbing towers, because as I said especially the older chinese coin mechs need proper reworking if they are going to be reliable in the field. At the moment Im aiming to get 80 out there fairly soon and work up to 100. I beleive I can then manage them part time for a reasonable second part time income. Im certain the gys out there with 300 will tell you its then a full time job going round refilling, repairing them and resiting ones that are not performing

[radical.richard]

You will have some real duds that its a waste of time visiting to refill, and others that are really unexpected star performers, there is also the novelty - honeymoon period for a new location which will make it seem like its a really good site which then tails off over time. Thats just the way it is. Both tubz vending and Hurleys literature will get you hoping to make millions, but realistically talking to others and what appears to be bearing out on my round is and average across the estate of 24 sales per vendor per month, this will mean some are doing 100 and others not even 5. The thing is you really cant tell, I have had sites start off really strongly and now doing 4 a month, other unexpected ones like one I visited this week for the first refill, when I put it in two weeks ago I thought, this is never going to be anything, but it was nearly empty, you really cant tell, you have to take the ups with the downs and give it a try.

[Tufty]

Wow! That is amazingly quick progress!

A couple of mine are on sites and Barbara is hopefully helping me with 5 next week.

The seller had a franchise with tubz vending and had paid for more site finding which he has requested to be transferred to my area,I have emailed tubz vending about this but not sure if they will honour that,fingers crossed they do though! If not I will be hoping Barbara can work some magic for those ones too.

100 will definitely keep you busy!

Do you do the charity route,commission or a mix of both?

[radical.richard]

All but 1 are on charity, the difference with the 1 on commission is that they empty it once a month and call me to refill it, the rest dont call me even if there is a problem, I went to one that had been jammed for three weeks and when I went in to refill the guy said 'its not selling mate its jammed' I did remind him my number was on the tower in case of problems (I have a £10 Argos phone for the towers on GiffGaff PAYG) talking to others in this business this is not uncommon, if its on commission its in their interest to make certain its selling, but its easier to get it in the door on a charity proposition.

From what I am seeing and you will work this out for yourself as you expand, I can probably manage 100 on just 4 days a month, but that is a mix of visiting some every week, and others once a month or two months, depending on how well they sell.

[Siting Services]

Hi guys

You have been busy, nice to see.

Just to let you know that Zenjet are a manufacturer in China.

Regards

Barbara