Imports

[ectofix]

In refrigeration mostly…when I was still doing that.

 

I worked on a R/I cooler once that was made by Arctic something-or-another (I think).  It was a cheaper variation of commercial units than what we usually see, but I otherwise DID like how it was put together…FWIW.

 

I needed an especially stupid little plastic bulkhead 45 degree barbed fitting for the condensate pan under the evaporator.  In the mean time, water flooded the bottom of the box.  To replace that fitting from local sources meant my doing some contrived modifications and by going shopping for who-knows-what.  I REALLY didn’t have time for that.

 

While on site, I got a phone number for the manufacturer.  I found out they were actually just a distributor located out in California.  The man said the unit was made in Japan and their product was new to the U.S. market, so getting parts was difficult.  He told me he’d pursue it and call me.  I got his name.

 

A few days later and no call back, so I called Joe S back.  He’d had no luck seeking out the factory part, so he’d gone out to his warehouse full of R/I coolers, removed the part I needed from one of them and was in the process of shipping it to me.

 

Thank you Joe.

[ectofix]

Quoting myself, I said “I needed an especially ****** little plastic bulkhead 45 degree barbed fitting…”

 

What’s with the astericks?  I only said a correctly spelled version of stiuuupid, which isn’t profane and I was merely speaking about a part.

 

Is this site monitoring my LANGUAGE? I come here to learn, to help folks and to occasionally talk shop.  I write as I speak, so if this site finds my language offensive with something so innocuous as that, then I can write elsewhere.

 

Sorry for hijacking the thread on that note.

[moshea]

Hey ECtoFix – The asterisks were due to an overly restrictive profanity filter. I’ve removed “stupid” from the list.

 

Thanks,

Mike

[bustedknuckles]

We have a ton of Artic Air units in our area and a ton of calls on them. I’ve serviced them while still on the dealers showroom floor. Mostly refrigerant leaks and wiring issues. Oh did I mention refrigerant leaks?

 

To totaltech1, yeah we’ve got a lot. Economy models are being pushed pretty heavy here.

[rico]

They’re coming in and under-cutting the prices of the established brands. Always looking for a bargain, owners and purchase agents are buying this stuff up, only to find that there is/are no support in the US. I just went through this with a “gelato” display.

The head chef insisted that we purchase some glass refrigerated display cases, along with a revolving gelato display. We tried to head him off by trying to find something with a similar appearance. We were out voted. One year later, the chef is gone but his legicay remains. There is absolutely no support or parts for any of this stuff in North America. I have one case that has a small 404 leak and the “gotta have” gelato display has a bad controller. I’ve managed to keep things going, but its just a matter of time.

[ectofix]

You mentioned the legacy of a bygone Chef and I had to laugh.  I’m currently trying to avert a similar situation.

 

Eight of our twenty-one Rational combi-ovens are “elderly” and have done their time.  They’re over twenty years old.  Our (most recent) executive Chef wants to purchase Unox ovens (made in Italy) to replace them.  I won’t get deep into all the finer details on why I object, but I’m supposed to meet with them SOON (so they say) and I’ll lay it to them.

 

I WILL say here that I’ve not found a single on-line parts supplier that has parts for them.

[rico]

Good to hear back from you. Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner.

 

When you say elderly, what generation are you referring to? I only have SCC units here. Before I came here, I had worked on a couple of CMs. From what I understand, the new generation Rational are a piece of crap.

 

As for the terror you are facing  with the Unox ovens…I wish you well. Let them know that there is NO North American support for them. Tell  them that if one of them goes down, it might be months before any parts can be had. I have been waiting for some parts, for my nightmare, for over two months now. Its stuck in customs, from Italy. Since we did not have any pricing for the parts, we could not declare the value to the customs officials.

Paul

PS That many Rationals……are you with a government facility? I used to go to Great Lakes Naval Station. They had a bunch.

[koolrider]

Yes I ran into a walk-in cooler made by Everest Refrigeration built in South Korea it had a leaking evaporator coil and just over 2 yrs old, but that is common for any brand including American made. To my surprise the cost on the evaporator was only $101.00 which is very cheap for any brand. The parts distributors are out of California

[koolrider]

Sorry on that last information this Everest happened to be an upright reach-in cooler

[ectofix]

Definitely taking note of your experiences with Unox for my supposed “meeting” (any day now).

 

I’m in-house at a large resort.  We don’t have any of the original Rational Classic-line, but have those CCCs and CCDs from the C-line (mid-90s vintage).  Those are the elders needing replaced.  We also have a handful of CPCs (late-90s to early 2000s) and eleven SCCs (from 2004 on).  Three SCCs are index E (just CleanJet for cleaning the oven) and the rest index G (with the drawer for the pellets going to the boiler).

 

I’ve come to know the SCCs quite well and I favor the index G units for that CareControl feature, which keeps the limescale down if done often enough.  For in-house folks like me, that design is a blessing.  Feed it a few pills, walk away and come back later to check its vitals.  For you field techs, the tablets are probably a joke if the owners of the ovens don’t know how to clean them frequently.

 

Anyway, I posted my concerns under this thread title “IMPORTS” because of the resurgence of combi-ovens from Europe here lately.  I don’t mind their being imported.  The Europeans had that market from the beginning anyway.  Cleveland, Alto-Shaam, Henny Penny, etc. all started or still have their combi-ovens by marketing rebadged European models.  BKI, Lang and others have jumped onto the bandwagon.  Eloma (not rebadged), kind of like Rational, might make their presences know the correct way.

But then I get thrown a name like Unox which, from my research, only has the slightest affilation with Cadco, has a very ambiguous website regarding their products, NO manuals, NO parts support from anyone…and one address from a suite at a business park in Newtown PA to represent them.  Their toe is j-u-s-t pointed into the water and might’ve gotten a few drops of moisture on it, but it’s a bad start already when a few replacement parts entering into the U.S. takes months to get hung by a technician due to customs.

Kinda resembles the circumstances regarding that Arctic Air (I think it was, from bustedknuckles statement) when  I worked on that one and that manufacturer’s rep guy I called got me a part I needed by taking it from another unit in his warehouse.