Commercial refrigeration equipment manufacturer Everidge claims to be the first US manufacturer to introduce a blast chiller using propane refrigerant (R290).
The Minneapolis-based company’s PBF 4.0 blast chiller and shock freezer is the only 4/5 pan undercounter commercial blast chiller in the US to use the flammable refrigerant.
While R290 is commonly used in stand-alone commercial units and household refrigerators and freezers around the world, the United States are at the beginning of the switch to R290 refrigeration.
Packed with game-changing features and a revolutionary design, the PBF 4.0 has a patented modular self-contained, air-cooled refrigeration system, and is constructed entirely of 304 stainless steel.
Eric Wickberg, Everidge’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, said: “This is the industry’s most environmentally friendly blast chiller and will help companies deliver on their corporate sustainability goals.”
The cartridge-style design of the PBF4.0 means that the module containing the R290 and other parts can be easily removed as a unit for offsite repairs and swapped out with a new module within an hour. This ensures employee and technician safety, as well as minimising the downtime of a faulty unit.
The PBF 4.0 is said to be able to blast chill up to 40lb (18kg) of product from 160ºF to 38ºF within two hours and shock freezes up to 20lb (9kg) of product from 160ºF to 0ºF within four hours.
Everidge insists that the R290 is fully sealed and self-contained, so there is virtually no risk of leaks.
