The Ultimate Air Curtain
Air curtain refrigeration is a necessity in food service, particularly at the trayline. The common air curtain is typically a tall unit that has one door and can be quite noisy. As Burlodge is always on the cusp of innovation, we asked what if there was a smaller unit, easier to move, quiet, powerful, and had two doors – one at the front and one at the back to support replenishment while the trayline operates? That has been the inspiration for Alphacool.
The background on the Alphacool begins with our popular Alphagen retherm system, which Burlodge manufactured in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. This powerful, footprint friendly meal delivery system became a common tool in cook-chill cold plating meal service across the country as the system was designed with on-board air cooling throughout. When the system needed to reheat food, one half of the refrigeration would stop and that side of the trolley would heat up thereby regenerating the food. That food was served hot while the other side kept cold food cold. The Alphagen was made to act as a refrigerator fi rst and a retherm unit second.
As Burlodge continued to develop new technology (i.e. Novafl ex and B-Pod) Alphagen clients started to switch over and Burlodge reclaimed the Alphagens. We reconditioned the units, certifi ed them and continued to off er them to facilities who wanted a reliable, proven and a ffordable meal delivery system. Now, Burlodge has found a new way of using the Alphagen – as an air-cooled air curtain.
The Alphacool revamps the Alphagen into a refrigerator only unit. New, quieter fans are placed in the unit, the evaporators are angled to drain condensate, which is captured below and evaporated. The operator side door when opened has an automatic switch that turns off the fans on one side of the unit to reduce noise and increase the air curtain flow of air across the opening. The system can be fitted with removable shelves or gravity fed shelving for lean tray assembly and improved ergonomics. Meanwhile, the rear door allows the air curtain to be refi lled during operation, which means improved efficiency and no distractions at the trayline.
The Alphacool is available from Burlodge at a price that competes with any air curtain on the market. It comes with a generous warranty, is CSA approved, and is a low maintenance unit. What’s more, as reconditioned and reused equipment Alphacool is another example of Burlodge taking an environmentally sensible approach to its equipment rather than scrapping the unit and adding it to landfi ll. All in all, a worthy second life for our excellent Alphagens is giving our clients yet another a affordable option to better run their operations. Now that’s Alphacool.
