Traulsen RET232NUT, RET232EUT, RET132EUT owner manual VII. General USE, Operation Service Summary

VII. GENERAL USE, OPERATION &

SERVICE SUMMARY

VII. a - INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW:

The Traulsen Even Thaw is designed to be used as a thawing cabinet. While it may be utilized in a refrigeration mode, that is not its intended use. Its function is to hold the cabinet temperature in the range from 38 to 40 degrees to thaw product within the food-safe temperature zone.

Frozen product placed into the unit will pull the cabinet temperature below the heater set point (37 deg.)and the unit will begin to function in the thaw mode. This prompts the refrigeration system to turn OFF, and the heaters to turn ON. The fans remain ON, circulating this cold air around the product, allowing for rapid thawing. When cabinet air temperature reaches the upper set point (38 deg. although the product is actually much colder), the heaters turn OFF.

As the cabinet temperature reaches the heater set point, the heat will be cycled off while the internally generated heat from the circulation fans continues to add heat to the cabinet. If sufficient cold capacity or possibly other frozen product is added to the unit and subsequently lowers the cabinet tem- perature more than 1 degree below the heater set point, the heat will again turn on to thaw the product.

If the cold capacity of the product no longer sufficiently pulls down the cabinet temperature below the heater set point, the cabinet temperature will slowly rise to attain the evaporator coil cut-in set point (41 deg.) and energize the refrigeration system. The unit will remain in the refrigeration mode until the cabinet temperature pulls down to the compressor cut- out set point (38 deg.). The unit will continue to operate and cycle in the refrigeration mode.

The controller has been preset at the factory and should not require any adjustments. Traulsen engi- neering EXPECTS no changes be made to any set- points or parameter settings without discussing the situation and obtaining approval to do so. Modifying the default set points could disrupt the operation/functional programming algorithm and result in erratic unit operation.

VII. b - LOADING GUIDELINES:

The Even-Thaw model can accommodate any size partial load, or up to (28) 18” x 26” pans of product (for example approximately 672 lbs. of chicken). Use of aluminum pans is highly recommended. Product should be placed on pans in one layer only to allow for proper airflow. With a full load thaw time will be between 22 & 24 hours. Overloading and/ or double wrapping product will extend thaw times.

VIII. EXPECTED THAW PERFOR- MANCE/OPERATIONAL TROUBLE- SHOOTING

VIII. a - INTRODUCTION:

Even thaw performance is a function of many factors, espe- cially those involving product types and loading. As a result, actual thaw times will vary as even similar sized loads of the same product will exhibit some differences in their thawing characteristics.

VIII. b - TEST PARAMETERS:

To provide a general performance baseline, Traulsen per- formed some controlled testing in our lab which may provide the operator with an approximate idea on what to expect from their Even-Thaw unit. Full load batches of frozen product were used as follows:

One section models

336 lbs. of chicken, distributed between 14 tray levels. Each level consisted of 24 lbs. of product loaded into two pans (four 6 lb. pkgs. of frozen product total per level/two 6 lb. pkgs. per tray).

Two section models

672 lbs. of chicken, distributed between 28 tray levels. Each level consisted of 24 lbs. of product loaded into two pans (four 6 lb. pkgs. of frozen product total per level/two 6 lb. pkgs. per tray).

1008 lbs. of chicken, for two section megathaw loads.

VIII. c - TEST RESULTS:

Under these actual load parameters, the one-section model generally required approximately 15-19 hours in order to completely thaw the entire load.

The two section model requires approximately 18-22 or megathaw models 22-24 hours to completely thaw the entire load.

VIII. d - RESULTS AS A FUNCTION OF PRODUCT MIX: The above thaw times were based upon a mixed load of different chicken products typically found in many establishments. It is important to note that initially, all tests performed were based on a mixed load of product. This consisted of approximately 1/4 nuggets,1/4 strips, 1/4 to 1/3 breasts. This MIXED batch thawed in the times listed above. In actual operation, thaw batches consist- ing of a single type of product, or other ratios of different products may require more time for thawing. Both this and larger size loads can both contribute to longer thaw times.

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