Vintage Drink Machine Repair and Restoration

Putting your Vintage Coke Machine on a Timer

We put all our machines on a simple timer.   I will share why we do this and also some links to timers we have used from Amazon. 

Why We Put Our Machines On a Timer

We put our vintage drink machines on a timer and recommend this to our customers for a few reasons.   

First is saving on power.   
Unless you have a need for an ice-cold Coke at 3 am, you likely don’t need the machine for 12 hours a day.  We set our personal machines to come on at around 11 am and turn off at 10 pm.   

Secondly, it can lengthen the life of the cooling system.   
Like any motor, if it only runs 12 hours a day instead of 24 hours a day it will last longer.    This is especially true if you have an orginal cooling system in your machine.  It is likely 70 years old.   It needs a rest from time to time.  

Lastly, if the thermostat sticks, it could freeze up the system and you would not know about it. 
While is is rare, it can happen.   Using a timer sets up a regular defrost cycle for you. 

Some people question:  “Won’t the cooling system have to work harder to cool it down again?”   
It won’t have to work harder per se, it does not have a “harder” setting on it.  The compressor is either on or off.   But yes, it will have to run to cool the drinks down again.   It usually takes 3- to 60 minutes depending on the climate the machine is in.    But for the one hour it has to run to cool down again, you would be saving 12 or more hours did not have to run over night. 

Others ask:  Doesn’t using a timer to cycle on and off wear on a cooling system?   Well, this is actually how the cooling system works.  It cycles on and off all day and all night.  So you would actually be cycling it on less times per day with a timer. 

Here are some timers we have used from Amazon: 

  1.  This is a simple indoor timer that we have used
  2.   This is an outdoor timer that works well. 
  3. If you have a smart home with Google or Alexa, you can use a smart plug that works with your smart home.   This is especially nice b/c you can tell Google or Alexa to turn on or turn off the machine.