Northern Pizza Equipment will be exhibiting at the 2011 Wisconsin Restaurant Expo at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee Wisconsin, March 21st - March 23rd 2011. Their friendly and knowledgeable staff will be there to display products from a wide range of vendors such as XLT Ovens, Randell refrigerated pizza prep tables, somerset dough sheeter’s and more.
We look forward to seeing you at BOOTH #547 and discussing your equipment needs.
Northern Pizza Equipment will be exhibiting at
the 2011 North American Pizza Ice Cream and soft serve show at the
Columbus Convention Center, February 20th and 21st 2011. Their friendly
and knowledgeable staff will be there to display their latest products
from XLT Ovens, Randell refrigerated pizza prep tables, and somerset
dough sheeter’s and more. As well as our line of quality re-manufactured
Middleby Marshall, Lincoln, Blodgett, and Bakers Pride ovens, Anets and
Acme dough sheeters, and Hobart Mixers.
We will also have technical and parts staff on hand to answer
your pizza equipment service and parts questions and assist in getting
you the parts you need to keep your pizza operation running
efficiently.
We look forward to seeing you at BOOTH #512-518 and discussing your equipment needs.
Looks harmless enough. Just a fan. Nothing too complex. Been around since the late 1800’s. Quiet, out of sight. So why even care? How can a twenty-five dollar part possibly attract the attention that all parts crave? By, like the action of teenagers, the most drastic action possible: Killing your main blower motor. Such an event can cost from 400 to 1500 dollars and can make your oven non-functional. The fans also keep sensitive electrical control devices cool. Besides the cost of the component, the labor for diagnosing such things can easily equal the cost of the part. While an experienced technician can diagnose most problems quickly, someone less familiar can take considerably longer. How can the tyranny of a broken fan be moderated? Proper cleaning helps. The Middleby Marshall 300 series of ovens has 2 per oven on the front or back depending on model. These should be cleaned and inspected at least once a week. Cleaning should be done with a dry brush. This should remove a lot of dry dust/flour debris. The only thing you cannot clean off is the grease. I recommend replacing the fans at least every two years. If the fan has stopped spinning it should be replaced immediately. The Middleby Marshall 110V Cooling fan and the 220V Cooling fan are available from our website.
The current generation of high-production commercial pizza ovens utilize a conveyor system. This provides several benefits. It makes it easy to maintain a consistent cooking time, it doesn’t require constant monitoring and a skilled operator as a deck oven does, it helps with kitchen flow, and dramatically increases the amount of pies that can be produced with the space available.
With complex machines, maintenance can be more challenging. This can be made easier by familiarizing yourself with the components of your system. Your conveyor system contains three primary devices that must work in concert with each other to provide the consistent and uninterrupted functioning of your pizza oven. For the purposes of this discussion I will examine the Middleby Marshall conveyor system, which is one of the most popular of the conveyor ovens.
The three primary components:
NOTE: If you are uncomfortable performing any of these tests call a qualified technician. Injury, or expensive component damage may result from accidental contact or wiring mistakes made during inspection. It is far less expensive to call a technician first in some cases.
1.The conveyor frame and belt assembly
3.The speed controller
For the purposes of this article I will use the Middleby Marshall PS360 conveyor system
1.The frame and belt assembly:
The 360 conveyor system is composed of three frames. These frames are connected by 4 frame pivots. These frames hold 2 shafts: a drive shaft and an idler shaft. Each shaft contains several sprockets (6,8,12,16) depending on the age and model. These sprockets are used to make the belt move. The whole assembly can be easily removed for cleaning and maintenance. On occasion, when cleaning or re-installing the belt, it can become bound or snagged. Before attaching the chain, you must make sure the belt spins easily in its assigned direction by hand. If not, you should address the issue BEFORE attaching the chain or damage to your oven will result. If it spins free and easy, then we can move to the next component, the drive motor.
The conveyor drive motor is used to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most Middleby Marshall oven use a 1400:1 gear ratio. When ordering a motor it is a good idea to check the ratio on the motor before ordering. The speed controller provides the DC voltage to spin the motor. More voltage=More speed. Inside the top side of the motor are two plastic caps. Contained within these caps are two carbon brushes. These brushes are used to transfer electricity to the commutator. These brushes are a wear item and if they become too small, your motor may behave erratically or fail to move at all. It is always worth checking before you replace your motor. The actual brush is about 15mm long. When the brush reaches half its length (7.5mm or so) it should be replaced. If your conveyor belt does not move, but you see your motor spinning, this can be caused by a loose screw. The conveyor sprockets are secured by one or two screws each. The shaft collar, which appears inside the belt close to the motor also has a set screw. These are one of the first places to check after ensuring that your belt isn’t jammed. If all screws are tight, the top of the magnet is spinning, and the motor shaft does not turn, the gearbox is damaged. This is usually caused by a jammed belt. The gearbox is part of the motor and if it is damaged, the motor needs to be replaced. Atop the motor, in many styles of Middleby Marshall conveyor motors, is an exposed magnet with a sensor pointed at it. This is how the motor “tells” the speed controller how fast it is moving. For this sensor to function properly, it needs to be pointed directly at the magnet, and as close as possible without touching the magnet. About the thickness of a business card away. It is possible that in a confined environment, as most pizza kitchens are, the wires of the motor and the pick up sensor mounted atop of it can be accidentally pulled upon. The sensor wires are small and carry a low voltage signal that can be easily interrupted if the wires pull out of their terminal ends or the terminal ends are disconnected. This is a good cheap fix that should be considered before replacing more expensive parts. So, all that looks good, and your motor appears to not be functioning, then we can look at the speed board.
