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Soft Serve Machine?

post #1 of 138
5/31/07 at 10:16am
Thread Starter 
I have been watching Craig's List and eBay for a used soft serve machine to go along with my Breakmate, Kegerator, and Frozen Concoction Maker in my media room. Does anyone have one of these? Just wanting some personal experiences.

Mike
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post #2 of 138
6/17/07 at 10:21am
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I am comming back and responding to my own post. I bought a commercial soft serve machine on Craig's list for 500.00 a few weeks ago and it's awesome, easy to use and clean. I buy the mix locally for about 6.00 a gallon (makes 2 gallons of soft serve) and it's a great conversation piece.

Mike
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post #3 of 138
6/17/07 at 1:45pm
How good is the ice cream good for one put into the machine?
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post #4 of 138
6/17/07 at 5:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Improvolone View Post

How good is the ice cream good for one put into the machine?

I am not sure I understand your question. The ice cream out of the machine is very good.

Mike
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post #5 of 138
6/17/07 at 7:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Improvolone View Post

How good is the ice cream good for one put into the machine?

I think the question is how long is the mix good for once you put it in the machine.
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post #6 of 138
6/18/07 at 3:15am
Thread Starter 
Got it....The machine has a standby feature and it keeps the liquid soft serve mix cool in the top of the machine and only makes a small amount of ice cream as needed. I have left it in there for a week with no problems.

Mike
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post #7 of 138
6/18/07 at 5:39am
Soft serve machines can also be used to make frozen Margaritas, Daiquiris, etc.
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post #8 of 138
6/18/07 at 6:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by b curry View Post

Soft serve machines can also be used to make frozen Margaritas, Daiquiris, etc.

Have you ever tried that? I thought this might be possible also but in talking to the customer service department at the company that made my machine they said it would not work.

Mike
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post #9 of 138
6/18/07 at 7:22am
Yes, many times. I bartended my way through college in the 70's. Most often used were Taylor soft serve units.

Machines have been specialized or optimized since then but the concept is the same, that is, a rotating drum with a cooling jacket. The trick is the temperature setting. The alcohol and the % alcohol in the mix keeps the liquid from freezing (lower freezing point) so the temperature on the unit has to be adjusted. Keep some spare seals and lube on hand.

What brand machine did you buy?
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post #10 of 138
6/18/07 at 1:54pm
Thread Starter 
I have a Stoelting, it was a perfect size for us. Here are some pictures:

http://blackcows.com/ss/

Mike
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post #11 of 138
6/19/07 at 8:51pm
I wondered about getting one of those to. I may look for one soon...
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post #12 of 138
6/20/07 at 12:43pm
Mike, looking at your pictures, I can't see any reason you could not use it for frozen cocktails.
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post #13 of 138
6/21/07 at 5:52am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by b curry View Post

Mike, looking at your pictures, I can't see any reason you could not use it for frozen cocktails.


Would I just put some margarita mix and tequila in the top? I guess really the only thing that could happen is that it wouldn't work and I would need to clean it out.

Mike
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post #14 of 138
6/21/07 at 9:50am
Yes Mike, you can scale up your favorite recipe based on your machine size.

An easy thing to do would be to buy one of those buckets of mix (Margarita, Daiquiri, Mojito, etc.) that you add alcohol to and try it out.

Make sure the seals, O-rings, are in good shape and that you're using sanitary lube.
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post #15 of 138
6/22/07 at 1:00am
i had bought a home version of the soft service machine for my brother who heavily fancied soft serve ice cream and the upkeep was always problem. do these require you to freeze the cylinder 24-hours before using or does this always keep it cold?
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post #16 of 138
6/22/07 at 1:02am
i almost forgot the most important question. i wasn't able to judge by the picture, but does it make the twist?
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post #17 of 138
6/23/07 at 8:17pm
Word up, I'm new here.

I've been wanting to get a soft serve machine myself for a few months now. I've searched ebay, craigslist, and google. But I can't seem to find anything other than big industrial models. I'm looking for something exactly like mbartenhagen's Stoelting. Something that's not huge, but ain't puny either. Can anybody point me in the right direction? I'm fine with getting a used machine since they are generally much cheaper. I really don't want to spend over $600.

To mbarten: How do you like your Stoelting? How much effort does it take to clean? How much ice cream can it hold?
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post #18 of 138
6/25/07 at 6:22am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaaltomare View Post

i had bought a home version of the soft service machine for my brother who heavily fancied soft serve ice cream and the upkeep was always problem. do these require you to freeze the cylinder 24-hours before using or does this always keep it cold?


It doesn't require you to freeze anything. Assuming that the machine was cleaned and put back togeather from the last use it takes about 5 minutes to make ice cream.

Mike
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post #19 of 138
6/25/07 at 6:23am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaaltomare View Post

i almost forgot the most important question. i wasn't able to judge by the picture, but does it make the twist?


No, the twist machines require two barrels so that you can have two flavors of ice cream and therefore twice the clean up, size, cost, etc.

Mike
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post #20 of 138
6/25/07 at 6:46am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malice187 View Post

Word up, I'm new here.

I've been wanting to get a soft serve machine myself for a few months now. I've searched ebay, craigslist, and google. But I can't seem to find anything other than big industrial models. I'm looking for something exactly like mbartenhagen's Stoelting. Something that's not huge, but ain't puny either. Can anybody point me in the right direction? I'm fine with getting a used machine since they are generally much cheaper. I really don't want to spend over $600.

