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Post by Chip on May 15, 2018 8:43:35 GMT -5
I received a replacement wheel last week, and hopefully will have time to do a couple of hours with oil/sugar tomorrow and then do a batch of chocolate to ensure everything is sorted. Great! Happy chocolatiering!
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Post by subrosa on Aug 1, 2018 2:25:27 GMT -5
Just wanted to confirm that with the new wheel everything is great. While with the faulty wheel I had issues as soon as my second batch, I'm on my seventh batch with the replacement wheel and I've had not the least issue. I'm very happy.
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Post by emmanuel on Jun 14, 2019 12:20:38 GMT -5
Brad Which company from China makes the JMJ40? I am from Uganda; importing the machine from China would be easier.
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Post by Ben on Jun 14, 2019 12:33:11 GMT -5
Hi Emmanuel. There are many companies who make (or at least sell) the JMJ40 in China. In North America, Brad is a distributor for them and provides support, handles importing, etc. I imported one myself and it was a pretty difficult process. To import from China to Uganda, you could look at Alibaba, which lists many sellers for them.
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Post by emmanuel on Jun 14, 2019 12:54:32 GMT -5
Hi Emmanuel. There are many companies who make (or at least sell) the JMJ40 in China. In North America, Brad is a distributor for them and provides support, handles importing, etc. I imported one myself and it was a pretty difficult process. To import from China to Uganda, you could look at Alibaba, which lists many sellers for them. Thanks Ben,
Yeah sure there are many companies listed, I want to use one that you or Brad has used.
Thanks
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Post by Ben on Jun 14, 2019 13:30:15 GMT -5
You definitely don't want to use the one I used (Nantong Twinkle Machinery). It was one of the worst buying experiences of my life. The machine is fine now, but it took a lot of work to get there.
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Post by Brad on Jun 25, 2019 1:04:53 GMT -5
Hi. I just read this thread. Here's the skinny on the JMJ40's. There is only one company in China that makes the JMJ40. It's the Suzhou Lejoy Equipment Manufacturing company. They are predemoninantly all Chinese in their office, so communication is very difficult. They have opened up the sales of the machines to MANY different individuals in China who represent themselves as the manufacturers, when in fact they are not! Unless you are dealing directly with Suzhou Lejoy, you are rolling the dice and will most likely have challenges. All the "companies" advertising the JMJ40's are just sales guys with no more than a toaster in their warehouse!
Oh... and don't expect a warranty of ANY type. Nothing. Nada. I offer a warranty and stand behind the machines. Recently a client had challenges, so I simply sent them a whole new machine, no questions asked. You won't get that from your Alibaba contact. Ever.
I deal with a company that was founded by one of the original partners of Suzhou Lejoy. Over the course of 11 years we have built a very trusting and solid working relationship. When I have a technical question, my contact calls the factory directly. In fact it was by working directly with the engineers at Suzhou Lejoy that we were able to make changes to the machines to allow them to run on single phase electricity (common in commercial applications, but not in industrial applications).
I am so confident in my supplier that I just ordered over $300,000 worth of other equipment such as larger refiners, tanks, molding plants, packaging equipment, and pumps. All of the equipment has arrived in good order and will be installed in my factory TOMORROW, June 25th. I'm pretty stoked!!!
Yes, my prices are higher than Alibaba. But with Choklat you get peace of mind, plus I actually have experience using the equipment - something nobody else will offer. True story: even my supplier has learned a lot about the equipment from me.
You pick your poison: Pay a little more and get service and reliability, or save a few bucks, then sit back and enjoy your nightmare.
Cheers. Brad.
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Post by Ben on Jun 25, 2019 7:02:46 GMT -5
Brad: It seems like there's just the one manufacturer of parts of the JMJ40, but that others assemble them, add different motors and gearboxes, stands, etc. I've seen many different varieties of the JMJ40. They all appear to have the same refining chamber, scrapers, etc., but the controls are different or something. For example, some of them are on legs, while some are on top of cabinets, and others are intended to be placed on an equipment stand. Some have the controls mounted under the motor, while others have the controls as a separate box, etc. I did actually get a warranty, which was more or less honored, but it was still a very difficult process. When people ask about it, I always mention that it'd be easier to buy from you.
