New AG-1010 Arctic Griddle Coming Soon!

Arctic Griddle LLC is excited to announce the latest revision of our Arctic Griddle rolled ice cream machines, the AG-1010. Based on feedback from our customers, we continued to innovate while focusing on bringing down costs so that the benefits of our machines can be had by all.

The starting price for the new AG-1010 is $2250, with discounts still available for cash payments and multi-unit orders. We were able to bring down prices, while maintaining our same level of quality, by targeting three areas:

• Vendors and Quantities - In some cases we were able to find new vendors at lower prices. In others, we were able to achieve lower prices through the purchase of much higher quantities and blanket orders.
• Shipping Costs - Our new units will be shipping in a custom heavy duty cardboard boxes versus the current wooden crates. This saves significantly in shipping material costs. (UPDATED: 3/30/19 We are forced to change shipping carriers due to too many problems with UPS. This may yet again impact overall shipping costs.) 
• Automation and More Efficient Assembly - Where possible we worked to automate production and outsource some tasks. For example, all of the internal cabling manufacturing is now automated rather than built by hand , as is now many of the internal copper assemblies. We also redesigned the internal layout to make the assembly of the unit faster and more efficient.

The only downgrade made to the unit in order to reduce costs was the elimination of the protective spray coating on all of the outside paneling with the exception of the top of the unit. The purpose of this coating is to protect against staining from food and fingerprints. We left this coating on the top of the unit since this is a highly prone area to spills and is the most visible. We can still add this full coating as an option at an additional cost and longer lead time.

Despite the reduction in price, we were able to continue to add new features that will save you time, make you more money, and allow you to customize your machine to your operating preferences. Some of the new features include:

• Dual Defrost Mode -  Press the defrost button once quickly and the refrigeration system goes into low power mode allowing the temperature to gradually rise. This slight rise can help release the ice cream from the pan without worrying about melting the ice cream that can happen with most high temperature defrost modes of other manufacturers. This low power defrost mode will stay on for a short period of time before shutting off. This defrost time period can be selected between 10 and 20 seconds by a jumper setting on the circuit board inside the unit. The second defrost mode can be enabled by pressing the defrost button for 2 seconds. This engages the high power defrost system, which injects the hot refrigerant into the pan. This mode is recommended when you need to warm the pan quickly for cleaning.
• Selectable Temperature Sensing Locations - Where the machine senses the pan temperature can have a big difference in how the machine responds while rolling. For example, place the temperature sensor directly on the back of the pan and you can measure the temperature of the ice cream while rolling. The downside to this approach is the sensed temperature displayed on the unit will appear to fluctuate while making ice cream. This can be off putting if you are more use to the other sensing approach whereby the sensor is placed on the refrigeration coils on the back of the pan. This approach displays a more stable temperature during the rolling process but doesn't provide any actual information about the temperature of the ice cream. Our new machines come with three different temperature sensors installed which the user can select between to choose the preferred response. Check back later for our updated user manual which will describe all three temperature sensor locations.
• Adjustable Temperature Regulation Ranges - There are trade-offs between how tight the temperature regulation of your rolled ice cream machine is controlled, the longevity of it, and the sound levels coming from it. For example the Arctic Griddles use a mechanical solenoid to control the flow of refrigerant to the coils and regulate the temperature of the pan. Switching this solenoid frequently can provide for a very tight temperature regulation of only a 1-2 degrees C differential; however, this quickly wears down the solenoids and can be considered excessively noisy. Even with the solenoids we use which are rated at nearly a million switching cycles, they will wear out in a matter of a couple years with frequent switching. Therefore, most rolled ice cream machines try to maintain the temperature swings to 4-5 degrees C. This requires far fewer switching cycles which extends the life of your machine. But, some users feel this range is not accurate enough. Our latest machine allows the operator to select either regulation mode by switching a jumper setting within the unit. 
• Improved Diagnostics - The most important parameter to keeping your rolled ice cream machine running for a long time is the internal operating temperature. If the condenser coils get dirty, the heat can no longer be removed from the refrigeration system. This leads to high compressor discharge temperatures, which starts to break down the compressor oil, and will eventually kill the compressor. However, knowing when the internal temperatures are starting to get too high is not an easy question to answer on most machines. Our Arctic Griddles include a temperature sensor to monitor this temperature. On the AG-1000 this temperature can be displayed on the front panel by installing a jumper on the main internal control board. With the new AG-1010 this temperature can be displayed by simply pressing both the up and the down arrow buttons. This gives operators a quick way to determine this temperature and track it for future maintenance. 

The new Arctic Griddle AG-1010 will start shipping within approximately three weeks. Contact us now to reserve your units today.