Soft Serve Machine? - Page 3

Mike,

A pic of the soda machine is attached below. I really wouldnt recommend one though (even if you could find one), since its ild, and spare parts are non-existent. I only paid $75 for it. The game machine is a mame machine, along with some other games, or you can just surf the internet on it I would not personally recommend that popcorn machine. Its probably not a bad one, but probably wouldnt hold up for a very long time like a commercial machine would. It is very similar to the Helman poppers sold at Costco/Sams -

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...=1&topnav=&s=1


They had an 8 ounce machine for under $200, but I can't find it now. I found my 14 oz Gold Medal machine on Ebay from a resturant supply place for $350 - Spectacular machine - Be prepared though, as it required some looking, last minute parts scrounging at the place I bought it, and some cleaning. I would suggest checking with the Gold Medal dealer you contacted - they might be able to offer you a pretty good deal on a machine.

Jerry

Mike,

I know you were going to get some Frosty Greeze (Gold Medal) mix. If you did, try mixing some powdered milk in with the water (2 or 3 quarts worth of powder). It makes the soft serve MUCH creamier, and adds a very nice additional flavor. I bought a big box (22 quarts worth) at Sams for $9.50. I actually like it much better than the dairy mix - Its lighter/fluffier, and has a better flavor - I think very near DQ quality. Also, it moves through the machine better - the dairy mix is so thick it sometimes runs low in the freezing chamber when its being dispensed at a high rate...

Jerry

Hey Mike,

It's kind of up to personal tastes, but I think 3 quarts worth adds a rich flavor and smoothness. If you dont like the flavor as much, but like the smoothness, I would use 2 quarts worth.

Jerry

Mike,
I am adding the equivalent of 2 or 3 quarts (for full strength reconstitution as per the Carnation box) of the powdered milk mix to the 1 gallon of water I mix into each carton of Frosty Freeze mix. The total volume is about 5 quarts after its mixed up. I would guess it makes 2 to 2.5 gallons of soft serve, and the total cost is about $7.50 - about a buck cheaper than I would pay for an equivalent amount of the dairy mix.

Jerry

If I owned one of these I would weigh 400 lbs....

Is that some home brewing equipment I see back in your closet?

I am talking to a guy regarding a Taylor Model 337. Here is a website with the specs http://www.taylor-company.com/product/ss_twintwist1.htm . I am wanting to use it for personal use, is this machine viable? I was wondering if it could be used just air cooled as I don't have a drain or water line I could attach to it. Also, it says that it requires a dedicated electrical source, how hard is it to wire one of these things without any preexisting electrical wires in the spot? Thanks for the input.

vili,
You will need a water supply and drain if it is water cooled. It will probably be quieter though. It wouldn't last long not hooked up to cooling - likely a fire hazard also. It is easy to have it wired for a 230 volt dedicated circuit, which is the same your AC, dryer, Hot water heater, and stove use. Definitely make sure it not a three-phase machine, as that is more involved. It should say which voltage/phase, etc. it is on the manufacturers label.

On the spec sheet it gives both air cooled and water cooled, does that mean I have to use both or either-or? My house doesn't have any place I could run a drain, I could run a water line easily, but a drain would be another story.

Sorry, I thought you meant it was water cooled. They are either/or, not both. If its air cooled, there will be an air outlet vent at the bottom, and no water line connections. I would steer clear of a water cooled unit unless you get a fantastic deal on it.

Jerry

Thought I would resurrect this thread - not much talk lately about soft serve - Any folks got one/thinking about getting one?

Breakmates are OK (We had one in our company years ago), but the issues with them are that the syrup containers are only 1 liter, and cost much too much money prefilled.

You can fill them yourself which is a pain the neck, or design an autofiller (We actually did that for our diet coke flavor), which used a float connected to a switch, connected to a pump. It kept the 1 liter tank filled with diet coke syrup.

I considered one for my home, and could have gotten one from a local company that refurbs them, and warranties them, but instead I went with the "real-thing".

Check out the pics at: http://pblq.com/Soda.html

Reed

Holy crap! That is the coolest thing ever!!!! Where do you get the thing that switches syrups etc.?

You can get a complete setup from either athomesoda.com or www.sodabarsystem.com. He indicates on his link, that he got his from athomesoda. But be prepared for sticker shock if you are thinking of buying a setup like one of those new. Starting price if you need to have the lines go further than 6 feet away from the remote cooler/refrigeration unit, is about $3,500. If you can do it with 6 feet of line or less, then it's about a thousand bucks less. But if you need to go over 6 feet lines then you need the heavier duty remote refrigeration unit that also has chilled conduit lines inside the bundle that runs up to the bargun, otherwise the both the syrup and carbonated will warm up that's sitting inside the long lines. Not only does that means the soda/syrup that's sitting inside the long lines would be very warm when it's first served after sitting, but the carbonated water part of it can even start to go flat as a result of getting warm. I contacted both of the above vendors, and I was quoted just under $4k for a system from both of them with what I would need as far as length of lines and the H/D remote cooler/refrigeration unit. Sorry, but that is a bit too much.

Soooooo... I went on ebay and hung around and waited for something that was just right to finally to show up. And it did just last week, and I won the bid on a complete system that was just removed from a club/bar, that ran two barguns, with one of them being up the second floor of the club. And the system I won is only 5 years old, the refrigeration unit was manufactured on 05/2003. I just received it all two days ago. and it included, one H/D remote chiller/refrigeration unit, not just one but TWO 12 button Wunder-Bar barguns, 8 syrup pumps, CO2 regulator and all the pressure gauges, one bundle of line 20 feet long, and second bundle of line 60-70 feet long, and a manifold to hook it up to run both barguns at once. In fact, the remote cooler/refrigeration unit that it came with, is the exact same H/D one that sodabarsystems quoted me for $3,800 shipped, and that was without a bargun. With everything I got on the one I won on ebay, my guess is that it would be over $5k for everything if I bought it all new.

My winning bid for it all, was $250, and shipping was another $225. So for just under $500, I got what would be well over $5,000 worth of equipment if it was new.

I hope to get it all setup and running, probably somewhere around in a few weeks to a month.

Wow Johnla. Good deal! I could totally do one of these in less than 6' as I have a stairwell behind my counter. I should hold off for now though. I have already done plenty of overkill. Thanks for the information and good luck with your new system!!!!

Very cool setup there. Is this on the entrance to your theater or in it?

There is another one on ebay right now, so far it's at $100. Item # for it is 330238998978 in case you are interested in it.

Thanks I think. Wow that could be sooooo cool! I will totally bid on that. So what else do you need besides the syrup? I suppose you would need a co2 tank too right? Anything else?

I think it's safe to say this guy likes his ice cream

Um yeah. How long does that stuff keep in the machine? I sold one of those really nice commerical machines a year ago. I was tempted to keep it, but it seems like a lot of hassle and produces more than we could eat. But I guess if it keeps for a long time, you would just have to pay for the electrical expense.

On the other hand it would be a big crowd pleaser! (sometimes a big crowd pleaser isn't the best thing though )

Any plans for one of these on the roof?



I hope you have kids, their friends must love hanging out at your place!

mbartenhagen definitely needs to add a Slurpee machine to the mix!

This one is close enough for me. Bring on the summer heat!




"Thank you, come again!"

ahahaha! lol

Awesome! OK so you totally have to have one of those hot dog roller steam tray thingers too.

A good Hot cocoa machine would be nice for the winter.