Kitchen "equipment"

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So my wife has been getting into candy making (I am not complaining, although my pants are starting too!)  Anyway she approached me the other day and is looking at getting this attachment to do candy coating on things.  I figured it would be $50 bucks or so nope $660!!!Looking at it it seems like it is nothing more than a couple of S.S. bowls stuck together with a hole cut in it and an attachment rod.http://www.pastrychef.com/CONFECTION...p_33-1057.htmlAnyone else think that that would work and would there be any health issues with tiggin two bowls together, cutting the bottom off of one and attaching the drive shaft?
Reply:Tell us how it works..........I think I found a new cash cow.
Reply:Originally Posted by MartygrasSo my wife has been getting into candy making (I am not complaining, although my pants are starting too!)  Anyway she approached me the other day and is looking at getting this attachment to do candy coating on things.  I figured it would be $50 bucks or so nope $660!!!Looking at it it seems like it is nothing more than a couple of S.S. bowls stuck together with a hole cut in it and an attachment rod.http://www.pastrychef.com/CONFECTION...p_33-1057.htmlAnyone else think that that would work and would there be any health issues with tiggin two bowls together, cutting the bottom off of one and attaching the drive shaft?
Reply:Go to HF and pick up one of their concrete mixers and then she's all set for large scale production!In all seriousnes that all the thing is a a kitchen tumbler. Your idea should work OK. Your wife might get a bit cranky if she finds you cleanning your shooting brass in it however.
Reply:Looks like you could use a bundt pan and attach it to another sold bowl.  Drill a hole and attach it to a counter top mixer.  Ir, better yet, cut off the end of the beater and tog it to the center bottom of the bowl.  Instant quick connect!You might can pick up a rock tumbler from Harbor Freight and use that as the motor.  I'm sure that thing has enough torque to turn some candy.
Reply:Originally Posted by BoostinjdmTell us how it works..........I think I found a new cash cow.
Reply:It's a couple of spun metal bowls and a fitting, right?  In your shoes, I'd check the return policy on theirs.  Then buy it, duplicate it, and send their unused (and overpriced) unit back to them for a refund.  That way the wife can see both right next to each other.
Reply:Originally Posted by Jack Olsen That way the wife can see both right next to each other.
Reply:Get a couple of old brake drums out of the scrap pile, and weld 'em together, spray a coat of looominum paint on the thing, and call it a dayJust kidding.  You're idea is good, and you could salvage a coupling for the mixer from another attachment made for the mixer.Stay away from the candy while welding.  I had a very bad experience with Sunkist Orange Soda.  Shook like a maple leaf in a high wind with all that sugar in my system"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWGo to HF and pick up one of their concrete mixers and then she's all set for large scale production!In all seriousnes that all the thing is a a kitchen tumbler. Your idea should work OK. Your wife might get a bit cranky if she finds you cleanning your shooting brass in it however.
Reply:The incline stand looks easy enough to make as well.
Reply:Originally Posted by BoostinjdmThat may or may not be a good idea.
Reply:Bought the bowls for $10 and found a old meat grinder attachment at a thrift shop for $5..... hoping to give it a shot this weekend.  I am still a bit worried about finishing the inside so that a bunch of material (sugar etc.) doesnt end up piled in the seem.
Reply:Tack the outside and put the weld bead inside....wouldn't that be fun??..Now you know why it costs $600Can't think of anything you could smooth over that seam that couldn't/wouldn't come loose at some point. Good Luck...Looking forward to whatever you come up with.
