Super Excited! After many months of research the prototype of my state of the art table top chocolate tempering machine is up and running. WAAAY too many improvements over current machines on the market to mention! I am hoping to have this ready for market in the new year.  Here are some features:

Whisper quiet.

Large Bowl and large working area will hold up to 8 litres of chocolate.

FULLY AUTOMATED!

No light bulbs for heat.

Uses state of the art software and touch screen. 

All three stages of the tempering cycle are fully customizable for your style of tempering chocolate.

Temperature safety measures (no more chocolate crawling out of the bowl!  No more broken gear motors!)

Power saving features.

The first one begins use in our production shop tomorrow.  Next month we will build 4 more and cycle out all of our current table top machines.  After 100% uptime for the entire Christmas season we'll be comfortable enough to start taking orders.

Machines will retail for about $2,000 CDN and will come with a lifetime guarantee against defects.

Who's interested?  

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Hello Brad,

I am interested.

How does the chocolate get heated up and cooled down?

Regards,

Omar

I'm very interested.

Best,

Lance

Hi Omar;

The chocolate is heated using two elements in a coil similar to that of a hair dryer.  When the chocolate is heating to the melt cycle both elements are on and it is producing very hot air.  Once the chocolate is at its final cycle (maintain temp), then the large coil shuts off and the small coil cycles.  This uses FAR less energy, and there is no risk of burning the chocolate.

The machine is also designed in such a way that all parts are very easy to get access to and replace in the event that something does break down.

ALSO:  unlike the Pavoni Mini Temper, and the ACMC Mini Temperer which have the circuit board IN the heating and cooling chamber (Stupid design.  I mean really... what were they thinking???? Who puts a circuit board in an oven???), in my machine the circuitry is kept in a completely different chamber with a consistent operating temperature.

Please send me your emails at Brad@Choklat.com so I can put you on the list and keep you updated as to progress.

Cheers

Brad

This is an exciting project, and I am very interested. The machine sounds similar to a Chocovision unit (perhaps the Delta). If you don't mind answering more questions publicly, what is the diameter of the bowl? (In other words, is it wide enough to empty molds into it once they are filled?) I can't quite figure out how 8 litres translates into kilos; do you have that figure? Do you (or will you) have available a comparison to other temperers?

The longest wait in any table-top machine is (for me, at least) the time between the top melt temp and the final tempering point. I have often thought that a cooling source would certainly speed things up. Would that put such machines out of reach as far as cost goes?

I sent an email. I included a question that I'll post here for the larger group. Does this machine handle chocolate straight from a melanger? One thing I've noticed from a lot of table top machines in the lower price range is that they really only work well with already tempered chocolate. I need something in this price range and quantity you've stated that I can put untempered chocolate into, push a button and then is will temper it without much supervision.

Q: What's the diameter of the bowl?

A: Diameter of the bowl is 14 inches.  You can easily dump your polycarbonate molds into it.  The overall height of the machine is 15 inches, so it can easily sit on a chair and be perfectly flush with your kitchen table.

Q: How many kilos can it hold?

A:  It will temper 1 kilo or up to 8 kilos.  Each litre of volume is about 1kg.

Q: What about cooling?  That is always the longest part of the tempering curve.

A:  All table top tempering machines use ambient room air temp to cool, because adding a compressor and cooling device would not only make the machine much larger and heavier, but also significantly more expensive and complex.  This machine is no different in that respect. HOWEVER.... Unlike any other tempering machine on the market, you can turn on and off the first two of the three tempering steps. This gives the operator ultimate flexibility with respect to how they handle their chocolate.

Each tempering cycle has three set points: 1. Heat  2. Cool  3. Reheat. 

If your chocolate is already hot, and you start your tempering cycle, it will figure that out and move to the cool stage or you can just turn set point one off completely.  The machine will then start at 2 and move to three automatically.

Maybe you want to melt it and cool it quicker - say in a water bath like I demonstrate on my website.  No problem .  Turn off set point one and two, and pour your cooled and crystalized chocolate into the bowl, push the cycle start button and walk away.  It will bring the chocolate up to your working temperature and hold it for you all day.