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Post by Brad on Jun 27, 2019 22:25:19 GMT -5
Thanks.
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Post by subrosa on Jul 28, 2019 14:56:43 GMT -5
I would like to reiterate that a year later I am still very very happy with my melanger. I make great chocolate that multiple people tell me is the best chocolate they have ever had. I'm not saying these people are experts or connoisseurs, just people who probably haven't had real quality chocolate, and it's a pleasure to me to give that experience to my friends. While I have no interest in making this a business, people keep telling me I should, and in fact some people I see once a year already pledged to buy 40 bars if I will bring more this year, half milk chocolate and half 80% dark, and since I make 40 bar batches, that's half of what I will be making just on preorders, and I expect the other half to easily sell. I'm following all appropriate label laws and procedures for a home kitchen in my state, and I'm just very proud of the chocolate I hand make, temper, mold, and label.
I mostly make low carb chocolate for myself with allulose to have chocolate with my low carb lifestyle. The experiment with goat milk powder to make a low carb no cow dairy milk chocolate bar, as I'm allergic to cow dairy, didn't really lead to something I wanted to make again. It wasn't bad, it was just very different, and not really different in a good way. I'm still satisfied that my initial goal to make an allulose and goat milk milk chocolate bar was a success in that I did create just that, and even though it wasn't something I wanted to keep making, the 60% dark allulose I make for myself is very good, actually one of my friend's favorite even though they aren't a low carb person, and obviously so much more economical than buying lesser quality allulose chocolate. I also would note that while there have been a couple of people who've had a bit of stomach discomfort from the allulose, they are a pretty small minority.
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Post by bmikiten on Jul 31, 2019 14:06:49 GMT -5
Subrosa - Well put and welcome to Brad's world of self-promotion.
The machine you purchased should be fine. I've had them before and made lots of chocolate and money before upgrading. The sleeves are pressed in and as chip noted, the factory does glue them but due to the materials, it doesn't always stay in 100% of the time. Part of this is due to the variability in machining the stones inside diameter. I fitted small delrin washers to one of mine and that was no longer an issue but it may or may not work on your model. The other (bigger) issue to be sure you address is how much nib volume you use in the beginning if the process. Putting lots of strain on the machine early on by overloading it can cause some of what you are experiencing. Get some smooth chocolate in the machine by starting with small volumes then add more.
Brian
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Post by Brad on Aug 7, 2019 10:42:56 GMT -5
BAAAA HA HA HA HA!!
Self Promotion...
While you still play around with the little granite wheeled grinders I've grown my little company that started where you are today into the largest craft chocolate factory in North America. Yes. That's a fact. The new equipment I've installed has the capacity to make 48,000 chocolate bars per day, and it's all still bean to bar.
I don't make profit selling a few melangeurs here and there. Choklat is WAAAAY beyond that. I offer them for sale because I want to steer the craft industry in the right direction when it comes time to scale up from making chocolate at home. I have always contributed to this forum (and others) giving pragmatic, no nonsense advice because there is a LOT of misinformation out there.
I have never made a single dollar off of this site, nor have I sold a chocolate bar through this site. I'm simply here to help, and have far more experience in the chocolate industry than you ever will.
Am I saying this out of ego? Absolutely not. I'm saying this because it's easy to sound like an authority behind the veil of a computer screen when you have nothing more than a toaster in your warehouse. I'm backing my knowledge up with actions and showing the world that I have more than a toaster in my warehouse, and have built a multi million dollar company from a single melangeur because I know what I'm doing.
You're just mad because I've shut down some of your stupid advice.
Brad.
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Post by Brad on Aug 7, 2019 10:50:35 GMT -5
Oh... Here is what just one part of my facility looks like...
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