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Post by resty on Mar 6, 2020 15:38:26 GMT -5
Hi,
Which one is better, Ball Mill or Counc machine? In terms of quality, time and more... I want to make larg amount.
Thnanks
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Jim B.
Novice
Newbie
Posts: 118
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Post by Jim B. on Mar 7, 2020 7:33:40 GMT -5
These are two different machines that do two different processes. The ball mill can be used to grind (refine) the chocolate into the small particle size we associate with a creamy texture. The conch will help to develop flavor through aeration and shearing. (Ben could probably help make this more clear - and maybe more accurate!)
How much are you looking to make?
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Post by Chip on Mar 7, 2020 8:48:01 GMT -5
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Post by resty on Mar 8, 2020 7:17:48 GMT -5
These are two different machines that do two different processes. The ball mill can be used to grind (refine) the chocolate into the small particle size we associate with a creamy texture. The conch will help to develop flavor through aeration and shearing. (Ben could probably help make this more clear - and maybe more accurate!) How much are you looking to make? I make spread chocolate. I would like to make somthing like 10 - 20 KG Per in one session. Thanks. From what I understood the preparation in the ball mill is shorter. I also realized that there are those who do with both machines. I'm right? In my opinion both machines are a little too much for me right now.
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Jim B.
Novice
Newbie
Posts: 118
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Post by Jim B. on Mar 8, 2020 8:30:09 GMT -5
Resty, I think you would do well to start with a ball mill or another refiner such as a melanger. If I understand it correctly, the conch is not designed to do the initial grinding, but can be useful at later stages - especially to develop flavor. (I'm still quite new at this.) I think Chip could verify this - the DCM-20 can do about 10kg at a time, but at $2,500+ (USD) that's a lot to invest if you haven't been already doing this on a smaller scale. The smaller Premier Chocolate melanger can't do as much (maybe about 4kg?) But at a little over $300 (USD) you could test the market, and buy several more before you get close to spending the same amount of money! Another benefit is that by having multiple machines you can overlap production for a more continuous supply (not to mention a failsafe against breakage or downtime).
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Post by resty on Mar 8, 2020 11:19:32 GMT -5
Resty, I think you would do well to start with a ball mill or another refiner such as a melanger. If I understand it correctly, the conch is not designed to do the initial grinding, but can be useful at later stages - especially to develop flavor. (I'm still quite new at this.) I think Chip could verify this - the DCM-20 can do about 10kg at a time, but at $2,500+ (USD) that's a lot to invest if you haven't been already doing this on a smaller scale. The smaller Premier Chocolate melanger can't do as much (maybe about 4kg?) But at a little over $300 (USD) you could test the market, and buy several more before you get close to spending the same amount of money! Another benefit is that by having multiple machines you can overlap production for a more continuous supply (not to mention a failsafe against breakage or downtime). Hi Jim, Im looking for ball mill beacouse i think its will be faster. Second reason, thier is a lot of amortization (I hope I write it right). I put 2 KG in the melanger and i end with 1.7 KG. So the machine is a bit wasteful probably because it sticks a lot on the sides, or the chocolate "shrinks" in the process and its going to be anyway.
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Post by Ben on Mar 11, 2020 13:08:17 GMT -5
A ball mill will refine quickly, but really needs to be followed by a conche as it doesn't really conche much at all. I don't know this for sure, but I'd assume you'd have at least as much loss in a ball mill as you do in a stone grinder. The amount you're losing (300g) seems really high to me, though. Are you scraping it clean at the end?
As others have said above, a conche doesn't do any refining.
Another option to look into is a universal refiner/conche. This, as the name suggests, both refines and conches. If you're in North America, Brad at Choklat is a distributor for them. If elsewhere, they're available on Alibaba from a bunch of vendors. There are various sizes, with the usual one being a 40L that can do about 40 kg per batch. There's also a smaller one if that's what you want (not sure if Brad distributes those, though).
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Post by resty on Mar 13, 2020 3:08:50 GMT -5
A ball mill will refine quickly, but really needs to be followed by a conche as it doesn't really conche much at all. I don't know this for sure, but I'd assume you'd have at least as much loss in a ball mill as you do in a stone grinder. The amount you're losing (300g) seems really high to me, though. Are you scraping it clean at the end? As others have said above, a conche doesn't do any refining. Another option to look into is a universal refiner/conche. This, as the name suggests, both refines and conches. If you're in North America, Brad at Choklat is a distributor for them. If elsewhere, they're available on Alibaba from a bunch of vendors. There are various sizes, with the usual one being a 40L that can do about 40 kg per batch. There's also a smaller one if that's what you want (not sure if Brad distributes those, though). So, I can't make spread chocolate with just conch machine too right? I Mean like macintyre.
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Post by Ben on Mar 13, 2020 12:35:32 GMT -5
A Macintyre is a universal refiner/conche--not just a conche--so you could make smooth chocolate with one.
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