Where can I get an owners manual for model VSX9000

[john]

Check pages 15 and 16 of this document:

http://download.partstown.com/is-bin/intershop.static/WFS/Reedy-PartsTown-Site/-/en_US/manuals/VH-VSX-RT_sm.pdf 

 

Also, for your convenience, a parts list directly from the manufacturer:

https://my.vulcanfeg.com/resourcecenter/vulcanwolfberkel/ProductDocumentation/F43011.pdf 

 

 

Vulcan says you should use a CLR Treatment Kit which includes instructions for use, however we do not carry that item. You will likely have to contact them directly to find out more information.

 

I hope this helps!

 

-John

[ectofix]

The first manual partstownjohn posted is for boiler-based steamers, so it doesn’t apply to this VSX9000 – which is a counter-top unit that uses a steam generator.  Two totally different animals.

 

There doesn’t seem to be much literature available on the VSX9000.  Vulcan’s very own resource center only has that parts manual and nothing else.  Stands to reason, since I don’t think Vulcan actually made that steamer.  More about that in a moment.

 

Take note that the VSX9000 parts manual illustrates the deliming port as item #47 on page 2.

 

I found that the CLR TREATMENT KIT No. 817972 Instructions actually illustrates Hobart steamer models HSF3,4 & 5.  That line of Hobart steamers is nearly identical to the VSX9000.  For that matter, part numbers in the Hobart manuals and this Vulcan model are mostly the same.

 

SO…I feel confident that if you follow the CLR treatment kit instructions, then that’ll do it for you.

 

FAIR WARNING, though.  If there’s any significant scale buildup inside the generator, then the port that feeds your liquid descaler into the generator will probably be stopped up with scale.  At that point, you’d need to remove the top of the generator and just start chiseling it out.  Furthermore, the tubes that deliver steam into the cabinet are probably lined (or clogged) with scale too.

 

That particular steamer design is quite the mess.  FWIW, I “think” that the Hobart HSF series, your Vulcan’s VSX9000 and Market Forge’s PS (Premier Series)…were all made for them by Crown Food Service Equipment LTD in Canada.  Crown even made their own rendition of that steamer as their SX-3 steamer – a cheaper alternative in the market for the time.

 

By and large, most steamer manufacturers have gotten away from using steam generators and have gone to boiler-less designs.  It was about time…

 

I could say so much more about these “sibling” steamers I’d mentioned above, but I should shut up before I do that.  I’m NOT a fan of their design.

[ectofix]

I can’t help myself, Donna.  I have to offer more free information which probably applies to your circumstances.

 

I don’t know how long you’ve had that steamer.  I don’t know if you have treated water feeding into it.  I don’t know if somebody else used to delime it but left for other employment, whether you just bought it used and want more information about it…or whatever.  I don’t know what you know…or DON’T know.

 

I DO know that the steamer isn’t brand new.  It’s been around for some years now.  What bothers me is that you’re JUST NOW seeking out instructions to delime it.  Maybe you’ve had it for years and it’s only NOW giving you problems – so you figure a deliming it should square it away.

 

What I’m leading up to is THIS:  If you’ve not been deliming it regularly (at least several times a month) and you’re unsure of the condition of the steam generator, then I STRONGLY urge you to get a trained professional to look at it.

 

The picture below is scale within a steamer’s steam generator as seen through a 3″ hole after I had removed its heating element.  The steamer WAS fully functional before I’d decided to do some much-neglected preventative maintenance on it:

 

This was out of a steam generator similar in size to your VSX9000.  Capable of holding just a few gallons of water.

 

That’s 10 lbs of lime scale in that bucket!  It’s anywhere from the consistency of sand…and up to ROCKS several inches across!

 

You might have similar accumulation of scale in your VSX9000 steamer.  If so, then NO AMOUNT of CLR, Lime-a-way, hydrocloric acid…or ANYTHING chemical will dissolve all of that.  It’s gotta be physically removed.

 

Additionally, suppose that you actually poured CLR in there, it got there, and then you followed the procedures in the instruction I’d provided in my earlier post.  HOWEVER…what IF the steam generator drain is clogged up with so much scale that the CLR won’t drain back out?  WELL – you can’t cook FOOD with THAT!

 

So, I’m advising that you get the unit thoroughly gone through by a technician.  You might find that there’s as much scale in it as in my pictures.

 

If you are INTENT upon attempting to do a chemical descaling anyway, just be sure that, BEFORE YOU DO IT, when you turn the unit off, that you see lotsa water draining out of it…before feeding it the CLR.  If you don’t see water draining, then it’s clogged.  DON’T put ANY chemical in there and call a company to have it serviced.

[ectofix]

Donna, your original request was for an owners manual.  Since we couldn’t produce one, I’m providing the next best thing.

 

I’d said before that the Vulcan VSX9000 is nearly identical to the Hobart HSF3 counter-top steamer.  So…here’s the operating instructions manual for that Hobart:

Hobart HSF3 Instructions Manual

 

There are negligible differences between the control panels of the two steamers.  Additionally, the Hobart manual alludes to the main switch possibly having an optional DELIME position.  The VSX9000 won’t have that option.  Nevertheless, the Hobart instruction manual covers both configurations – WITH and WITHOUT a DELIME setting for the switch.

[john]

Hey ectofix,

 

Thanks for the great post! Would you mind if I used this for a Tales from the Field piece in the near future? Really drives home the reason preventative maintenance is *not*just some oversold ploy by service tech companies. 

[ectofix]

Yes.  By all means, go ahead and use it.

 

My question:  Where is this “Tales from the Field?”  I don’t see a link for that.  Is that a snail mail thing?

[guest]

All that scale and it was still working? I mean more or less. lol. Anyway, Donna a good idea would also to br to try to find out how hard the water is in your area. If its hard enough, I would increase the frequency of the descaling. Also, possibly look into a filter system or water softener (if the budget allows) to protect your investment, in the steamer.