Vintage Drink Machine Repair and Restoration

Changing a Glasco Slider 50 Cooler to air-cooled

I wanted to highlight a project we did last year for a customer on a Glasco slider 50 cooler box.  These boxes are common and this is a solution for getting them up and running again.  This cooler was missing the slider insert completely, and the customer wanted to use as a cooler without the hassle of the slider anyway.   He wanted to keep the old patina on the outside.  

This was all a good move.   By the time we found a slider rack, the cost would have gone up.   And the machine would be less usable for everyday use and use with a variety of bottle sides.  Since he did not have a rack, this made perfect sense.

Here are a few before images

As you see, when we removed the tub to restore it, the old cooling system in the walls was well worn, and the mice had made a home in it.   The compressor did not work.  So, the plan for this machine was change to a new cooling system  – from radiant cooling in the walls to air cooled.  It will be much more efficient.   Then we will add a shelf inside, restore the interior, change the gaskets, and put new insulation in it. 

Here are some during and after images

Lastly, the bottom frame was rusted out.   The customer wanted to keep the old patina on the outside, but we had to fix this.  We welded up a new corner and put a new custom kickplate on the bottom.