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Post by charlieangel on Jan 6, 2011 15:03:03 GMT -5
I see you have/had 6 of them. I also see you've had some issues with them. Are you still using them? Are you still having issues? Have you found anything in that price range to replace the units to better effect? I'm going to be picking up one soon, need about 6-10 pound capacity for making bars and enrobing truffles, but I don't envision using it daily for awhile.
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Post by Brad on Jan 7, 2011 1:29:49 GMT -5
I'll be very candid: The motors/transmissions are total pieces of crap - plastic gears that will ALL strip on you. ALL 6 of mine did, and right now 4 are in a storage bin. ACMC did almost nothing to make good on their screw ups.
I ended up buying a similar motor/transmission with metal gears from Acklands Grainger, welding a shaft exention on the end and installing it in one of the ACMC's. It works fine now. However with planning to open 10 more stores, my calling in life is not to be forever repairing machines that should work properly in the first place!
HOWEVER.... I have also purchased a couple of Mini-Temper machines from Pavoni in Italy and not only are they WAAAAAY better and quieter, but they also have the ability to program tempering cycles into them and then automatically heat, lower, and heat the chocolate to whatever profiles you set.
The Pavoni machines work fabulously. I'll never purchase another ACMC machine again.
Cheers.
Brad
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Post by charlieangel on Jan 7, 2011 15:55:41 GMT -5
<doublepost>
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Post by charlieangel on Jan 7, 2011 16:01:20 GMT -5
Amusingly enough, the first thought in my head was "I wonder if Grainger has something that could be fitted..." About how much usage did you have before your first failure? My projected volume right now needs about one big batch/week (for bars). This the one you picked up? www.pavonitalia.com/prodotti/frameset.htm?/prodotti/subcat.asp?language=en&id=209I don't see any North American dealers for these...
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Post by Brad on Jan 7, 2011 16:25:53 GMT -5
The motors began failing almost right away. I own 6 of the ACMC machines. Some failed within the first week, and others in a month or so. Repaired motors most often failed within days of use.
I actually took video of the gears skipping and sent it to ACMC, but they were no help at all.
The way we used the machines is, my staff would ensure the chocolate in the bowls was first heated to 120, and then turn the motors on in the morning, run them through their tempering cycle and keep the motor running for the balance of the day. (10am to 6pm) . At the end of the day they would turn the motors off, put the cover back on, and bring the temperature up to 124 degrees. In the morning the chocolate would be melted and ready to temper.
Our milk chocolate and our dark chocolate are very high in fat, and very fluid, and only once or twice the chocolate solidified in the bowl on the down cycle.
You're correct that I purchased the machines in the link you provided. Pavoni shipped them just fine from Italy. I've purchased other product from them, and the service has been outstanding.
If you're making bars, I don't know if either machine will be enough for you. We make bars using two 50lb tempering machines, and usually refill them and cycle them through a couple of times a day.
The small ones you're talking about are great for hand coating confections, and that's about it.
Cheers.
Hope this helps!
Happy Chocolate/confection making!
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Post by charlieangel on Jan 7, 2011 16:40:57 GMT -5
Wow, that soon. Grr. Have you tried posting the video to Youtube? Maybe other potential customers would see it and perhaps pressure ACMC into changing their machine to something more reliable. Everything's so disposable these days.
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Post by charlieangel on Jan 13, 2011 1:13:35 GMT -5
Another question, what's the price range for the Pavonis? My current batch size is about.. 50-60 50g (or ~double for 30g) bars every couple weeks, so I'm hoping 6-10 pound range will be fine... my back of the envelope says that's right at 6 pounds, maybe good, maybe bad.. I'll end up using excess tempered for some other stuff... One day, I hope have enough business for the 50 pounders, but that's going to require a bit more space than my 250 square foot apartment can provide at the moment. Start small, grow "organically", plan for the future...
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Post by Brad on Jan 13, 2011 2:15:51 GMT -5
I think the Pavoni's were around $1,200 USD each. If I remember correctly, the total ticket including shipping, import duties and taxes to here in Calgary Alberta, was around $3,000 for two machines.
So far they're great, and have made life much easier for my staff.
Hope that helps a bit.
Cheers. Brad
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Post by charlieangel on Jan 13, 2011 20:37:05 GMT -5
Thanks, Brad. I've emailed them and we'll see what the damage will be to the US. Looks like I'll start with one for now, once I get my tax refund in a few weeks. Then to start accumulating grinders and crackers and winnowers... One day I'll have a big-boy operation.
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Post by Brad on Jan 13, 2011 20:44:03 GMT -5
You're welcome.
Just remember to keep it fun!
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Post by charlieangel on Jan 14, 2011 21:24:18 GMT -5
Not getting a response via their web-form, do you have a good contact for Pavoni for sales?
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