Bagel Oven
The real story about Revolving Bagel Ovens.
If your looking to buy a bagel oven, here is some important information you should know. Cutler Ovens are the best ovens for bagels. Although Cutler Oven Company is no longer in business, there are still a lot of used ones out there. Other manufacturers include, fish ovens, universal ovens, picard ovens, Baxter ovens, and about 5 other manufacturers. Again Cutler Ovens - formally Middleby Marshall Oven Company is the Cadillac of bagel ovens. Most oven manufacturers make a "standard" oven. These standard ovens are great for bakeries and other cooking applications, however to bake quality, consistent bagels you need a true BAGEL OVEN. Most manufactures sell bagel ovens which are their "standard" ovens with loads of options added to it making it a bagel oven. Some of these options included an extra burner, a gas system with a higher BTU rating than their standard oven, thicker oven walls or higher insulation in order to hold temperature for baking bagels. Most ovens are designed to bake at 350 - 400 degrees. Bagels require a bake temperature of 500 degrees. In addition a bagel oven requires higher recovery time, which means when you bake bagels any oven will loose temperature, especially when you bake in high volumes. Therefore your oven needs to recover temperature quickly.
This is how our rebuilt ovens look when installation is complete. The only thing missing is the oven tray which attaches to the front just under the door. The oven tray is where the bagel boards are placed for baking, seeding and washing.
This picture shows the inside of a rebuilt oven. Notice the shelves are not installed yet. Also notice the new floor and rebuilt flame deflector, which is the black metal object.
This is another view of the front of a rebuilt oven. Only under close in-person view can you tell it is a used rebuilt oven.
It takes 5 days to properly install a bagel oven. This picture shows a rebuilt bagel oven on day 1. Only certified oven installers should install these oven.
This image shows the machinery compartment of a bagel oven. Notice the 3 burners, only found on bagel ovens. Most ovens come with only 2 burners and half the BTU's of a bagel oven. To bake a quality bagel, an oven needs to be designed for bagels, which includes 3 burners, direct fire, higher BTU's from standard ovens, special ventilation, proper gas pressure, and a whole list of special requirements. An oven not designed for bagels will bake an inferior bagel. In addition, it will bake uneven and it will not be able to hold temperature properly.
Here is a rebuilt flame deflector. Most used ovens have bent, distorted, or rotted flame deflectors. A flame deflector which is not set up correctly will cause an uneven bake.
This image shows new and rebuilt shelf hangers. A crucial part to insure a proper installation of the shelves. When shelves are not installed properly your oven's bushings will wear prematurely. This also will put an increase wear on the oven drive assembly.
All of our rebuilt ovens come with new insulation. Many other installers will use the insulation that came with the original oven. The old insulation may have gotten wet at one point, causing it to loose "R" factor. More importantly, ovens with 4 or more years of old insulation have a less "R" factor. In addition we use the latest insulation technology with the highest "R" factor available. This is a crucial aspect in oven installations as an oven not properly insulated will cause numerous problems, in the short run and definitely in the long run.
When we rebuild ovens, we do not skimp on anything. If a part shows wear, we simple replace it with a new part. Not just new but quality new. For example, the 2 main shalf bearings shown in this picture are new but they are also high temperature bearings. Most other oven installers do not replace these nor do they use high temperature bearings - some may not even know they need to use high temperature bearings. Many times we have had to replace these bearing for people who bought and/or had ovens installed by other companies.
Again, more parts that are replaced with our rebuilt ovens.
This picture shows just one of 15 bushings that get replaced. Usually, just to re-bush an oven is a $4,000.00 to $5,000.00 job. It is crucial to re-bush an oven while it is disassembled so that the new owner will not have to re-bush their oven for at least 5 years, depending on usage.
This image shows the left - inside of an rebuilt oven. Notice all the hardware (nuts and bolts) is new. We never use the old nuts and bolts. This alone costs over $200.00 just in hardware. Imagine a 10 year old main shalf bolt breaking on a Sunday (your busiest day) and during a holiday weekend. Break a bolt like this and your oven shelves could collapse, causing thousands of dollars in damage. This is why we use all new hardware!
This image shows the right - inside of an rebuilt oven.
This image is a picture of the inside of a rebuilt oven.
All of our rebuilt ovens come with new stabilizer rollers. This also is a very important part of an oven that needs to be replaced no matter how little wear the old one may have. Most other installers do not replace this part.
All of our rebuilt ovens come with a new gas valve. This is a very important if not the most important part to replace.
If you have any questions or need an Rebuilt Oven, then you need to call the Bagel Guru! Visit our web site at www.bagelequipment.com Or call (866) 835-0100. If you found this information useful and you are either in the bagel business or you are considering to open a bagel store, then you need our Bagel A-Z Manual. For more information about our Bagel Manual and Bagel Consulting please click here!
Thank You!