This one…. Can’t recall the brand… super cheap… need a heat gun to keep everything operating well.
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My first post is to say THANK YOU!
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Agreed the OP did a fantastic write up giving great references and sources for material to study and I’m forever grateful 
Control Freaks are good. Make sure to use pots that are fully tri-ply (not just the base).
Ideally you have a constant stirring mechanism. Even with tri-ply pots, your slurry won’t actually be the temp you set it to. You really can’t turn the temp higher to achieve target slurry temp without constant stirring or you will just toast the bottom portion.
Also, switch to pectin sooner rather than later or you will have lots of headaches with melting.
Most importantly — keep having fun!!
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Great idea!
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Please share the link to this.
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Here’s the link to the funnel heated I was talking about and posted screenshots to. Let me know what you all think or if anyone has used or thought of anything like this? Even better if anyone knows of a good company who will make a custom one to hook up to a PID controller I already currently have for my cart farmer gun…I’m looking into a couple companies now. One specifically who looks like they already have something similar which wraps around the bottom of a soup dispensing kettle. …here’s the company I’m talking about, I’ll be talking to them today.
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Oops here’s the funnel heater too https://www.datasweet.info/online-store/lab-equipment-store/lab-tools/depositing-funnel/funnel-heater/
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Yeah that makes sense for sure. I rarely leave the slurry by itself for too long anyways hahaha. …this may be a long shot but I’m curious if a potential poor man’s control freak could be me just hooking up a higher quality induction into a inkbird temp controller or similar brand (as long as it’s rated for like 15 amps)…some of these temp controllers out there are really good. Could post a couple links to see if anyone has any clue if it’ll work or not…mabe I’m being a bit finicky with my equipment😂…But yeah like you said unless the slurry is actually stirring and moving then it’s only gonna be so accurate …but still a good indication of where I’m at especially since I’m rarely not stirring once things are going. My dream at this point is a fire mixer/cooker electric kettle. If I can ever shell out the cash that is …for now I’ll stick to doing it by hand and possibly cheating the system a little with the right induction hooked into a temp controller. Anyone got opinions?
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You sound much more handy with the equipment stuff than I. Might be worth a shot. And if you figure something out, it may be a marketable solution.
I make enough profit per gummy that the additional costs of a Control Freak or using Dark City Molds is negligible. I would rather have the best. I’m not going to sweat saving $1k when I could instead take 5 mins to make a sales call I wouldn’t otherwise & make $1k profit or more.
FireMixers on the other hand are overpriced. There’s a lot about them that is cool / convenient, sure. But kettle size is no bueno. I am using 32qt pots on multiple Control Freaks with auto stirring mechanisms.
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Damn I would love to see your set up that sounds like a dream haha! I hear you tho I kinda figured the fire mixer was a little over the top especially considering a control freak is like 1500 and now that you mention automated stirrers that changes the game and my whole thought process for the future. Hahaha instead of jumping to the fire mixer I’ll be snagging a control freak when I get the opportunity and maybe my poor man’s control freak attempt will actually work out. I’ll do some testing soon here and let everyone know. As far as the silicone heated sleeve for the confectionary funnel I’m actually really exited about that idea as the thought of buying a depositer for me right now isn’t anywhere around the corner lol. Not to mention it looks like there’s a decent amount of waste with those machines. And I haven’t been too impressed with the videos I’ve seen of people using the Manuel lever ones lol I would rather pour and scrape a whole mat I think.
Also curious on your opinion on dark city molds…are they worth it? I have bold makers which are real nice and always see @mgucci mentioned on here for quality as well but have my doubts on the quality difference between them all
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Silicone is silicone. In no way, shape, or form, are dark city’s molds “better”. Yes he has different options with “thinner” silicone, “thicker” silicone, and “colored” silicone.
I’ve also had bold maker molds. Their cube mold weighs almost 3x more than mine. You are paying for extra silicone, which i have found to not be beneficial in any way. But they are a sick ass company, and huge respect to bold maker.
First encounter I came across with dark city, he claimed his “rose pro” molds were some secret silicone from Germany and it was superior. Well like Maury, that was determined a lie. It’s only coloring.
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you might try a steam jacketed kettle? I have a 20qt steam kettle that i’m using as a batch cooker. temp control is pretty good on it, and might hold you over as a poor man’s solution until you jump to a fire mixer? you can find them pretty cheap at a restaurant equipment auction or the like.
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As Far as molds go, IME, while “silicone is silicone”, tooling and polishing are big factors. We just bought 200 custom molds from Bold Maker for hard candy and gummies. After looking at several companies and testing their sample molds, bold maker was by far easier to un-mold, leaves a nicer smooth surface on the hard candy. not as big an issue if you’re sanding your gummies, no one will see it, but I wanted the hard candies to be really shiney and slick.
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Agree with you on that. Polishing was something I did not mention. Do you only see that effect with hard candy?
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Where are you located? You can DM me.
Forget depositors. Flood & scrape all the way. We flood & scrape massive batches.
I’m interested in the heated funnels for hard candies.
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100% worth it. Nothing else worth using. Once you go rose pro…
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This is patently false. Seems you still have more to learn about your own product category, which is fine.
Dark City Molds are not ‘just silicone’. There are other additives. I won’t say any more on this…
…and I don’t need to. Anyone serious about gummy making can buy just one DCM to compare.
If you know what you are doing, the difference is obvious. If you are just starting out, it may not be so obvious.
My demolders can each clear & sugar 16,000 gummies / 88 molds in a single shift, by hand. You just won’t get that kind of speed with any other mold. That’s $.01 per gummy in labor.
I would expect someone de-molding lower tier molds might clear half the molds / gummies in a shift. So double the cost + time, and thus $160 extra labor per 88 molds / 16,000 gummies. That adds up so damn fast… You would almost pay for 1 DCM mold in 1 go.
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Eh, maybe forget depositors if you aren’t also adding the rest of the line (cooling tunnel, demolder, oiling system, coating drums)…
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