Author Topic: Spiral Mixer (Read 3341 times)

Matthew · « **on:** April 13, 2012, 07:23:51 AM »

I should be getting this mixer within the next couple of days. I ordered it directly from the manufacturer in China.
It is a larger than my SP5 with a flour capacity of 4 kg. It also runs a little slower at 145 RPM vs 150 RPM.

JConk007 · « **Reply #1 on:** April 13, 2012, 08:01:17 AM »

Matthew proves you can never get enough pizza ! Are you using it for home or Your Place? small batches gluten free...
Looks good let us know how she works out.
Not to jump on you thread, feel free to have this moved.
I actually signed on this am to put this info up! I just confirmed order for 4 of the Italian built Mecnosud IM5M spiral Mixer which has a 3KG capacity, and 4 of the IM8M Mecnosud Mixers they have an 5 kg flour capacity.They will be 230V model for american electric use.
http://www.mecnosud.com/pdf/catalogo/SERIE-IM.pdf
2 are already spoken for so there are only 3 of each left! Great price too !
They need to take a pretty long boat trip, so the ETA on these is approximatley 45 days
worth the wait for sure!
If anyone os interested please send me a PM.
John

The Dough Doctor · « **Reply #2 on:** April 13, 2012, 09:19:54 AM »

Matthew;
Don't worry about the slightly slower mixing speed. Spiral mixers have an entirely different mixing action than that of a planetary mixer. Spiral mixers are notorious for being able to efficiently mix doughs of different sized much better than a planetary mixer can. Without knowing how efficiently your old mixer was mixing the dough (did the dough climb up on the hook, did the dough ball just go for a ride on the dough hook, did the dough ball just seem to get batted around by the dough hook rather than driving through it?) these are all indications of less than desirable mixing action. You shouldn't see any of these issues with the spiral mixer. When you mix your first dough, just mix it until it takes on a smooth, satiny appearance, that's all the mixing a pizza dough needs. Bread doughs, on the other hand, should be mixed to full gluten development to achieve the desired fine, close internal cell structure.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

Matthew · « **Reply #3 on:** April 13, 2012, 09:30:58 AM »

Quote from: The Dough Doctor on April 13, 2012, 09:19:54 AM

Matthew;
Don't worry about the slightly slower mixing speed. Spiral mixers have an entirely different mixing action than that of a planetary mixer. Spiral mixers are notorious for being able to efficiently mix doughs of different sized much better than a planetary mixer can. Without knowing how efficiently your old mixer was mixing the dough (did the dough climb up on the hook, did the dough ball just go for a ride on the dough hook, did the dough ball just seem to get batted around by the dough hook rather than driving through it?) these are all indications of less than desirable mixing action. You shouldn't see any of these issues with the spiral mixer. When you mix your first dough, just mix it until it takes on a smooth, satiny appearance, that's all the mixing a pizza dough needs. Bread doughs, on the other hand, should be mixed to full gluten development to achieve the desired fine, close internal cell structure.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

Thanks Tom, I appreciate your feedback. My previous home mixer was an Esmach SP5 Spiral mixer which did a great job. At 150 RPM it needed about 6 minutes to reach 100 revolutions or moderate gluten development. For a fully developed dough I would mix for close to double that. With time and experimentation I found the friction factor to be about 1.75 degrees per minute of mixing. I am happy that the RPM's of this new mixer are less because it will decrease the FF. I will be using this mixer mainly for experimentation with dough at home & to develop a spelt dough for the restaurant.

At the pizzeria I have a Pietroberto La Vittoria 35 fork which does a phenomenal job of mixing the dough without hardly heating it up at all.

Matthew

wheelman · « **Reply #4 on:** April 13, 2012, 09:57:08 AM »

Matthew,
do you think the SP-5 would benefit from a slower speed? the chain drive looks to be adjustable via sprocket swaps. new one looks great, like an overgrown sP-5! good luck,
bill

Matthew · « **Reply #5 on:** April 13, 2012, 10:08:33 AM »

Quote from: wheelman on April 13, 2012, 09:57:08 AM

Matthew,
do you think the SP-5 would benefit from a slower speed? the chain drive looks to be adjustable via sprocket swaps. new one looks great, like an overgrown sP-5! good luck,
bill

Hi Bill,
I'm not sure.....would you be able to slow down the bowl speed as well? I think that there is a ratio between the hook and bowl speed that needs to be respected but I could be wrong.

