I have the 10-12 lbs. capacity Cocoatown and a Santha and have recently been using two Premier Wonder Grinders that hold up to 6 lbs. each. They were $200 a piece and are doing nicely after almost 10 batches. The temperatures when they run after 4 or 5 hours are about 10 degrees different at about 145 and 155F. I adjust the tension and they stay the same. The two larger machines above tended to run around 135-140F.
I had very similar problems with a ECGC-12SL, and had to replace the stones within one year of purchase because the plastic inserts were wearing down and cracking and then even the metal arm broke that holds the stones. After replacing it all at cost (no warranty) I tried using it again and this time the plastic/ metal shaft in the bottom of the drum broke off completely and I gave up. i am at a loss as to whether to fix these machines because the cost is almost as much as a new machine.
I have recent reinvested in a Santha Spectra 40 and I am happy with it except I am having similar plastic issues in the same place (inside the stone roller). And all these issues are with just grinding in sugar to melted liquor and butter. I am looking to find out if anyone else is having this issue with Santha's machines? I am at a loss as to what to do about this because I invested quite a bit and literally have only used it 10 times, and because I live in Canada they will not warranty it, which is very difficult because there is no other machines in my small capacity that are.
Basically I am very disappointed and not sure how to proceed.
I am wondering if the plastics they are using nowadays are just crap? I thought about looking for metal shafts to replace the plastic one thru the middle of the stone. Any ideas, solutions, DIY fixes?
Beth
Are you talking about the embedded washers (ie. they run through the stones). They can be seen here in the image I attached, its the best image I could find.
If so, they are not removable. Ours ground down into a batch and we ended having to get more stones shipped to us. I think the stones should have metal wahers and then it woukld be metal on metal to have the least wear.
Let me know if they are removable or not, id be sursprised if they were and that they would be sending beta material.
Anyway hope we figure these issues out fast 
I connected with Andal from Cocoatown today via Skype video. She was very friendly and helpful. The unit I am using has plastic washers between the bolt and the granite stone. Apparently they added these washers as a sort of a test at a recommendation from someone, but are not necessary for the functioning of the machine. It was the washers that were rubbing and creating friction. They simply suggested I remove the plastic washers and give the unit another try.
cheers,
mg
If it was your first batch it might just mean that your wiper (the white peice attached to the cetral axle is too close to the wall of the drum which is creating friction and it needs to be shortened (undo the nut holding the wiper arm and turn the wiper one twist tighter to make it shorter).
We ordered another axle to see if our problem resolves itself, we just received it yesterday so we are putting on another batch.
Good luck friend!
Hi Even and Brianna,
I am interested to hear if you have found a solution to the delrin insert problem? I have just encountered the same issue with a CT 12STLA. i was starting a batch and a high pitch squeak started to come from the machine. I first thought is was the motor or the belt, but then i realized it was coming from the stones. Then I noticed white particles (plastic) in the bottom of the melanger. i stopped the process immediately and have sent an email off to Cocoatown asking for their technical support to solve the issue. Considering that I live in South America, sending it back to the US for repair is not an option. Anyway, i hope you found a solution and that you are back to making chocolate. any advice you have would be welcome.
cheers,
mg
Hello Chocolatelifers!
We have now been working with the cocoatown unit for about 8 months and as production increased we have recently run into some problems. I am wondering if these are common and if they have been experienced by anyone else or if we are potentially using same mal-ingredient that might be making the friction increase.
About 2 months ago we showed up to our shop to find out the delrin inserts had ground off into the chocolate, making a whole batch (8lbs) of chocolate go to waste. We contacted cocoatown and they shipped up a new pair of stones.
We carefully watched the following batches with the new stones and saw the same wear pattern developing on the delrin inserts. We also have been noticing that the underside of the metal axle has been slowly wearing away as well. This means we have both plastic and metal grinding into our chocolate.
Now after getting in contact with the company we have been told that we need to pay to ship the parts affected back to the company for them to test them and then they will see if they want to cover them under warranty. Not so good for a new company just getting off the ground...
So has anyone had an issue like this with cocoatown?? We are now going to do what we can to continue producing but it looks like we might be looking into the Santha machines.
If anyone has any advice that would be highly appreciated.
Evan and Brianna
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Hi All,
I know there have been countless discussions on this topic, but I am in the process of finalising my list of equipment, and am now in a dilemma re my chocolate holding cabinet, and could really do with some advice.
I am setting up a small chocolate production facility in Singapore. The size of my kitchen is appx 350sf. The room will be air-conditioned, and I will try and maintain a temperature of 22 degrees centigrade. Humidity is a real issue here, and I have quite a high rate of rejects, on account of humidity. I currently use a wine chiller for crystallisation and storage, and now find that the recovery rate is quite slow, which affects the crystallisation of my chocolate.
I have been talking to Irinox here - but apparently they have stopped producing their TP-20 and TP-30 Holding Cabinets. They recommend NICE, which is not specifically designed for chocolate, which has a minimum humidity setting of 50%.
The other cabinet, that my equipment supplier has recommended is a Friulinox Engold machine (Power 0.6kw), which has the appropriate temperature and humidity range, but I am not able to gauge or get answers for the recovery time.
Any views / comments would be really appreciated.
Anjali
Helen (and all other ChocolateLife members):
Posts such as these belong in Classifieds.
Thanks,
:: Clay
Sorry, I missed this! Messaged you here.
feel free to email me at helen@greatbeanchocolate.com
interested. how to contact you?
