Posted 11 years ago
Okie
(1 item)
This is a Kelvinator Model 20 Coke machine. It has a serial number of 2912830. Anybody have a clue about it? I have searched the web and so far, have not found any thing close to it.
Kelvinator Model 20 Coke machine | ||
| Coke2077 of 4096 |  |  |
Could this have been transformed from something else? I've never seen one like this, and I had a vending machine business for yrs b4 the birth of convenience/gas stations. No coin mech?
I am not totally sure but there is a cord/freon/thermostat case on the outside that completely conforms to the machine making me think that it is original.
think your reading it wrong looks like the vendo 23 spin model 1940 and 50
The manufactures name plate say Kelvinator.
I have added a pic of the plate.
Darned if it does not look like a Westinghouse body with some different lid on it.
I understand the name plate on it says Kelvinator but I too have researched that maker and have found nothing even close.
This discovering is fun though!!
Thanks for posting!
From this site https://sites.google.com/site/vendotoolbox/page-59--59-bottle-cap referenced and built by the Collector's Weekly member "toolbox" Ted, I'll bet you have a Vendo Master chest cooler with the cooling system made by Kelvinator. Hence the Kelvinator badge on the machine.
There is a gold mine of information on the CW site!!!
I happen to be a friend of Okie's. I am in no way, shape, or form, an expert on Coke machines. But with hours of research, & help from Toolbox Ted's article link on the history of these, I have formed a hypothesis about the "Mystery Machine". If I'm right, it's actually more of a Frankenstein. Please let me know if my opinion holds any merit whatsoever.
I believe that this is a Vendo-59 Standard that has been retrofitted, at some point, with a Vendo-139 Standard's lid. Plus, the coin box mechanism has been removed. Other than height, both machines have the same dimensions.
The one thing I can't explain is the Kelvinator cooler. The only thing I can think of is since the Vendo-59's were mostly Westinghouse chests & primarily came with what many claim to be an inferior Frigidaire system, either the old system burned up or sucked so bad that it was replaced with a newer/comparable/proven/readily available Kelvinator system.
Again, I am in no way an expert & would never claim to be. I'm just an observer trying to help out a friend. Please let us know what you all think. Thank you for your time.
BTW... Does anybody have an idea or clue on what this thing might be worth based on the photos & the condition it's in? If not, can you point us in the direction of where to look? Again, thanks for your time.
I forgot to add that whomever installed the new lid might have put it on backwards. I base this on observing the photos. If the access panel to the cooling system is meant to be on the backside of the cooler, then the brackets to lift up the lid seem to have been installed on the front (the side closest to the wall).
Vanskyock24: The Vendo-23 is very similar, but everything I'm finding about that model says it has a silver top & a front drop-door that you load the pop bottles into. Okie's machine doesn't have a front door. Please let me know if I'm thinking of the wrong machine.
DaveSierra: I agree, discovery is fun!