Customer standing at the Express Combo

Vending Machine Upkeep-Part 2: Leveling

It is something that is mentioned in every manual and set-up guide, yet it is consistently overlooked. Every vending machine should be leveled right away. It is an easy step that is skipped, most often because it is deemed ‘unimportant.’ This could not be further from the truth.

Vending machines can be very sensitive. They literally, in their most basic parts, are refrigerated boxes. What happens, however, when the box does not seal all the way? When it is jostled every day because it is unsteady, the longevity of the box drastically declines.

One of the most important reasons that you need to level your vending machine is to protect the door. Given enough time while unlevel, the door of a vending machine will, eventually, not close anymore. They are built to align with precise locking mechanisms and intricate wiring. The vending machine being unlevel puts more pressure on the door than originally intended. The long-term effect could be permanent damage to the hinges, seals, and locking mechanisms of the door.

Even within a few weeks of being unlevel, the door might become harder to open. The probability of the door getting stuck increases exponentially when a machine remains unleveled. If you have a refrigerated vending machine and its door does not close all the way, you risk damaging other components of the machine as well, such as the refrigeration units. The doors are designed to seal all the cold air in, so the hot air can be pumped out. This process does not work properly if the seal is broken.

All the above consequences can be avoided by leveling your machine during the setup process. All it would take is 5-10 extra minutes of set-up, and in the end, that 5-10 minutes could save you the need to buy a completely new machine!

For more information on the upkeep of your machine, click HERE or contact Vending.com at 1-800-548-1982.