Maybe you have tempered chocolate.  Maybe you don't . It doesn't matter.  You can dump any kind of chocolate into it, set your temperature points, push cycle start, motor start, and walk away.  If the chocolate is cold, the motor will start automatically once the temperature sensor reads 80F/26.5C

Unlike other machines the motor operates independently of the tempering cycle.  This allows you turn off the motor to dip, pour, mix or whatever.  It will continue to try and regulate the temperature of the chocolate.  That being said, the significantly enlarged workspace helps reduce the need to turn the motor off.

Also:  If something happens and your chocolate gets too cool, the motor will automatically go into a "Hold" mode where it will shut off and wait until the chocolate is again at a safe temperature before restarting.  The software in the control center figures that out for you so that you don't turn around and find chocolate crawling out of the bowl (we have had this happen WAAAAY too many times with Hilliards, ACMC, and Pavoni machines).

Baffle:  unlike other machines where the baffle goes all the way across the bowl, essentially cutting your workspace in half, this machine's baffle is removed and replaced with a scraper that agitates the chocolate just enough to keep it from completely crystalizing.  This gives the operator maximum workspace.

Let's say you're working and running low on chocolate.  This is where this machine REALLY shines!  Melt more chocolate very quickly on a double boiler and cool it to 95 degrees F in a water bath.  While it's cooling, drop setpoint 3 (you can do that in real time with this machine WITHOUT having to reset the temper cycle) temperature to 83F/27C  it will begin to overcrystalize the chocolate in the bowl.  Once it's there, and you can see your chocolate getting thick, simply dump the new chocolate into the bowl and raise the working temperature again to your own working temperature.  The new chocolate will help bring up the temperature of the chocolate in the bowl and vice versa - eventually equalling out.  The machine will ensure that the temperature hits your target point.  Wait a few minutes for the new and old chocolate to mix and the temperature to become consistent, and presto!  a bowl full of perfectly tempered chocolate (provided of course that your existing chocolate was overcrystalized to begin with Haha!!)  You can even have spare chocolate premelted and cooled on your stove to add to the machine throughout the day.  (We do this all the time so we never have to go through the tempering process after the first cycle in the morning).

One other thing:  because this machine is for the most part round, there is a HECK of a lot less cleanup at the end of the day.  You don't have a machine with chocolate poured all over it, or a mess of chocolate in the bolt mounts for a baffle that isn't needed in the first place!

As someone who has worked with thousands and thousands of kgs of chocolate over the years, and broken or made a mess with every P.O.S. table top tempering machine out there.  I can assure you that this machine eliminates ALL of the hassle of working with a table top machine.

...and it's not going to break the bank.  After all the price is in Canadian funds.  Our dollar isn't worth much outside of Canada!  LOL

Get On the List!

Brad@Choklat.com

Thanks for the detailed responses. I'm sure I will have more questions--do you prefer that I post them here or email them to you?

One of them will be whether you are familiar with the Chocovision machines and, if so, how they compare to yours.

Jim.

I am familiar with the Chocovision machines.  I had a Rev2.  It was an expensive noisy, tiny waste of money.

Brad

I have a Rev2 for very small jobs, but mostly use a Delta, which does some of the same things yours does (it is fairly noisy). I generally temper my chocolate by raising it to the top temp, then let it fall to around 95F, when I add a small amount of tempered seed, then let it fall further to the working point. I found that when I added the seed when the Delta beeps (at the highest point), the chocolate often gets horribly overtempered in no time at all. Adding it at around 95 means the Type V crystals from the seed get some time to do their job, but not too much. This seems to work. The down side is that, without a large amount of seed added early, it takes longer for the chocolate to cool. I don't lower the temp, then raise it again (in the traditional method, which I gather is the default for your machine and your method of tempering--though the Chocovision machines allow for following either method). Using an unorthodox time to add the seed means I have to stay close to watch the temp because the machines beep at the highest temp, then not again until the temp is 90F, when the seed is supposed to be removed--obviously too late to add seed.

But does it come with a flux capacitor?

This sounds exciting, will you ship to the UK?

Me!  silverchildconfectionaries@gmail.com

Hey Sebastian;

I can build one in.  See attached photo.

Oh... Wait... I just put on my glasses.  Never mind....

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