Keeping Your Frozen Beverage Machine Running Uninterrupted: Our Essential Parts & Accessories
Operating a frozen beverage machine is an easy way to add exciting variety to the products you offer consumers. The correct unit can provide a clear pathway towards a robust ROI and a way to differentiate yourself from competitors. However, not all machines are the same. As you consider your buying options, looking for a frozen beverage machine with parts and accessories you understand is essential.
Likewise, you need a partner to furnish replacement parts quickly. Otherwise, you risk extended downtime when something in your machine breaks. A trusted frozen beverage machine partner should offer two critical aspects: hardware that can stand the test of time and prompt replacements when wear and tear catches up to components.
At FBD, we understand these needs. We engineer our machines to be long-lasting and highly reliable, and we also supply quality original parts to repair drink equipment and put it back into service as soon as possible. Rapid turnaround times and the availability of essential accessories make it simpler to operate your units without long-term reliability concerns.
Behind the Scenes: Inside a Frozen Beverage Machine
To the public, a frozen beverage machine is a quick way to grab a refreshing drink on hot summer days. For business owners, though, they can play a vital role in their overall operational strategy. That's true across locations frequently serving frozen drinks, be it a convenience store, a movie theater, or a full-service restaurant.
Reliability is critical to developing confidence in your machine and its capabilities to help you generate profits. Let's consider the notable FBD parts and add-on accessories you should know.
Freezing Cylinders
The answer lies inside the freezing cylinder if you're wondering "where the magic happens" in a frozen drink machine. Without these, there is no such thing as a frozen beverage as we commonly know it today. Inside a cylinder, water mixes with flavoring ingredients and freezes into the consistency consumers desire. Once frozen, the resulting beverage stays in the cylinder until dispensed by a customer or employee.
High-quality materials are non-negotiable because cylinders go through repeated temperature changes and are often under pressure. A cylinder failure can mean extended downtime. Therefore, choosing units with cylinders that feature high-quality materials and engineering is best.
Mixing Blades
Mixing blades exist inside the freezing cylinder and are just as vital as the hardware that freezes the water for drinks. As the blades turn through the cylinder, they thoroughly mix the ice and flavor syrups. At the same time, these blades scrape down the sides of the cylinder to ensure that all traces of the mixed beverage remain together to reduce waste. Each pass aerates the mixture, providing the uniform texture and smooth consistency that buyers expect when they receive a frozen beverage.
Drip Trays
Keeping the space clean around your frozen drink machine is vital, and drip trays play a key role in that effort. Removable plastic trays are found directly beneath the nozzles that dispense beverages upon demand. Overflow from customer pours, the excess product left in the nozzle, and the occasional drip of meltwater from the nozzles all fall into the drip tray, not onto your counters or floors. These pull out from the machine for quick and easy cleaning at the end of the day.
Seals and Gaskets
Some components inside the machine need watertight and airtight separation for effective operation and reliable sanitation. Without effective gaskets, leaks can occur, and product quality can diminish. Owners need units with seals and gaskets designed from high-quality materials that can withstand repeated exposure to the temperature gradients during freezing and holding operations. Otherwise, you can't count on efficiency.
Cup and Straw Dispensers
Self-service is one of the big selling points for most commercial drinks machines, especially frozen beverages. Dispensers for both cups and straws, put within close reach of the machine, ensure customers see that they can quickly serve themselves and head to check out. Reducing friction in the purchasing process can lead to more sales. At FBD, business owners can choose from several options to suit their needs and limitations.
Base Carts
Not every business owner wants to or can dedicate a space for a frozen drink dispenser. Base carts solve that problem. These units, which move quickly thanks to base-mounted wheels, can easily accommodate FBD units that need to move from place to place. Ideal for space-limited convenience stores alongside outdoor events, concerts, fairs, and more, base carts include storage for BIB syrups, so you can efficiently operate a unit anywhere you can supply water and power.
BIB Racks
Establishments will need the appropriate Bag-in Box (BIB) racks for stationary units that may not use a base cart. These simple storage racks hold the various flavors of syrups that you feed into your machine to make the mix that freezes in the freezing cylinder. Racks help keep each BIB in the proper position so that syrup flows readily into the machine.
Installation Kits
Getting started once you acquire a frozen beverage machine should be quick and easy, and our installation kits help make that possible. Each kit contains everything necessary to set up your unit on-site. Kits typically include fittings, clamps, hoses for water and syrup, power cabling, and more. Every kit provides what you need to set up your unit without delay.
Buck and Boost Transformers
Not every business can rely on a high-quality source of electricity with the very stable voltage and frequency levels necessary to run all the equipment inside a frozen beverage dispenser. A "buck and boost" transformer modulates the incoming electrical signals to maintain a constant voltage and frequency for safe, effective operation. Each transformer also acts as a mini-surge protector to protect internal components from damage.
Compressors
Like a regular freezer, refrigerator or air conditioner, frozen drink machines use hardware called a "compressor." These units force low-pressure refrigerant gases into high-pressure lines throughout the system, such as around the freezing cylinders. As the gas expands again, it absorbs heat and chills the system. All FBD units use gold-standard Scroll™ non-reciprocating compressors for highly reliable and energy-efficient cooling.
Stay Up and Running With the Right Components
From compressors to freezing cylinders and everything in between, all these components must work together well so your customers can enjoy tasty frozen drinks. Understanding their purpose is helpful for future troubleshooting and knowing what to ask for when something goes wrong. With a suitable unit, you can trust in reliable operations without frequent maintenance needs and downtime, reducing your profitability.
Finding top-quality frozen beverage machines and parts & accessories is easy with FBD. Our experienced team can help you select the unit suitable for your business and ensure you know where to turn for fast service and high-quality parts. Connect with us today to find out more.
