Enclosed batch fryer improves efficiency and energy savings

Heat and Control’s latest BF-360 Batch Fryer combines an enclosed cooking area with automatic control of temperature, slice agitation, batch loading, and unloading to produce consistent hard-bite kettle-style potato chips.

A full-length hood covers the kettle for safety, improved oil quality, and energy savings. The hood retains heat in the frying area to reduce fuel usage. It also maintains a steam blanket over the oil, displacing oxygen to prolong oil life.

Exhaust volume is far less than with uncovered batch fryers using area hoods so smaller, more energy-efficient exhaust fans can be used.

The fryer’s under-pan gas-fired design provides uniform cooking with minimal oil depth for rapid oil turnover. This preserves oil quality to produce chips with a fresher taste and longer shelf life.

A programmable logic controller stores multiple cooking settings, and automatically regulates potato batching, slicing, loading, oil temperature and level, stirring, and product discharge. Heat and Control’s Chip-Stirr® paddle system eliminates labor-intensive manual stirring by continuously agitating the slices to improve cooking uniformity and prevent clusters and soft-center product. Finished batches are automatically cleared from the fryer and transferred to its drain conveyor.
 

The Batch Fryer’s hood has a built-in clean-in-place system to reduce sanitation labor and prevent the risk of fire that is present with oil-coated area hoods.

BF-360 Batch Fryers produce up to 360 pounds (163 kg) of finished chips per hour. For capacities over 500 pounds (227 kg) per hour, Heat and Control’s MasterTherm Kettle Fryer features the same hood enclosure, PLC control, and Chip-Stirr but uses a thermal fluid heat transfer system for uniform oil heating.

Heat and Control also provides complete systems for processing and packaging of natural and fabricated potato chips, sticks and snacks - from truck or crate unloading, through storage, peeling, washing, frying, seasoning, conveying, weighing, bagmaking, inspection, and controls.

With over 30 offices worldwide, Heat and Control provides the latest processing and packaging technology with local project management, training, spare parts and technical support.