Does anyone have any experience with these melters? They seem to be a great price at less than $500 for an 18kg chocolate melter.

I just want to make sure I'm not throwing money at a melter that won't hold a stable temp.

Thanks!

updated by @george-trejo: 04/19/15 22:29:56

I don't have any experience with that melter, but have been thinking about getting this food warmer to use as a chocolate melter:

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/apw-wyott-w-3v-12-x-20-countertop-food-warmer-120v/135W3V%20%20%20%20%20%20120.html

Has anyone used one of these? How did it work?

To everyone looking to shave a few bucks off a purchase, capital acquisition costs are only a small part of the total cost picture, or total cost of operation (TCO).

Operating a piece of equipment can cost more than buying it.

If one piece of equipment is less energy efficient than another, then it may make more sense to buy the more expensive piece of equipment as it will be cheaper in the long run

Ben - the unit you're looking at is a food warmer. It wants to hold food above 150F. That's real high for chocolate. I'd contact the company (or the web site) and ask them what the bottom end of the range on the thermostat is. Even is 150F is okay, you'll pay more to keep it at that temp than at 120F - and it will cost more in the long run, even if you saved a few bucks up front.

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

Thanks Clay. Definitely good points. I've got an email in to them. I'll post their reply when I get it. I'm mostly looking for something to pre-melt chocolate to load into my tempering machine--not really hold it at temp once melted.

I realize you don't need a stable temp.

The question is: "How long will it take for any given approach to melting chocolate take to melt X weight to desired temp?" This melter might be real fast - too fast, in fact in that it will melt far more chocolate than you need far more quickly than you need to a temperature much higher than you need.

If so, then whatever money you're saving on the equipment you're losing in increased energy costs.

Or maybe not. There could be ways to much more closely monitor the equipment, but it won't be "set and forget" especially at the beginning.

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

APW replied and said that the linked food warmer's temperature range is 70-180 F. So, it looks like it should work well for chocolate melting.

Panasonic Inverter Technology Microwave, 2.5 cubic feet.

Then it should be good to go. Keeping the temp low will also reduce any moisture that might get into the chocolate. (Or, make sure you have tight lids.)


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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

I ordered one last night around 7:30 and it's already on the truck for delivery today.

This one can be operated wet or dry, so moisture shouldn't be a problem. Dry operation, like most of the 'true' chocolate melters, was one of the characteristics I was looking for. Most of the food warmers that I found required water.

I don't have any chocolate needing melting today, but I'll try to do some tests with water in the pan to see how well it works.

Please let us know how it works. It'd be a good option if it works.


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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

Will do!

So, I tested the food warmer using a hotel pan of cool water. I started by setting the warmer to 4. This brought the water up to 140 and held it pretty consistently for an hour or so. The next day, I set it to 3 and it held it right at 130 for several hours.

So, it looks like it can hold temp pretty well and can go low enough to be used to melt chocolate. I haven't had a chance to actually melt chocolate with it, but it looks like a viable alternative to more expensive melters.

Thank you Ben for checking this out. I placed an order yesterday for one. Even if it won't work for tempering in it I will be able to use it to keep melted chocolate on hand to refill the chocovision.

No problem George! While I haven't tested it for tempering, I actually believe it would work (assuming the temp range they gave me is accurate). It seems to hold a steady temperature, so you should be able to temper with it just like you would with a mol d'art.

Ben;

Did you check the temperature that the bottom/sides of the pan get while heating the contents? It's one thing to heat water and see that it's holding the temperature at around 140. HOWEVER.... Chocolate burns VERY easily. Did you take the temperature of the walls of your food warmer while it was getting the contents to the "stand by" temperature? If the walls go higher than 180 F, you're going to have some burnt chocolate on your hands.

It is this exact reason that almost everychocolate melter on the market uses eitherwarm water, or a gentle, non direct heat source and not the heating elements used in food warmers.

Just food for thought....

Brad.

Good point, Brad. I haven't yet, but I'll test it and post my results. I could use water with this as well, but wanted to avoid that if possible.

One other data point: on its lowest setting, it warmed the pan of water to 100F and held it there. It took a few hours to reach that temp.

Just wondering if anyone has tried tempering chocolate in the food warmer mentioned in this discussion.

I have tried it, and it didn't work for me. It didn't work for melting either. I left it overnight on the lowest setting and by morning the chocolate and cocoa butter had completely separated (way too hot)

That's for the webrestaurantstore.com melter, not the dessertshouse.com one.

While I haven't attempted to temper in it, I have been using it for the past couple months as a chocolate melter, and can say that it works great. I stick to the lowest 2 1/2 settings and have had no issues with scorching. At level 2 1/2, the bottom of the warmer (where the heating element is) got over 180, but the bottom of the pan of chocolate never went above 140.

Sorry to hear it didn't work for you. I've been using it for a couple months now and haven't had any problems with it. I haven't left chocolate in it overnight, though. Generally, I'll put a pan of chocolate in it in the morning for tempering a few hours later.

I wonder if there's a way to have the power cut when the chocolate reaches a certain temp and then turned back on if it drops.

Ben -

It's possible to put a digital thermometer in the chocolate and attach it to a device that will turn the power on and off. However, you will only be measuring the temperature at one point, so I don't know how useful it will be.

:: Clay

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

updated by @clay: 09/13/15 00:25:47