LATEST NEWS

6/12/09
Intek's Xtreme Steam steamer is eligible for a rebate of $600 per compartment from Duke Energy's Smartsaver Incentive Program. For an application, click here. For more information, give us a call at 800-875-1740.

To see a list of states with rebates, click here.

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4/20/09
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – a $789 billion economic recovery and stimulus package designed to stimulate the US economy. Several items within the bill positively benefit child nutrition programs including $100 million in school food equipment grant assistance – a provision that will save and create jobs in the foodservice equipment manufacturing sector as well as benefit the quality of food provided through school nutrition programs.

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4/1/09
Our new website is up and running! If you have any comments or questions about our new website layout, please call us at 800-875-1740.

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1/31/08
Intek is on YouTube! Check out our Xtreme Steam instructional video here.

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Commercial Steamers Go Green and Make Green

FT. WAYNE , IN - It’s not often that restaurants and commercial kitchens get excited about replacing a piece of equipment. But that is exactly what the buzz is on some of the connectionless steamers that are on the market today.

For quite some time the food service industry has received a bad rap for not taking enough steps towards protecting the environment. It is no longer whether to go green, but how to get there that is the question. While the majority of facilities have switched to bio-degradable cleaning solutions there are still many areas where the industry is considered to be “e-co hogs”. According to USGBC, LEED “promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.”

Connectionless Steamers

Connectionless steamers address two of the five key areas. A typical steamer design incorporates a separate boiler or steam generator to produce steam for the cooking compartment. They force steam from the boiler into the cooking cavity. Inside the cooking cavity, excess steam leaves the cavity through a drain, where it is condensed by a stream of cold water. The cooling water must lower the temperature of the condensate below 160°F.

A typical connectionless steamer returns condensed steam to the reservoir, instead of draining it outside the compartment. There is no continuous flow of water cooling the condensate. A typical 6-pan connectionless steamer consumes only one to two gallons of water/hour when operating at peak capacity. This is a savings of 174,500 gallons of water per year. And as an added cost saving advantage, no water run off means lower sewage costs.

Energy-Star Rated

Besides the water savings many connectionless steamers have earned the Energy Star rating. Tests show traditional steamers use as much as 101 kw/day while the connectionless steamers will use as little as 12 kw/day. This saves on average 89 kw/day. If you use the formula of 1 kw/hour is equal to 1.5 lbs. of carbon you save 48,727.5 lbs of carbon yearly. It would take about 125 trees to offset one year of co2 emission from traditional steamers.* When you look at it this way connectionless steamers are one of the easiest ways the food service industry can become eco-friendly.

Even with the money savings in water and energy costs most operators who use a connectionless steamer are happier with the dramatic reduction in maintenance time and repair costs. De-liming and maintaining a conventional steamer takes a great deal of time which translates into payroll dollars. Since the connectionless steamer does not need a water line, requires little maintenance, and utilizes no plumbing connections the maintenance savings drop right to the bottom line.

To highlight a few of the advantages of a connectionless steamer:

1. Does not utilize a boiler. Therefore, there is not an atmospheric generator, pump, float, or solenoid valve to clog, break, or need service.

2. Does not need a water line. Therefore no need to strategically place water and drain connections.

3. Uses 90-99% less water than conventional steamers. Translates to not only water usage savings but sewer savings as well.

4. Uses 60-67% less energy when compared to same size conventional steamer.

5. No de-liming required. Daily wiping of the chamber is all the maintenance necessary.

6. Easy to install.

In summary, installing connectionless steamers could be not only the easiest way to make an impact on going green, but also the best move for an operator’s bottom line. To view more information and compare different brands of connectionless steamers, visit www.comparesteamers.com.

*Tree calculation done at http://www.carbonify.com/carbon-calculator.htm

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