Q Matic--again

[eupher61]

Who’s using the Q Matic conveyor oven? It seems like a much better solution than the original, but is it worth the price? I’ve been quoted $17k for the 55", $19k for the 70". Considering I want a stack…wow. I’m not thoroughly sold on the idea, but one equipment shop (with one in stock) says they’ve had great response, and people have done direct comparisons with traditional ovens.

So, I"m wonderin’.

Thanks!

 

[Patriot_sPizza]

Having owned one in the past, as well as a lover of the CTX oven & a currently driving some old MM 360’s, you can get a great pizza in them all…

But if I were going to buy a new oven, I’d really consider the Edge brand…I think Paul would also recommend them, based on his store’s volume & quality requirements…

Their principle is sound, but I think it isn’t worth the price when compared to the Edge and what it can produce…

 

[paul7979]

I would recommend you contact both Qmatic as well as Edge and have them both come out to your place. They will both bring their oven to you in a trailer and let you cook your pizzas through them while they make adjustments to get just the cook you are looking for. The Qmatic came close to what I was looking for but they needed an 8 minute cook time to do it. The Edge got a great cook at a 6 minute time. When I switched to Edge ovens my gas bill went down considerably making the outlay to a new triple stack a bit easier to swallow. Plus the Edge ovens will cost less than nearly any other new oven alternative.

 

[eupher61]

Great! I am not familiar with Edge, I’ll check it out. MM or Lincoln is my comfort zone, but they both have issues with the thin crust I’m planning to do. Crispiness just doesn’t come easy.
Thanks for the replies!

steve

 

[Patriot_sPizza]

Ahhh…crispness…it comes out…lol…

#1 - eliminate the sugar in your dough…

#2 - lower the temp & increase cook time…

#3 - get some hearth disks from pizza tools…

Just my 2¢…

 

[George_Mills]

Hi Eupher:

Our clients did not Like the Q-matic oven. They found it did not bake as fast as the air impingement style ovens. They also found that they had to allow a substantial space between pizzas on the belt to get a good bake and heavily topper pizzas required a longer bake.

Most all ovens can bake a good pizza if only a few have to be produced.The real test is to bake 50 or more pizzas as fast as possible and check the results.

George Mills

 

[sausagemike]

George, we’ve had this TT discussion before when I brought up this old oven months ago when I was testing with this new company. They are good guys and I think it is unfair to hear your opinion that is based on rumor.

1st: Q-matics haven’t been produced for >3 years.
2nd: You admitted yourself that you never tested with the new oven. You have no experience with the QII do you?
3rd: You again are making speed the absolute priority based on your response. Perhaps others out there like Joe Fugere, Tony Gemignani, and Dave Ostrander have a slightly different opinoin: Create a great pie - not a fast one.

George, your “customer?” Do they have a QII?

On their youtube page they show a 2" deep dish being cooked in 13:30. I was amazed that a thick pizza like that can hit almost 200 degrees. I don’t even know if an impinger can do that and actually bake the pizza in the first place.

. Deep dish pizzas, breads, etc …

Big Dave has been talking about these guys in Pizza Insight - he’s the reason I was sent over to their booth at EXPO. Big Dave knows pizza - more so, he knows quality pizza.

I think you can get down on that price BTW. I’m below that pricing with them.
George Mills:

Our clients did not Like the Q-matic oven. They found it did not bake as fast as the air impingement style ovens. They also found that they had to allow a substantial space between pizzas on the belt to get a good bake and heavily topper pizzas required a longer bake. George Mills

 

[George_Mills]

by sausagemike »1st: Q-matics haven’t been produced for >3 years.
2nd: You admitted yourself that you never tested with the new oven. You have no experience with the QII do you?

That is correct .
3rd: You again are making speed the absolute priority based on your response. Perhaps others out there like Joe Fugere, Tony Gemignani, and Dave Ostrander have a slightly different opinion: Create a great pie - not a fast one.

The vast majority of our clients are high volume DELCO type shops. Volume production is important to them as well as the quality of the pizza.

George, your “customer?” Do they have a QII?

Of those who purchased them in the past I know of none using them using them now, but I do not have constant contact with the vast majority of operators we have worked with in the past.

On their youtube page they show a 2" deep dish being cooked in 13:30. I was amazed that a thick pizza like that can hit almost 200 degrees. I don’t even know if an impinger can do that and actually bake the pizza in the first place.

. Deep dish pizzas, breads, etc.

