Vending Little Trees in Spiral Vendor

[2Biz]

Finally got rid of my outdated drop shelf vendors and got a National Spiral Vendor. I had some issues setting it up to vend Little Trees. Every Youtube Video and any directions I could find says to put products in so the bottom of the package is flat on bottom of shelf, not supposed to ride on the bottom of the spiral....If I do this (like the candy bars at the top of the photo) the trees just pile up at the end of the spiral. I tried "Plastic Kickers" and they only made it worse. So I finally loaded the trees where the bottom of the package rides on the bottom of the spiral like in the photo below. They seem to vend a lot better but maybe not as trouble free as I'd like. Sometimes the spiral has to go a little further to kick the package out and make the Shurvend sensor do its job. But it seems to work. Is this how its done or am I missing something? FYI, this vendor is 10 products wide on the single spiral columns. Double spiral columns are 5 wide. The spiral count for the little trees is 17....I tried less spiral counts and more, but the 17 seems to work best.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Regardless of how these machines are marketed, they are snack machines, and we are trying to vend some items that they just weren't made for. It's a process of trial and error. I did many different things over the years. I stretched spirals and cut them to the length I needed, rotated them 180 degrees, so the end was at the top, put the kickers on the back side to hold the product from slipping out, and cut ends off to keep product from sitting on the spiral and not falling. You just have to do what you have to, to make them work. Also, you need to be the only one filling it, so that it's loaded in the best manner possible. I had attendants filling mine, and it was seldom the way it needed to be for the best dispensing. You may have better luck, since you're pretty much a one man band.

I know you're not into modifying things... , but I would cut an inch or so off of the E5 spiral. I can picture that tree standing in that cradle at the bottom.

 

[2Biz]

One of the reasons I went with the Natioanl vendor is the spirals are readily available in what ever spiral count you need. They are less than $10 ea...You are right about a lot of trial and error though. I messed with it some at home before getting the time to take it to the wash. With it raining almost every day in April and May, it was hard to get anything done. I installed an awning over it to help keep the weather/sun off it. Plus I wanted to give the outside just one more coat of paint! Wife wanted to change colors! LOL Next phase is to paint and install the awning over the other two pop machines and entrance to the ER...

Thanks for the input...I can rotate the spirals however I want and they will still turn the same 360°. No cutting needed! Yea I'm a one man band and I love to alter things, but only when necessary! LOL

 

[HeyVern]

I removed one spiral on mine to make the slots a little wider so the trees don't get stuck between the dividers.

 

[2Biz]

I removed one spiral on mine to make the slots a little wider so the trees don't get stuck between the dividers.

I'll have to see if the dividers on my vendor can be moved like that? The tree's are crammed in there. I did find a "Tom's Way" KR video where he recommended putting the tree's in the way I have them. But not recommended that way anywhere else. Any lower coil count than 17 and the tree's lay too far back. More coil count and just not enough room between each spiral. Thanks for the tip!

 

[edredtop]

Really good looking wash.
Do you really have rain gutters there?

fwiw, my locations use a $1 token and when the Little Trees were no longer profitable to sell 1 for $1, we went to 2 for $3 and doubled them up on the drop shelf and sell more now than we did before. I've had one of these machines in the past and remember having trouble selling the flat "Abba Zabba" and "Airheads" candy bars.
My remedy was to double them up and sell them two at a time making them more rigid and heavier....
Maybe try this:
Black Ice Scent (12) 2-Packs | Little Trees | U2S-22055 | Kleen-Rite (kleen-ritecorp.com)
Or
Black Ice Scent (8) 3-Packs | Little Trees Air Freshener Wholesale | Kleen-Rite (kleen-ritecorp.com)