Reply:Martygas.  Sure you can make one of these things but I doubt it's the smart thing to do and I do believe there are major health risks.  There are no internal seams in these things for a purpose and that purpose is sanitation.  Given that "Candy Making" is considered a food manufacturing process and that it's covered by more federal and state regulations than you can imagine, don't put everything you own at risk, in addition to possible jail time, to save $550.  A couple of things to keep in mind:  1) Sugar is hydroscopic and it will draw moisture in the air into itself.  2) You will get sugar in the seam - I don't care how good you are or how good the seam is, the melted sugar (see 1 relate to sugar and moisture) will get into something.  3)  That sugar becomes a food source for all sorts of bacteria.  4).  You will need NSF certified cleaners to clean the thing - each time you make a batch of candy.  5) Even NSF cleaners will miss some of the bacteria.  What that amounts to is a machine that is a breeding ground for bacteria which will be passed into the candy.  One other thing, it's a violation of the food safety laws and the rule of good sense to have an internal seem in something that touches food - look at every cooking utentsil in your house (pans, spoons, etc - if they have a seam or somewhere that bacteria can go they can't be used in a resturant).First I would hope you aren't in Central PA because I would hate to buy anything from you that was made in a contaminated machine, and what you are considering to make will get contaminated - no doubt.  If your customers get sick, not only will you, as the maker of this "machine" get sued, you'll probably get jail time or at the least, will get probation for intentional violations of food safety regulations.  Then the same goes for your wife as the actual producer of the candy.  If you're charging for the candy, you could easily spend several hundreds of thousands of dollars defending yourself against lawsuits.You look at this as $600 for just that panning machine, but I would be willing to bet that the majority of the cost is to cover liability insurance or to cover lawsuits for subsequent problems from people who use these things.F.Last edited by FANS; 06-05-2009 at 06:41 AM.
Reply:I think your concerns are unfounded...If you look at the original product closely...you can see the inside seam is obviously just that an open seam. The original product is nothing more than two SS bowls stuck together with a tilt base for the unit and a price tag concocted by one idiot looking to screw another idiot willing to purchase such a product at such an inflated price.There is no reason to assume that if care is taken and standard cleaning procedures are followed that whatever is designed and built wouldn't be as sanitary if not more sanitary than the original contraption. I've been in and around food preparation and restaraunts all my life ..my close family includes...two Master Chefs..a Pastry Chef...a few other misc. Chefs...I'm not so bad myself and have owned 4 restaurants and associated with a few others. I've seen some real nightmare creations concocted as labor saving devices. I've got one in my shop right now... It's an aluminum drum 16" in diameter and 2' long with a side door and a gear motor that was used as a machine to flour chicken for frying....I didn't use it and had no intention of using it for it's original purpose...I got it as a tumbler. I thought 15 years ago it was a nasty concoction because of the aluminum construction for use with chicken parts....you couldn't think up a less clean machine to tumble and flour chicken parts. The thing was used for years at a local fried chicken fast food place...no one got sued and to my knowledge no one got sick.The bowls in question for sugar coating candy are going to be perfectly safe and you're raking Martygras over the coals for building his own like he's working on Dr. Frankensteins next invention and not washing his hands between bodies is uncalled for IMHO.The correct materials are being used to prevent transfer of germs even though sugar doesn't pose anywhere near the problems that other food preparation items can.I'd put money on the fact that Martygras or his wife work in a cleaner situation than the local McDonalds or your favorite high dollar restaurant..... I've seen the kitchens in a lot of high class places..and believe me...that little sugar bowl ain't gona hurt anyone....so relax and pass the candy.When you get this finished Martygras...We need to see the finished contraption and then we need to see what it makes too,not just how it's made.Last edited by mudbugone; 06-05-2009 at 07:22 AM.
