I’m currently using a series of convection burners and 12qt pots for my pectin gummies using the pour and scrape method. Production has gotten to the point where I want to make bigger batches with less dishes and running around. Thankfully demand keeps growing!
I’m considering the Savage Bros Electrostove, agitator, 20gallon kettle and the more manual of the lifts they offer.
I’d love to hear any feedback - I’ve seen a few posts mentioning the firestove but I think that is maybe my next upgrade unless I go with a full inline system at that point. I may fly out to Chicago to check it out before buying, anyone else done that?
Do you think you’ll need to scale up again in the Future? If so, Savage Bros. equipment is nice, but you definitely pay for it so may not be a waste if you plan to scale further than that, as I don’t think you can go much further up from 20-Qt with that setup. The 20-QT batch cooker really is bigger than your current, but still not huge.
Have you considered an induction cooktop? High powered ones can be had from home depot and wired directly into your choice of power.
I’m hoping I will need to scale up again! I’m using small induction cooktops but I haven’t done a lot of digging into bigger set ups. Jumping from 1,500 units per batch to 5K or even 10K a batch will be a game changer.
How do you lift large pots? Something anchored with a lever or a large spigot that could pour out onto a table full of molds? I’m generally working solo in the kitchen but have help in the packaging end. I had seen some jacketed steam kettles that have manual pour levers but the capacity wasn’t very big.
Vigor Heavy-Duty Aluminum Stock Pot (32 Qt.) (webstaurantstore.com)
We use these. They churn out 35lb of pectin gummy batter in each batch. They can certainly handle more especially if you are doing gelatin. They do require 2 people to handle when they are hot.
Good luck!
@MillerliteRN
Yeah that was the quick example, should’ve double checked the temps.
Second one was the model I use daily which can reach temps for candy
Yeah, iv been arguing that next step for several months now. We added service amps recently so we are able to produce one of the above pots every 15 minutes. Thats 140lb of finished gummy per hour.
We are kinda maxed out in the drying capacity. I no longer have an office or an offical break room… lol
The entire downstairs is dedicated to production, cleaning, and drying (and dressing in).
Upstairs is storage of finished goods.
New space (so far) is dedicated to receiving raw materials. Forklift for receiving raw goods is in the near future.
My next vision (for this space) incorporates your latest example combined with the scrape. There are a few hurdles to overcome. But im a firm believer, this could out preform the 6 figure machines. You would need more molds. But when we pay china direct priceing, who cares…lol
I ordered a 40L pot and used the same induction cooktop that typically use. I happened to have a giant whisk that I’d ordered by accident that I’m now glad I kept.
Usual batch yields 1,500 gummies and test batch yielded 4,000. I’m going to try and tweak to get it up to 4,500 but I’m really happy with this considering I spent less than $100 to make it happen. I also already had a commercial immersion blender with a whisk attachment that I used to emulsify at the end. No need for constant stirring.
Time was about 2 hours (a lot of that was waiting for it to boil - going to look at higher power cook tops).
Biggest problem is lifting. Wicked heavy. I had to put the pot on a 2nd table and ladle the first half with a large container. I’ll have to tweak that part of the process.
Thanks for all the input! Production game changer - now off to do dishes