3.The Speed board aka speed controller:
The speed board does a few different things. It converts 110VAC to DC voltage. The Middleby Marshall Speed Controller has an output of up to 90VDC. If it is giving 90VDC, it is telling the motor to run at full speed. It then uses the information from the hall-effect sensor (pick-up sensor) mounted atop the motor to “decide” the proper amount of voltage to send to the motor to achieve the desired speed. The old speed controls used an analog thumb wheel to set the time. Through age and heat, these wheels often fall apart after years of use and must be replaced. The new controls are digital, and in the case of Middleby Marshall speed controls, can be set for any of their many different models easily. Older models use dip switches to “pick” their oven. If these switches are improperly set or not fully in position (halfway) they can cause problems. If the sensor wires are not in the proper position on the speed board it can cause malfunction, or at worst, component damage. I advise calling a technician to diagnose a speed controller.
We all do. I know you all were expecting a clever work-around, but alas, there is none. Why bother paying the high utility bills, which business owner are acutely aware of, to refrigerate the planet and not the product. Low temperature are essential to crisp, colorful veggies. It also keeps you meat slime-free, which I hear is all the rage with the kids these days. Both things that the local health inspector also appreciates. Your makeline, or refrigerated prep table, or your stainless space shuttle, call it what you will, is one hard-working peice of equipment that is vital to the safe and efficent operation of your restaraunt. A decrepit (Yes I spelled that right) gasket causes the temperature to rise. It also makes the compressor work much harder and cycle more. Thus you are spending money to destroy an expensive and vital piece of equipment. If it angered you, that is between you and your unit. If you are on friendly terms, I would suggest an inspection of your gasket.
But what good does this info do? Where do you find gaskets. Why does this guy refer to my makeline as a stainless space shuttle? I don’t know, the luster of the stainless perhaps? We sell gaskets. Lots of them. I really want to sell the Randell INGSK1030. This gasket is 24.25 X 24.25 and snaps into the door of your Randell 8148N, 8268N, and the 8395N. I have so many, I cannot reach the coffee pot. Please help me. Regularly they are 55.51. Online we have them on sale for 36.05. www.northernpizzaequipment.com. Please, I need a cup of coffee.
Problems with pizza oven conveyor controls usually come down to a few major symptoms, the conveyor does not run at all, or it runs at full speed all of the time, and can not be “controlled”. We will discuss the Middleby Marshall PS360 system in this article because it is probably one of the most widely used, however many other ovens use similar types of systems.
When the conveyor does not run at all first check the top of the conveyor motor and see if the motor is turning by looking at the magnet of the conveyor pickup, if the motor is turning, Many times the motor is operating their are three set screws in the drive train that could be loose, and slipping. The sprocket on the motor, the sprocket on the conveyor drive shaft, and the set screw that secures the shaft adapter. If the magnet is turning, and their is no output from the gearbox, then you have a bad gear motor, and must be replaced.
We stock the Middleby Marshall speed control as well as the OEM drive motor.
Northern Pizza Equipment announced today they will be exhibiting at the 2010 North American Pizza Ice Cream and soft serve show at the Columbus Convention Center, February 21st and 22nd 2010. Their freindly and knowledgable staff will be there to display their latest products from XLT Ovens, Randell refrigerated pizza prep tables, and somerset dough sheeters andmore. As well as our line of quality remanufactured Middleby Marshall, Lincoln, Blodgett, and Bakers Pride ovens, Anets and Acme dough sheeters, and Hobart Mixers.
We will also have technical and parts staff on hand to answer your pizza equipment service and parts questions and assist in getting you the parts you need to keep your pizza operation running efficiently.
We look forward to seeing you at booth 512, 513, and 514, and discussing your equipment needs.
New Northern Pizza Equipment Blog Coming Soon!
Please check out our online shop @ www.northernpizzaequipment.com
Northern Pizza Equipment Inc.
8020 Grand St.
Dexter, MI 48130
By phone:
1-800-426-0323