None of the high volume DELCOS that I know of bake a pizza that thick. Operators
are baking all types of pizzas in all types of ovens, gas, electric, wood and coal fired, deck, conveyor, revolving and rotating, So obviously one can be successful with about any type of oven. But the vast majority of successful DELCOS use the air impingement type of oven.

If production is of any importance to an operator, I again suggest if trying out an oven they bake fifty pizzas as fast as possible to determine if under those circumstances the oven in question can produce the quality and quantity of product the desire.

Big Dave has been talking about these guys in Pizza Insight - he’s the reason I was sent over to their booth at EXPO. Big Dave knows pizza - more so, he knows quality pizza.

I stated in a previous discussion that the Q-matic can bake a good pizza if you don’t need high volume production. But most all ovens can do that.

George Mills

 

[system]

SM…how are Georges comments based on rumor? He has end-users that he has received comments on how these ovens cook and work. He has equiped thousands of operations over the years and deals with many different brands of ovens and other equipment. He probably has better first hand knowledge about the inner workings of these ovens than most of us put together. Being that he sells new and reconditioned items I am pretty sure he has a good idea on what works out there and what does not. I could care less how nice or good the people behind a product are…I need a piece of equipment that does what I need it too do. Yes great customer service is nice…but I would rather not need to call in the first place. You seem to take any comments about Qmatic very personally and get defensive over them quickly. I think if the Qmatic was such a great oven that two things would be seen here…first, a lot more of them would be in use. Second, and I am getting this only from your post, they have not been made in over 3 years? After a little reading they discontinued production 6 years ago in 2005 when they were bought out. It’s fine that they are marketing a new product now…but i feel your statements towards others here are a bit off and unfounded. :roll:

 

[sausagemike]

To All: When references are made about an oven I’ve tested multiple times and about a company I know is up and starting again I guess I believe they deserve fair shake when mentioned.

The most important thing to remember - and I guess this is what the whole debate is

The Q-matic line is over. QII DECK is an entirely new oven. the IR is the same, but everything else changed.

Do we still call a MM360 a WOW oven and get the two ovens confused? A PS570 isn’t a PS670.

George has admited never testing a new QII DECK. He is talking about ovens 7 years old. The question brought up was about the NEW Q-matic which I suspect is QII DECK. Especially if there was a quote involved from the manufacturer. That has been a point I’ve asked him time and time again. That’s why its rumor.

Just going off their website http://www.qiideck.com they have two testimonials from Mancino’s in MI and West Shore Pizza out of FL. Are either of these George customers? What customers of George’s are there that have the QII Deck (NOT Q-MATIC!)? Rumor.

Sorry George and QMike, but I just wanted to jump in and point out the glaring fault in where the discussion: . QII Deck is not Q-matic. You can go and bash the new company all you like … I just think the bashing should be from personal experience, not rumor.

 

[eupher61]

OK…the reference in question is my fault…I called it the Q Matic Conveyor Oven. I’ve seen one at a dealer, hadn’t seen the website for the QII until today, and was wondering if that is the conveyor related to the QMatic.

Now, believe me, I know.

SMike, and I’m not trying to pick nits, but you say you’ve tested them many times. Does that mean you don’t use them in a store?
I don’t think we’ll be able to afford them, anyway, unless they can come down a lot from the apparent retail.

I appreciate the discussion, but please keep it civil, guys!

 

[system]

SM I feel like your connection is more than you state. Nobody has bashed anyone here. Ok… George is talking about the original Qmatic ovens. His customers did not care for them. Not rumor…FACT! The OP was a little misleading about the oven in question. So what…no harm. It happens. You for some reason are very defensive about this new company and their new ovens. Also, did I miss this quote you refer too? Am I not reading something? So a company has a couple of people that use their ovens make good testimonials on their website…no way! The real bottom line here is that, and I will say again… nobody is bashing here but you are kind of defensive for no real reason. Ok…you love these new ovens from this born again company…feel free to buy a dozen and get your pic on their website telling us all how wrong we are to use anything but! Oh… a couple of other things… “Glaring Fault”??? Really! :roll: Oh, and for the most part…even though you will disagree… we tend not to bash anyone or anything and the people that post here are talking first hand and there is little rumor to be spoken. Just because you do not like what you hear does not make it wrong! :!:

 

[MBramhall]

It seems as every time the question of which oven is best for someone it opens up a “whirlwind” of discussion. It also seems that this question comes up every 3-6 months and the same people “chime” in with their opinions.

