There are a lot of different pieces of equipment that are used in the frozen treat industry from ice cream to froyo to custard and other machines. Here is a quick rundown of some popular pieces of equipment.
Batch Freezer
A batch freezer is designed to make hard-packed ice cream. The ice cream mix is poured into the freezing cylinder and is frozen at 20° F. Once the ice cream has frozen, the treat is put into a container and flash frozen to 0° F. This piece of equipment can also be used for traditional Italian ice and sherbet.
Beater Shaft
The batch freezer uses a freezing cylinder to create the ice cream and inside of that cylinder is a beater shaft. This shaft supports the scraper blades which scrape the frozen product from the sides of the cylinder. The beater shaft is also referred to as an auger or dasher.
CAB Model
Any freezer that has a refrigerated storage area in the bottom portion of the machine is referred to as a CAB Model. In addition, these freezers have a mix pump mounted in the refrigerated portion of the unit.
CMT-RMT Model
The freezers in the Electro Freeze Freedom 360 Series are all considered CMT-RMT Models. Similar to the CAB Model, the CMT-RMT Models have a mix transfer system mounted in the refrigerated cabinet in the lower portion of the freezer.
Combination Freezer
A combination freezer is just what its name implies: a combination of products is available from one machine. This type of freezer produces both soft serve ice cream and shakes in the same unit.
Compressor
The compressor is an important part of any cooling or freezing system. The piece of equipment circulates the refrigerant throughout the rest of the system. It works by removing the refrigerant vapor from the evaporator and compressing it, turning it into a liquid.
Condenser
Another important part of a refrigerant system is the condenser. This unit cools the gas that has absorbed heat in the evaporator. There are two different kinds of condensers: water-cooled and air-cooled. The water-cooled condenser is basically a tube inside of a tube. Water flows through the inner tube and gas flows through the outer one. The water absorbs the heat from the gas and then the water is emptied out through a drain. An air-cooled condenser uses copper tubing routed through rows of metal fins. Air is forced through the fins and gas is cooled through heat dissipation.
Direct Draw or Flavor Injected Shake Freezer
A Direct Draw or Flavor Injected Shake Freezer injects and mixes flavoring into the shake product as it is dispensed. CO2 or compressed air is used to push the flavored syrup from its container to the dispensing head of the freezer.
Dispensing Head or Door
Another part of the freezing and dispensing system is the dispensing head or door. As the frozen product leaves the freezing cylinder, it goes through the dispensing head or door and is served in a cup, cone, or other containers. The dispensing head can also shape the product and a twist head can allow two flavors to combine in a twist or combine into a single serving.
Evaporator
In an Electro Freeze machine, the evaporator is a stainless-steel tube wrapped with copper tubing and insulation. A gas expands in the evaporator, removing the heat from the system. This is a unique feature of Electro Freeze machinery and creates an efficient freezer system.
Expansion Valve
The expansion valve controls the flow of refrigerant through the cooling system. The refrigerant is under high pressure when it reaches this valve. The expansion valve restricts the refrigerant’s flow, releasing it at a low pressure which causes the liquid to expand and vaporize. This reaction creates the cold temperatures that are needed to freeze the mixture.
Gravity Fed Freezer
The Gravity Fed Freezer works by allowing the mix and airflow by gravity from the hopper to the freezing cylinder. This type of freezer uses mix feed tubes in the place of a mix pump. Gravity Fed Freezers dispense frozen products at typically warmer temperatures and lower overruns than pressurized freezers.
Hopper Models
A freezer is considered a hopper model when it has a mix reservoir on the top of the machine.
Mix Transfer System
Electro Freeze offers this new industry standard for pressurized equipment. The Mix Transfer System meters and injects air into the mixture. The mix is then moved from the refrigerated cabinet to the freezing cylinder. This system is simple to maintain, disassemble, and clean.
Pressurized Freezer
A soft serve or shake freezer that is equipped with mix pumps that transfer mix from a hopper or container to the freezing cylinder. As the mix is pumped into the cylinder, a controlled amount of air is added to the product. The air pressure forces the product from the cylinder when dispensing.
Twist Freezer
A twist freezer is any soft serve freezer that has two freezing cylinders and one dispensing head. The freezer dispenses two flavors independently or combining the two flavors into a single serving.