Selling our Mol d'Art machine- great for making truffles, or anything with inclusions! Easy to clean and reliable, handles our high viscosity chocolate beautifully. Tempers through ambient air temperature, easy to accelerate with a fan. Please contact with any questions! Located in Texas. 
Hello All. I'm just getting into making fudge and with the exception of Greweling's commercial recipes, I'm having difficulty locating additional recipes. Any suggestions on good sites / books for commercial fudge recipes? Thanks, John
Just out of curiosity, do you know what the humidity % is in the room you're working out of? We had some issues with streakiness as well and we're able to solve it by bringing in a dehumidifier.
12C? That is probably way too cold for your chocolate. Try getting them to within a few degrees of your chocolate temp. It might help to get an IR thermometer to check the mould temp just prior to moulding.
We are talking 12 degrees Centigrade?
This would be a problem.
On industrial moulding lines moulds (cavity side) are beingheated up to 26-29C prior to pouring in tempered chocolate.
Reason:
Tempered chocolate will contain a certain quantity of desired cocoa butter crystals. This quantity will be sufficient to act as seeds for the crystailsation of the rest of the chocolate when cooled at the correct speed. Rest of the cocoa butter is still liquid
If you pour tempered chocolate into mould that is too cold liquid cocoa butter forms unstable crystal forms on the mould surface resulting in white areas, streaks and othe bloom.
On a more technical level following happens: when chocolate (containing liquid cocoa butter) contacts cold mould surface heat (energy) flows from chocolate into the mould. This results in the formation of cocoa butter crystals that have a melting point close to the mould surface temperature. Crystals that are formed at teperatures below 28-29C are not stable. Because this process happens very fast there is no time for the correct seed crystals created during tempering to grow and correctly crystalise the whole chocolate bar.
I would suggest warming your moulds up to 26-28C and trying again.
How did you temper and how did you test the temper prior to pouring?
What was the the temperature of moulds before you poured your chocolate in?
Can you clarify---is it the air side or the mold side that gets streaks? If its the air side it might be too much air flow/turbulence.
Thank you Mark. Will try that out.
Cheers!
Alan
At 50C your cocoa butter is melted, but you have small agglomerates formed when your "leftover" cooled uncontrolled. If you smear the warm chocolate between your fingers or on your tongue and feel nothing more than soft clotted texture this may be all it is. Try an immersion blender in the chocolate while hot and they should disappear as they're broken up by the high shear.
Ive been dabbling a bit lately with making bonbons.
I have used a friends tempering machine to get the temper right. For the first batch of bonbons
Ive had a few bonbons stick, but thats a different post.
Ive gotten a bit of "leftover" choc. Its from when I empty the molds. Ive tried to reheat the choc to retemper it. I put the choc into a small plastic container, into the water bath of my thermocirculator. 48C till its all melted, and I checked the temp. It was kind of lumpy, small sand grain sized "lumps". They are barely perceptible on your palate, but you definitely see it.
I bumped the temp upto 50C, and let it sit for 45 min. No better. I have attached a pic of the choc, at 50C after I tried to blend out the lumps with a stick blender.
Whats going on?
-choc; is callebaut callet c811
Cheers
Alan
I don't own one myself, but I've talked with numerous people who do and the only real negative feedback I get is that the bowl is made from plastic. As such, over time it can get scratched and even "cloudy" looking. I would recommend that when you clean the bowl you do it by hand, avoid harsh detergents, and use a soft scrubber.
The other issue is that they only hold about 5 liters, so if you are serving 6-8 oz portions you're only going to get 20-25 servings before the unit is empty. Depending on the foot traffic in your shop you might go through that pretty quick. And that, as you might imagine, can create operational difficulties on a busy day. As long as you keep issues like this in mind, the feedback I have gotten is that they work as advertised.
Does anyone have thoughts on a hot chocolate dispenser? We are making our hot chocolate with ganache, and wonder if you can help us anticipate any problems. This machine
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/cecilware-choco-1-delice-countertop-hot-chocolate-dispenser-120v/385CHOCO1.html
is what we are thinking about getting.
Thanks
Hello friends,
Can anyone tell me the manufacturer of transfer sheet,edible confetti,wrapping foil in India?
I want to be a supplier of chocolate material.How is the scope?
If you are in Adelaide you are welcome to come and see how do we make our chocolate and the rest of processing.
I think next time I am in Australia I would love to pop over .. I'll call you before hand .. do you know any good place here in NZ that might be able to lend me a hand ??? I am eger to learn and vedios on the internet give a bot of help but does not really make you feel the exsperince and most are so diffrent than what I need to do .. I really really apprciate you taking the time to reply to me .. its indeed very kind of you.
A bit too far for a drive to Adelaide in South Australia to see how we are doing it.
i live in Hamilton, Waikato in New Zealand
I would suggest that you:
a. Do a lot more reading about chocolate tempering.
b. Find a method that would be suitable to your situation.
c. Practice with chocolate to learn how to achieve the correct temper (this you can do with normal chocolate from the supermarket). Remember that you canmelt and temper again and again so there is no waste. There are a few methods of tempering that work on the small scale beside seed tempering.
d.Once you have agood feel for this you can practice with your chocolate till you find the best way of doing it.
There are polish and varnish products that are used for panned goods (made with untempered chocolate) but this is a very complex application process.
If your chocolate will be well tempered it will be nice and shiny without any need for spraying.
Where abouts are you?
