Who has one?
What brand is it?
Have you had any issues?
Thanks!
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We have two. A 190 quart Hobart HF-190 and a back up 120 Nussex 120-HD. They are both getting old and parts are hard to come by. The circuit panel is starting to go in the Hobart and they stopped selling the part in 2012, it seems like everyone stopped stocking a lot of the parts a while ago. We’ve had it since 1997 and haven’t had any issues until now, I’d say that’s pretty good.
We’ve been looking into buying a new one in the next couple of months. It seems like quality has gone down since 1997 and a lot of the manufacturers are using more plastic components that are prone to breaking. I’ve been told that a reliable brand is the Italian manufactured Logiudice Forni. The have warehouses that stock parts in NYC and Toronto. A rep is going to visit our store in a couple of weeks to speak with us. We’re looking at the Iris model (https://www.logiudiceforni.com/en/p/spiral-mixers/iris/) the quote that we received for the 170 qt size is around $16K.
We’ve been advised against new spiral mixers from Globe, Hobart, & Nussex. I’m not sure who made Hobart spiral mixers in the 90s, but our’s says made in Italy on it.
I’ve got an Empire 160 that I bought used about 10 years ago. I’ve had a couple of repairs, one being a belt replacement and bearing and the other being replacing a contactor but outside of those I’ve done zero maintenance. When I build my new store, I’ll replace it with either an LBC KM 120( http://www.lbcbakery.com/lbc_products/mixers/) or the same size from here: https://erikarecord.com/mixers/spiral-mixer/. Who will be around to sell parts 10 or 15 years from now is a crapshoot so I’m going to buy based on price and hope that I won’t have to worry about finding replacement parts before I retire.
Paul,
Is there anything in particular that you like about the LBC or LP Group mixer more that the Empire 160 that you currently have? The Logiudice Forni that we are looking at is the same manufacturer that makes the Empire. Should I broaden my search to the two that you are looking at for your new store?
Mike, the only bad thing I have to say about Empire is that when I needed a contactor the Hobart service rep called the 1-800 number and could not reach anyone and never could find the part. Since I only use the low speed, I wound up stealing the contactor from the second speed.
I’m building a brand new building to move into and am not going to reuse any of my equipment. Empire is not in the plans for a mixer as they are generally much more expensive than the brands I’m looking at and from my experience parts are not available. I’d love to buy made in the USA but if there’s no customer service I’d rater save money. I saw the LBC at pizza expo 2 years ago and was shocked at how cheap they are. I recently came to find out that pizzapiratespp(?), who probably has the highest volume store of the think tank members uses this mixer for his three stores and speaks well of it. LP I saw a pizza expo this year and is priced well and not made in china(I assume LBC is). They talk a good game about parts being available. I honestly couldn’t tell you what makes one different from the next, I’m just hoping for the best. I had a terrible experience with a Hobart planetary mixer so I feel better off using a spiral mixer.
Thanks Paul. I will talk to pizzapirate about LBC. I contacted LP this afternoon, I like that they have a test kitchen 2 hours from me. They’re both cheaper than the Hobart that we have now.
Thank you for considering Erika Record! We are proud to partner with LP Group to offer reinforced spiral mixers. These mixers are manufactured in Italy. We have been in business for over 27 years and have a staff of experienced technicians along with an extensive inventory of equipment parts and spares on hand. If you’d like to learn more about our company, including our process, feel free to click here: https://erikarecord.com/about-us/test-facility-showroom/.
Mike, thanks again for considering Erika Record and our LP Group offerings! We’d more than happy to help or answer any additional questions you may have. 