There are close to 7 million vending machines active in the United States, accumulating tens of millions of dollars for the industry, with cold drinks occupying 56 percent of all sales. These existing machines are modern representatives of the longstanding tradition of expedited food and beverage transactions, as vending machines as we know them today appeared in abundance in the 1930s. Since then, their technology and product selection has improved and diversified, even extending beyond that of food and beverage.
ASHRAE Standard 32.1 has been the official standard for specifying test methods for refrigerated beverage vending machines since its first publication in 1982. The latest edition of this standard, ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 32.1-2017 – Methods of Testing for Rating Refrigerated Vending Machines for Sealed Beverages, has been released.
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 32.1-2017 addresses testing methods for rating the capacity and efficiency of self-contained, mechanically refrigerated vending machines for sealed beverages. These laboratory methods for determining performance are applicable only to refrigerated beverage vending machines and combination machines; they are not to be used for climate-controlled snack vending machines, frozen-food vending machines, refrigerated-food-served-hot vending machines, or hot-beverage vending machines.
The alterations made to this new version correspond with the changes in machine and package design. Notable changes to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 32.1-2017 include:
- Updated scope and definitions to emphasize intended application to refrigerated beverage vending machines and combination machines.
- Removed distinctions between zone-cooled machines and fully cooled machines.
- Updated references to other documents, including the methodology for measuring refrigerated volume.
- Enhanced instrumentation calibration and accuracy requirements.
- Removed the 90°F (32.2°C) ambient condition for the energy consumption test and designated the 75°F (23.9°C) ambient condition as the singular test condition.
- Clarified test setup requirements, including ambient temperature measurement location, beverage temperature locations, test package construction, and sensor wire installation.
- Incorporated minimum functionality requirements that must be included and the controls that are permitted in the vending machine under test.
- Clarified the method for calculating integrated average temperature.
- Added various editorial changes to improve clarity.
The actual methods for carrying out the testing procedures for rating the machines, information for filling out the reporting form of tested equipment, any relevant terms, and explanations of vending machine capacity are detailed in ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 32.1-2017.
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 32.1-2017 – Methods of Testing for Rating Refrigerated Vending Machines for Sealed Beverages is available on the ANSI Webstore.