There is nothing I despise more than coffee vending machine repair. The machines are almost always sticky and lack sanitary concern. For this reason alone, I charge more for coffee vending machine repair then I do for ANY other machine repair. Let's jump right in and see why coffee vending machines commonly break.
Common Coffee Vending Machine Problems
Clogged/Contaminated Water Lines
The reason coffee vending machines have water filters on them is to keep the water supply lines clean and free from contaminants. If you do not regularly change your water filter, you will damage your machine. I'm not even going to go into the numerous problems that this will cause, so change your coffee vending machine water filer according to the machines manual.
Grinder Capacitor
Most of the time, this is an easy fix. Capacitors (in general) will normally go bad over an extended period of use. If the coffee vending machines grinder is not working, it's probably (and hopefully) just a bad capacitor. A professional can test capacitors easily to determine if they need to be replaced.
Heating Element
Most coffee vending machines have two heating elements in their water reservoirs/storage tanks. A lot of the time one element will burn out before it's time, with the other one close behind. This is almost always due to not changing the water supply filter regularly and using hard water. Contaminates build up on the heating element which makes it work even harder then normal. This obvious strain will wear out the part before its time. Heating elements will give you a maximum life if you change your water filer regularly and use a good quality water supply (if possible). When replacing the heating elements, always use new gaskets/washers.
