If you're looking to start an ice cream business or are in the ice cream business looking for new equipment. One piece of information you'll need to know is that ice cream machines come in two types: a pressurized machine and a gravity machine. How do you know which one is right for your operation? Let's discuss the differences between pressurized VS gravity ice cream machines.
Ice cream machines basically do three things: they freeze mix, they add air into the mix, and they dispense product. The amount of air the machines put into the product is called overrun. Overrun is controlled differently by each type of machine. So let's first explain how each machine adds overrun.
Gravity machines. A gravity machine uses the force of nature to do the work by letting the ice cream mix flow into the chamber via gravity. You pour the mix into the top of the machine and it flows via gravity into the freezing cylinder. It uses a carburetor tube to meter the amount of mix that goes into the freezing cylinder. This carburetor tube, which sticks up from the hoppers, has three different viscosity settings which allow you to control the overrun of the product. The nice thing is that you don't even have to pull this tube out of the hopper to make an adjustment. Allow more air in and you get less mix, allow less air in and you get more product. The only drawback with a gravity machine is that you cannot control the overrun on a percentage basis, so you may have fluctuations per batch. If your aim is to have a light and fluffy product that stands upon a cone, then it may be hard to hit a 50-60% overrun every time with a gravity machine. However, an advantage to gravity machines is that it allows you to quickly change products altogether.
Pressurized machines. If mathematical overrun precision is more your thing then a pressurized machine would be more of a fit for your operation. A pressurized machine uses a pump system to pull ice cream mix into the chamber. These machines use a refrigerated cabinet in the bottom where the mix is held. Then uses a pump to pull the mix into the freezing cylinder. The mix is stored at a proper temperature in the bottom and maintains the proper consistency of the mix so that it is dispensed from the machine as the freshest product. You can measure the overrun with an air meter so the amount of overrun being added is consistent every time. If your goal is to serve a light and fluffy product with high overrun (50-60%), then a pressurized machine is what you would need.
Factors. There are also other variables that will play into your decision about choosing a pressurized or gravity machine. Capacity is most certainly something you need to consider as well. If you're a store where ice cream is not your main product, then a gravity machine would be best. You don't need a high-capacity machine with a consistent product every time. However, if you're an operation whose main product is ice cream, then a pressurized machine will be best. It will not only allow you to control food costs better but deliver a fluffy, consistent product at a very high dispensing rate.
Electro Freeze makes both pressurized and gravity machines. The pressurized machines include the: 30T-RMT, 99T-RMT, and the 4000EP. The pumps in these machines are easy to take out, disassemble, and clean. They consist of the transfer hose, mix hose, & air hose. All of these parts are easy and inexpensive to replace. These particular machines mentioned have a day and night mode so that you can set it idle at night and then switch it to day and produce a product in 5 minutes. Our pressurized machines come in three sizes to match the capacity of your store which we usually measure as low volume, high volume, or extreme volume. Pressurized machines allow you to serve ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato, or custard all with low butterfat or high butterfat.