VENDED VS OPL
VENDED EQUIPMENT
Vended laundry equipment is intended for laundromats, guest laundries, apartment laundry rooms and more. These can also be referred to as “coin-op,” short for “coin operated. Vended equipment will have a coin slot for coins or tokens, a card swipe for loyalty or credit cards or a built-in-module for mobile payments.
Coin-op (coin operated) machines will have a coin slot for coins or tokens. There will also be a cutout and vault for coin boxes.
This style of machine is most commonly found in apartment buildings, guest laundries at hotels, camp grounds, college campuses, truck stops and more. Stainless is an option, but most often these machines will have a painted white exterior. This type of machine is also referred to as “small-chassis.”
This is a coin-op stack dryer. In total, this dryer has 60lbs of drying capacity, 30lb on the top pocket and 30lb on the bottom pocket. Even though it looks like two machines, this is one.
Look familiar? You might have a washer like this in your house This is a top-load washer commonly found in apartment buildings and laundromats. Most
of the time, these will be vended. This is also a type of “small chassis” machine.
OPL EQUIPMENT
OPL stands for “On Premises Laundry.” These machines are non-vended and are used in places like hotels, motels, dry cleaners, spas, nursing homes and more. They come in a variety of sizes. Most brands offer OPL and vended laundry. But, Unimac only offers OPL equipment.
This is one of the most common OPL machines. Unlike most vended equipment, this has a spray feature. In addition, most OPL machines will have a red emergency stop (e-stop) button. This is found on some vended equipment, but it is most common with OPL. This unique cabinet design is also a tell-tale sign the machine is non-vended.
This is an OPL dryer. There are OPL stack dryers, but single pocket tumblers are the most common in the OPL application. Sizes typically range from 18lb to 120lb (and higher). This is a 75lb Continental Girbau dryer.
This is a washer/dryer stack unit, commonly referred to as a “combo” unit. These machines have a washer on the bottom and a dryer on top. Perfect for light-duty use, especially if you’re tight on space. This is a small chassis machine too. These are commonly found in hair salons, vet clinics, spas and more.
Can you find the coin drop? That’s correct, there isn’t one! This is an OPL 90lb Unimac soft-mount. The perfect home is a hotel or healthcare facility
HARD MOUNT VS SOFT MOUNT
HARD MOUNT
“Hard-mount” or “rigid-mount” refers to the installation type of washing machines. Hard-mount machines must be anchored to a concrete floor. Exact floor and base specifications vary from machine to machine. To accommodate proper drain height, many machines require a steel base, ranging anywhere from 4″ to 8″. Exact installation specifications can be found in specific machine manuals. If machines are not anchored or installed properly, serious damage can occur. Hard-mount machines come in a variety of sizes, 18lb to over 100lb!
SOFT MOUNT
“Soft-mount” washers do not need to be anchored to the ground. Small chassis and most machines in apartment buildings are soft-mount. Soft-mount washers use springs and counter weights to balance the load. Most washers with a painted exterior are soft-mount. Capacities range from about 18lb to over 100lb too!
DRYER FEATURES
NATURAL GAS HEAT
Natural gas dryers are one of the most common. Most laundromats will have natural has dryers
STEAM HEAT
Commonly found in dry cleaners and processing facilities, some dryers are neither gas, LP or electric, they dry with steam.
PROPANE HEAT
Propane dryers are also very common. Some facilities will not have natural
gas hookups or the correct power, so propane is the next option. Many
times natural gas dryers can be converted to propane with a gas valve
orifice. This is also referred to as “LP” which stands for liquid propane.
ELECTRIC HEAT
Dryers are also available with electric heat. Many small chassis vended dryers are 220V single phase electric. In OPL settings, larger capacity dryers come in 3 phase electric. Buildings must be equipped with 3 phase power to accomodate 3 phase machines.
REVERSING FEATURE
Some dryers (mostly OPL) will have a reversing feature. This reverses the tumble direction to mitigate tangles and knots. A majority of dryers with this feature will be 3 phase.
FIRE SUPPRESSION
Commonly found on OPL dryers, a fire suppression option is sometimes
available. This requires a water hookup. If the tumbler recognizes a fire in the drum, it will activate the supression system to extinguish.
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