To mbarten: How do you like your Stoelting? How much effort does it take to clean? How much ice cream can it hold?

It's really easy to clean, it probably takes 15 to 20 minutes to take apart, clean, and put back togeather. It was amazing to me how simple the thing was. Next time I have it apart I will take some pictures.

The amount of ice cream it can make is limitless. I say this becuase the way a soft serve machine works is that it basically makes a small amount on demand. You pour your liquid soft serve mix into the top chamber, I think mine holds about 3 gallons which is one of the smaller commercial machines available. From here the mix is gravity fed into the mixing chamber, here a small amount is made into ice cream. As you draw out ice cream more liquid flows into the freezing chamber. With my machine we are able to draw 4 or 5 cones or bowls of ice cream before having to wait 1 to 2 minutes for it to catch up. When the machine is not in use it goes into stand by mode, the top stays cool, keeping the liquid cool and the auger in the mixing chamber doesn't run. So the reason I say it is limitless is that you can continue to add mix to the top and you will always be just a few minutes away from soft serve.

I paid 500.00 for mine from a person who had purchased it from a small restaurant.

Mike
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post #21 of 138
6/25/07 at 6:59am
Thread Starter 
[quote=Malice187] Can anybody point me in the right direction? QUOTE]

You may want to look for some places that sell used restaurant equipment. I live near Omaha, NE and there are a few places around here so I am sure in a more populated area there are a lot of these.

Mike
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post #22 of 138
6/25/07 at 7:20am
I am starting to loof for one today... I will post back if I have any luck...
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post #23 of 138
6/25/07 at 10:00am
[quote=mbartenhagen]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malice187 View Post

Can anybody point me in the right direction? QUOTE]

You may want to look for some places that sell used restaurant equipment. I live near Omaha, NE and there are a few places around here so I am sure in a more populated area there are a lot of these.

Mike

First off, thanks for the reply.

See, I live in a VERY small town. There are no restaurant supply stores around here. Believe me, I looked. But hey, if you ever find one around your town, let me know if the place has a website, or phone number, and maybe I can get them to ship it to me. If you ever have the time, or remember, that is. Again, thanks for the reply.

@joerod: Please, do let us know of your findings. Thanks.
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post #24 of 138
6/25/07 at 12:50pm
Surely there must be a "big city" near by.
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post #25 of 138
6/25/07 at 2:27pm
Well, not one that I can get to. I don't yet have a car(working on it. **** is expensive).
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post #26 of 138
6/25/07 at 2:38pm
After searching ebay, I found this auction: http://cgi.*********/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...DME:B:AAQ:US:1

What do you guys think of that machine? It's model number is Y338-27 according to the seller. But I can't seem to find any information on it searching for that number on Google....

EDIT - What the hell? Why won't the link work? Anyway, if you can't reach the link, It's a Taylor 3 Flavor Soft Serve Machine. Model No. Y338-27

EDIT 2 - Found some info on the unit: http://www.taylor-company.com/product/ss_twintwist1.htm
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post #27 of 138
6/25/07 at 3:58pm
Where did you buy your mix?

Norm
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post #28 of 138
6/25/07 at 4:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptHowdy000 View Post

Where did you buy your mix?

Norm

The first few times I made it myself but I gave that up for a few reasons. At times if you get to much cream the machine will make butter, the ice cream actually has flakes of butter and tastes like butter, yuck. Also it is cheaper to buy it than make it. I had been purchasing from a local dairy (Highland Roberts) at a cost of about 6.50 per gallon but just this weekend I puchased from Sam's Club. It costs just a little more but comes frozen and has an expiration date that is about a year out, much more convinent than the stuff from the local dairy that only lasts 3 weeks. The stuff from Sam's cost 32.00 for a case (4 gallons). I think most Soft Serve machines run at about 50% over run which means the machine adds about 50% air to the mix (which is how you get soft serve) so 4 gallons actually gives you 8 gallons of ice cream.

There are also places like this; http://www.uec-hawaii.com/products2.html that sell dry mix that you add water to. It is shelf stable and doesn't need to be kept cold. For anyone that has been to Disney World and had a Dole Whip in the Magic Kingdom you can make your own using the mix from this site.


Mike
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post #29 of 138
6/25/07 at 4:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malice187 View Post

After searching ebay, I found this auction: http://cgi.*********/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...DME:B:AAQ:US:1

What do you guys think of that machine? It's model number is Y338-27 according to the seller. But I can't seem to find any information on it searching for that number on Google....

EDIT - What the hell? Why won't the link work? Anyway, if you can't reach the link, It's a Taylor 3 Flavor Soft Serve Machine. Model No. Y338-27

EDIT 2 - Found some info on the unit: http://www.taylor-company.com/product/ss_twintwist1.htm


Looks nice from the info on the Taylor site. I can't get to the eBay auction but I am sure this machine will bring many thousands of dollars.

Mike
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post #30 of 138
6/25/07 at 4:57pm
Well, the auction actually has it listed for under $200. I contacted the person selling it, and he told me he bought it new in 2002 and had been using it in a small business until 2005. He says it's in great condition and still fully works. Apparently he tested it about a week prior of putting it up for auction... I'm trying to decide if I should bid on it or not. I'm kind of weary of buying a used machine that's 5 years old. But the price seems great.... Decisions decisions.

EDIT - Also, if you want to get to the auction, replace the *****'s in the link with e///bay.com(without the ///)
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