It would add value to who is placing their opinions and what experience they have in the discussion:

Operator
Experience with the product and what they liked or disliked about it
Reseller
Reseller’s comments; Availability and value
This shows the reality as to if customers kept their ovens and if they gave them away or if there is a demand.

Most resellers have no clue in this industry other than selling product(ovens). Ask them to make a pizza and they are no better than the people in Costco handing out free food samples. I always value the opinions of the end-user. We are constantly cooking in our test kitchen for our new technicians and customers that want to try various ovens with their product before they buy.

I am still waiting for someone to release the machine they had in Star Trek that produced food at a verbal command perfect every time.

Good Luck!

 

[Rick_G]

The opinion of the end user is what counts. People that deal with dozens or hundreds of end users per year have a bit of insight. I have owned a pizza shop for 10 years, I can count on one hand the number of pizza operators I meet in a year unless I happen to make it to a show or event, in which case I am speaking to pretty much strangers with whom I assume I have a common interest. In a forum like this, hundreds of pizza shop owners, several equipment vendors and a few manufacturers post. We as users evaluate the info they post based upon the way we perceive that persons persona in the forum. When it comes to vendors,I usually tend to gravitate towards people that are more informative and educational and away from those that appear to be argumentative and dismissive of others that may have a differing view. Others may look at things differently. I would never throw out the opinion of an experienced vendor unless it was obvious the only reason for his post was to steer business his way or away from his competitor.

I’m just sayin…

 

[Deacon_V]

On their youtube page they show a 2" deep dish being cooked in 13:30. I was amazed that a thick pizza like that can hit almost 200 degrees. I don’t even know if an impinger can do that and actually bake the pizza in the first place.

. Deep dish pizzas, breads, etc …

If it matters…yes, in my shop we do a Deep Dish that is in the 2" plus catagory for overall thickness. We use a XLT3255 set at 6:30 with an oven temp of 465. Turns out wonderfully. The first pass is with a cheese base only, 2nd pass is fully dressed, sauce on top (where it belongs)…

 

[system]

Well said Rick! :!:

 

[eupher61]

I’ve talked with 2 people, one in PA, one in MS, who absolutely raved about the Edge ovens. I will certainly take their enthusiastic endorsements into consideration, but I’ll have to see the end result myself somehow, before I can make the final call. If that means a road trip to Pittsburgh, so be it.

Honestly, these 2 guys both said they run one oven 10 hours every day, have gas bills that are amazingly cheap (the one in MS, with little use of gas heat, was averaging $200 including hot water), and have had zero problems with the ovens. They both raved about the cook, with different types of crusts, and the company can do no wrong.

Well…I’m impressed. This was only two, but still, while I’d sure like to find more users who weren’t referred to me by the company, I’ll take 'em.

 

[paul7979]

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I made the switch to Edge ovens almost 2.5 years ago. I was the first store of our franchise to switch and now 5 of the 16 stores are using them. Mike and Mark have been great to work with and they are serious about great customer service. They have made some custom alterations to their oven for a couple of our stores. As far as gas usage, mine dropped by about 35%, but I replace 2006 and 2007 ovens which were already pretty efficient. Another difference was that the temp in my store dropped quite a bit as the Edge ovens don’t blow so much hot air out the ends. Less air out the ends means less A/C needed so lower electric bills at my store.

I do think that Edge will bring a trailer to you and allow you to cook your pizza in it. Before I bought mine, they set one up outside of one of our stores and I put it through the ringer for the afternoon. Why not see if they will come to you. Otherwise, if you would like to take a vacation to Florida, you are welcome to try mine out, but I’m sure you would get a better result if you let Mark configure one specifically for your product.

eupher61:

I’ve talked with 2 people, one in PA, one in MS, who absolutely raved about the Edge ovens. I will certainly take their enthusiastic endorsements into consideration, but I’ll have to see the end result myself somehow, before I can make the final call. If that means a road trip to Pittsburgh, so be it.

Honestly, these 2 guys both said they run one oven 10 hours every day, have gas bills that are amazingly cheap (the one in MS, with little use of gas heat, was averaging $200 including hot water), and have had zero problems with the ovens. They both raved about the cook, with different types of crusts, and the company can do no wrong.

Well…I’m impressed. This was only two, but still, while I’d sure like to find more users who weren’t referred to me by the company, I’ll take 'em.