Coal Vending Machine!

Who says coal fuel is an old fuel. Coal sales has a modern look, VENDING MACHINE sales! For only sixteen quarters you can have your coal any time day or night. My local coal supplier, a third generation family business, has been selling coal out of a vending machine for the last 20 years. Forty years ago the machine dispensed block, cubed and shaved ice. As the bulk ice sales market moved to convenience stores and the refrigeration unit needed repair it was abandoned. My coal retailer acquired the machine and converted it to dispense coal. Inside are mechanized shelves that held the ice blocks. A block of ice would be slid to a trap door. When the coin collector was satisfied the trap door would open, dropping the ice and advancing a new block of ice. My coal dealer first tried bags of coal but they would break when they fell. A heavy cardboard box worked. He sells about 1500 boxes a season. $4 for a 33 pound box of coal. He fills the boxes in the summer months directly from his coal truck's chute. The coal must be very dry or the box will become wet and fail. Boxes are stacked and stored in a small building right behind the vending machine.

The coal vending machine is located on his coal yard in a residential and local business area of Hanover, PA. Typical customers are those who just need some extra heat for a cold night or just fire up the stove on weekends. I took these photos yesterday afternoon while I was getting a pick up truck load of pea sized Anthracite, $205 a ton.

Yanche

That is so cool.
Tom

...Quite the vending machine, Too cool! (thanks for posting)

That's funny. Can't believe they box it. Seems like a lot of expense for 33 pounds of coal.

That's really neat!

Thanks for sharing!

Awesome, thanks for posting this!

Gotta love it!

A little american ingenuity goes a long way!

Kudos for him I think thats so cool, I bet in the future those will be popping up outside your local convinence store, it could be placed right next to the $ 11 bundle of sex wood that they sell

japar wrote: I bet in the future those will be popping up outside your local convinence store,

Note the date on the original post:

Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:17 am

Yes, but this is a thread that is truly worthy if necromancy. I wish there were dispensers like that every where.

Funny thing is I just saw another building like this on an auction site somewhere, ice vending machine, non converted.

I'm On Fire wrote:necromancy

I had to look that one up.

I'm On Fire wrote:Yes, but this is a thread that is truly worthy if necromancy. I wish there were dispensers like that every where.

Ha,ha,ha,ha!! That's a good one!

coaledsweat wrote:

I'm On Fire wrote:necromancy

I had to look that one up.

Can you tell I play a lot of video games?