Reply:MUDBUGONE, I second your opinion, I have worked in the rest. business doing repairs and cleanings of just about everything out there for over 25 yrs. Anybody ever see a taffy candy shop? Half that stuff is made in the early 1900s. half of that is home made. Every soap out there now is anti bacterial. I understand what NSF is, deal with it every day. But, since he is not manufactureing it and selling it to the general public or other candy makers, he doesn't need it. Fans, you must work for big brother and think you have to make sure we wipe our hiney the right way. I miss these to words, COMMON SENSE.   just my .02 and mho.Lincoln Ranger 8                        Lincoln 175                          Drill pressLincoln 225 mig                            Plasma                              8 ft brake        52" jump shear
Reply:I got the bowl roughed in. Getting the two halves stuck together wasnt as easy as I thought it was going to be. The bowls didnt sit perfectly against each other and the stainless was so thin that I couldnt get a clean weld around the edge. So what I ended up doing was clamping and kind of spot welding the two halves together and then fusing them. Turned out pretty good, it actually holds water which I was a bit suprised about to be honest. I still need to atach the shaft and clean up the opening but I think it will work well.Sorry for the bad pics..... a photographer I am notP.S. This is only for personal use and will be cleaned throughly before and after each use.
Reply:Martygras...........  I guess ya gotta debate goin'The issue about the groove is not really something to laugh at.  Lots of stuff can wind up in there.It's gonna be a cleaning problem.  Didn't see it before, but I see it now.On the flip side, most of the stuff goin' in there will be sugar based I assume.  Pretty soluble in hot water.Sugar is the favorite food of many kinds of bacteria.I'd clean the daylights outta the thing, and maybe give it a slug of bleach to finish off.  Not the new style bleach, the old plain Clorox style.  Real bleach is the best antibacterial agent there is.  It bursts the walls of the cells of most bacteria.  Real Honest to God chlorine bleach.If ya get the crud from eating the candy, sugar crud aside, then maybe you know you have a problem, but you'll be able to trace the problem.The crud sucks,  but consider this........  Folks pay GOOD MONEY for the "cleansing" things the snake oil stores sellBefore I get outta here......... Any y'all purists ever take a look in the sump on yer diswasher????????"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:"The issue about the groove is not really something to laugh at. Lots of stuff can wind up in there."it looks like the one there selling has the same groove in it..just put it in the washing machine...
Reply:You're probably right.I'd still clean the store bought one with a little extra attention to the cracks crevices and grooves.An ounce of prevention beats spending a night readin' magazines sittin' on the biffy"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:What's the plan for that lip?
Reply:The lip is staying on.... right now it is the way that it is attached together.  I thought about grinding it down but it has rolled edges on it so not really a concern.  Figure why do the work if I dont need to.  Unless you ment the lip to the opening, if that is the case it is getting ground smooth and if it is still sharp I will probably attach some kind of cover/wrapping to it so no one gets cut as it spins.
Reply:Nice work. I'd say as long as you use common sense cleaning it you'll be alright. When you get 'er done let's see some finshed product
Reply:Yeah, I meant the opening.  It'd be nice if there was an easy way to roll it over itself. But I don't know of one.This is just an observation, but I think you could grind one bowl down to right where the radius begins to drop into the bowl. Leave the other bowl lip as manufactured. Then you would have an easy fillet weld and the root of the weld would seal the groove shallow enough (looks like this "Y" in profile instead of this " ][ " ) to not allow sugar to have a hiding place. By the way, what kind of filler are you using? I have a similar but unrelated kitchen equipment project going. Good luck.Miller 250DXTD Cutmaster 100Duct TapeBFH
Reply:Hey, awesome work.  I always like seeing people turning simple things into 'expensive tools'.I wouldn't worry too much about cleaning/sanitation... but I can offer a simple method:You can mix up a batch of oxyclean 1gal water:1/4 scoup of oxyclean.  Keep it in a jug, when you need to clean it, fill your candy tumbler with the oxyclean and let it sit a few hours.  It will actually eat away at any sugar in the seam.  And if your worried about sanitation, the bleach will work ok or you can get a product called star-san.  Its used in homebrewing beer.  Thats how I learned about oxyclean, works great on the sticky sugary kettles after brewing.
Reply:I know this is an old thread but, I would've ran a bead of stay silv 56 brazing rod on the inside of the bowl to make that seam disappear.  Another option would to use a clamp and a gasket to join the 2 bowls together.