Matt

wheelman · « **Reply #6 on:** April 13, 2012, 11:57:17 AM »

it would be easy to switch two of the sprockets and slow down the spiral but it would speed up the bowl. if you replaced both sprockets you could keep the ratio the same. that would be more difficult as you would need parts and have to adjust the chain length. both reasons why i never tried it!
bill

Matthew · « **Reply #7 on:** April 13, 2012, 01:55:54 PM »

Quote from: wheelman on April 13, 2012, 11:57:17 AM

it would be easy to switch two of the sprockets and slow down the spiral but it would speed up the bowl. if you replaced both sprockets you could keep the ratio the same. that would be more difficult as you would need parts and have to adjust the chain length. both reasons why i never tried it!
bill

Far too advanced for me. The only mod that I made to mine was to disable the safety device. I just got a call that the mixer is being delivered this afternoon. Not bad considering it left Hong Kong, Wednesday night.

Matt

Matthew · « **Reply #8 on:** April 13, 2012, 06:54:25 PM »

It arrived this afternoon in 1 piece.

JConk007 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 13, 2012, 10:08:53 PM »

NICE!

John

PizzaVera · « **Reply #10 on:** April 14, 2012, 12:21:35 AM »

Quote from: Matthew on April 13, 2012, 06:54:25 PM

It arrived this afternoon in 1 piece.

much did you pay for it if you don't mind me asking.
I am guessing it was a lot cheaper by importing it yourself right?
did you pay any duties or taxes when it entered the country?

norma427 · « **Reply #11 on:** April 14, 2012, 08:15:46 AM »

Matt,

Your spiral mixer sure looks nice!

Norma

BrickStoneOven · « **Reply #12 on:** April 14, 2012, 09:14:28 AM »

Nice mixer Matt. Is that the same one Esposito uses in those videos?

Matthew · « **Reply #13 on:** April 14, 2012, 09:19:33 AM »

Thanks Norma & David.

David,
No it isn't, his appears to be much smaller.

Matt

Barnstable · « **Reply #14 on:** April 21, 2012, 05:43:42 PM »

Hello Matt,

It`s interesting that you are looking toward a spelt dough. Is that for speciality breads or as a pure pizza dough? It has always been my first choice flour for bread for the flavour profile. I have tried to incorporate it to produce an exeptional pizza dough also, from using a spelt starter plus Caputo, spelt starter plus Caputo/spelt mix, Italian starter plus Caputo/spelt mix.

IMO opinion the flour will always give an exceptional flavour ( and a reported Roman heritage ) but I have had colouration and density issues to consider. Also, here in the UK anyway, it poses a cost issue.

Would love to learn how you get on.

Kind Regards,

Barnstable

PaulL · « **Reply #15 on:** May 13, 2012, 12:55:06 AM »

Hey Matthew, I'm looking for a spiral mixer similar to this. I've found quite a few 20lt / 8kg models in China, but not yet found one I can order that is in this size range.

My first choice for the better half was a Mecnosud 7lt / 3kg model, these are a bit pricey so wanted to get a feel for what I can get direct from China.

Did you find much variety when you were looking? Where exactly did you look? I've found a few sellers through made-in-china.com, but still looking for another site that gives quite what I'm looking for.

Also, if you have any thoughts, do you believe the brand makes much difference? The Mecnosud looks to be a nice piece of machinary, but so far as I can see the majority of the extra cost is purely because it's made in Italy, I can't put my finger on any reason it'd make better dough than one made in China. My drill press is a $99 job from China, and seems to do the job fine - if I was using it all day every day I'd want a better one, for durability reasons, but for a couple times a week it does fine. I'm figuring a spiral mixer might be similar.

Thanks for any advice you can offer,

Paul

Pizza De Puta · « **Reply #16 on:** July 15, 2012, 11:29:34 AM »

Activating years of hard knocks, experience, wisdom card:

As a general rule, crossing all product lines for just about anything, I've found that several months after a purchase I never regret buying quality. I never catch myself saying, this product is too nice, has too much quality, or works too well for the likes of someone like me. However, if I settle for cheap I am often, but not always, disappointed.

I have a number of tools that are cheap Chinese junk that were purchased because I didn't use them that often. 2/3rds of them were crap from the git go and failed while being used at some point. The rest did at least an adequate job.

A Snap-On screw driver is $50 and Harbor Freight bulk-in-the-barrel $1 special may look similar--but they're not. Not even close . . .

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #17 on:** July 23, 2012, 09:16:12 AM »

Most all my hand tools are Craftsman. On the very rare occasion one breaks I don't have to wait for the guy in the truck that sells 50 dollar screwdrivers.

PizzaVera · « **Reply #18 on:** October 14, 2012, 11:55:48 PM »

could you guys let us know what you are paying for these models please..

JConk007 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 15, 2012, 12:08:12 AM »

I can get the smaller Mecnosud spirals from Italy. Price is around $1250 for the 5L and around $1400 for the 8L. We should be seeing some posts shortly on the 8l . beautiful machines!
John