Questions about using a wheel based tempering machine with enrober

I have not had any experience in using these machines and wondered if someone could explain how the chocolate is changed over. For example, I use two different kinds of dark, and milk. How do they all stay melted? Is it a lot of work to clean up and make the change over?

Also, I have been look at a Perfect air 2 / enrober 2 machine as a possibility as it would fit my budget and has gotten reasonable reviews. Does anyone have any experience with this particular make?

updated by @elaine-hsieh: 04/09/15 07:58:03AM

Yes, I have one. To change over is a real pain! I bought an extra pan, but never used it. The enrober is designed to remove and clean after each use. I do this twice a year. I leave it in place, which makes adding chocolate a bit of a problem. I always keep dark chocolate in it and feed it with tempered chocolate from another melter. It is certainly capable of tempering, but I usually don't have the patience. For the price, it has been a good machine. It does a good job, and it is not too pricey. Get some training, because there is no operators manual. If I had the money, I would buy a Selmi.

I have one too, a Prefamac. Very sturdy machine, built like a tank, runs day and night. It is some work to change over. You have to drain the tank and then refill. I only enrobe in dark, but I can see a change-out really taking no more than half an hour. Easy enough to refill, but you'd have to wait for the melt if you don't have another holder/melting tank. If you have a lot of volume it's worth it. Get a blower and detailer as well-it will make a big difference in the quality and appearance of your end product. You can email me on jgstern at mac dot com if you would like more info. Also, takes a bit of practice to get the results you want-the machine does nothing for you, you have to do everything for the machine.

I have two wheel machines for sale, used if anyone interested but not enrobers

Hi Richard,

I sent a friend request to you to find out more about your machines.

Thanks,

Erin

I have the Perfect Compact Coater. It's the smallest enrober the company offers and probably the least expensive enrober on the market. It is even more rudamentary than the Prefamac that Jeff Stern speaks of. I find that it is an excellent starter machine. It is a giant step up from hand dipping without spending $30-40k on an automatic machine. As my business grows, I will certainly look into getting a higher end machine such as a Selmi or LCM (my favorite!). With the lack of financing available for small business these days the Perfect enrober is an excellent compromise.

It is a rather simple machine that includes a blower, a detailer, and a polycarbonate shield (at least mine does). Just like Jeff Stern says, it is the talent of the operator that really influences the results. I am able to keep the temper going for 12-15 hours. Keep your heat gun handy, but so long as you keep the room around 70 degrees you should only need to use it maybe once an hour for about a minute or two. Learning the mechanics of how the belt, the blower, and the detailer work will give you the best results. The Perfect Enrober is a simple machine and you will definitely see all the mechanics in action which is actually kind of cool. Tempering in the machine is easy with the seeding method. Also, cleanup is very easy and you can easily enrobe in dark one day, clean the pan, and enrobe in milk chocolate the next day.

Using a wheel based enrobing machine can actually make you a better chocolatier. You learn to keep an eye on things and have an understanding of what is going on all the time.

So the bottom line is if you feel you need an enrober, but cannot yet afford a Selmi, Savy, or LCM (Lexus, Mercedes, BMW) definitely get a wheel based machine such as Perfect (Honda Civic). It will get you where you want to go.

I have a wheel based temperer, a forty-four pounder. Whenyou change over, if you can storethe pan ina warming cabinet; then tempering doesn't take forever. Then we usually wash up the wheel and the little spout/waterfall, whatever it is called. It's not too bad. Of late we have a bit of a problem with the chocolate over-tempering during the enrobing run. Parts of the enrober itself are a bitch to clean. I dream about the Selmi.

I think my machine holds around 20kg maximum. You need a tank that is at least half or 2/3rds full to have a good enrobing session. If the chocolate gets too low, the wheel does not pick up the chocolate very well and this will affect your chocolate curtain.

The Perfect company now has a new owner and they have made slight improvements to their machines. The bottom line is if you don't have the money for an excellent selmi or other automatic machine, get started with a wheel machine. It's a major step up from hand dipping.

I bought my Perfect last August just before the sell. I was dealing with the son, but he sold to someone else.

There are a few articles about the sale to the new owner in French on the Perfect Equipment website. I had to order a part this past week and they were quite responsive. Good luck with everything.

Richard, I'm also interested in your wheel machine. If you could tell me a little more about the brand, size and how much you're asking. Thank you. george@georgepaulchocolates.com