Convection ovens

Con ovens are manufactured in two sizes; single door and double door. The former being the larger of the two. The difference in price is fairly minimal so I'd suggest buying a double door oven. Aside from increased capacity, the recovery time (heat) is less...something of great benefit if you're in and out of the oven a lot.

Blodgett is the Cadillac and most reliable. Expect a life of 5-7 years. The part that will wear out in time is the fan motor and they're not cheap. Part & labor may run upwards of $500 but this is true of any con oven.

Blodgett can adopt to either NG or Propane. The difference is a small gas orifice and can be ordered with the original purchase. You will need a licensed installer to comply with code regs. You'll also want a "quick disconnect" gas hose.

Depending on local code ords, you may or may not be required to vent the oven under a hood.

with the assumption made that you have a commercial type space to cook in, a Blodgett is an awesome unit. I bought mine used for $450 and it was 17 years old. The convection fan motor had been changed and the gas control valve was not factory equipment. It was still the best cooking oven I have ever used. If you need portable, get an FEC-500. The ovens way almost 400 lbs a piece.

That being said, even a double door unit won't cook 12-15 full pans. I could cook 6 full pans at a time. Remember that even though it is big, the burners only produce so many BTU's. If you overload it, you are asking for very long cook times and foods in a potentially dangerous temperature zone for quite a while.

Check out the online auction sites, there is a pretty good one here in KC. They very often have double stacked, double door units for under a grand. That should get you to the capacity you mention. As for the smokey taste in your sides, you might consider smoking the ingredient that contains the most fat for some extra flavor, instead of the whole pan. A little smoke in the butter makes for excellent cheesy taters

Thanks guys. I found a couple that aren't to far from home that I'm going to take a look at this weekend.

Well I found a nice double stacked Blodgett oven that we worked out a deal on and it was supposed to show up yesterday. Bummer, the truck was in a bad crash and they were destroyed.

Now plan B is going to have to happen pretty quickly. The guy has a couple of Garlin Masters out of a Walmart that are 5 years old. One has digital controls and the other is just simple solid state controls. Sent pics of both and they look really clean.

Any thoughts or experience on these units?

Double stacked full size convection ovens for under $2k delivered? He's switching to LP, throwing in the hoses and regulators. Sound too good to be true?

Did you mean to say Garland?

Not top of the line but not too shabby either. The deal does seem a little too sweet but maybe you just lucked out.

Your biggest concern with 5 year old units is the fan motors. If they're original, expect another year, 2 or 3 at best. Replacement will run you about $500 +/- each unless you can find quality used motors.

Good luck. That's a shame about the Blodgetts

Yeah it is Garland I guess. I bought a Cres Core Aquatemp holding cabinet from this guy 4 years ago when we started our business and had a thermostat go out on it last year. I called the guy to see if he had one and he sent me one for $25 mainly to cover shipping. A new one was going to be close to $400 from a dealer so I think he is a good resource.

I wouldn't use them that much but when we need them we REALLY need them. Do the motors just die one day or can you kind of see it coming? It would stink to have a big project and have one of them crap out right when you need it most.

Sorry to say...they crap out suddenly.

A few things you can do to prolong life:

Keep the internal fan wheels as clean as possible of grime and debris build up so as to allow them to spin freely.

Check the wire vents on the back of the motors and keep them free of dust build up. A small air compressor or even a can of computer air will do the trick.

Allow as much space as possible between the back of the ovens and the wall for maximum "breathability".