Commercial Juicer advice

How does a commercial juicer differ from a home use juicer?

Although the end produce of a commercial juicer and home use juicer is similar (i.e. juice) there are factors that seperate the two. Commercial juicers are capable of making large quantities of juice quickly, day in day out where they are used in juice bars, cafes, health clubs, bars and restaurants.

Many commercial juicers such as the Remida Automatic Citrus Juicer will only juice citrus fruits, some such as the Zummo range from Orangeman will handle whole unpeeled oranges, others such as the Nutrifaster N450 will juice both fruit and vegetables.

Both worktop models and floor standing models are available. The motors in commercial juicers are generally more powerful and harder wearing as they need to stand up to the heavy use that occurs every day.

The greater durability and reliability of commercial juicers is reflected in the price tag as they tend to cost considerably more than home use juicers but this cost can be soon recouped when the machine is put to work in a commercial environment.

What points should I consider when buying a commercial juicer?

First lets think of the customer, what types of juice do my customers want to purchase? This will depend on what kind of business you are running, customers of health clubs and juice bars for example will probably want a wider range of juices (including vegetable and wheatgrass juice) than users of a pub bar.

How much space is there available to site the juicer(s)? Is there space for a floor standing juicer in your small juice bar or would you be better with a worktop model. Do you have room for more than one juicer? Having a seperate citrus juicer and fruit/vegetable juicer will speed up your juice preparation time and so save on staffing costs.

How quickly can produce be fed through the juicer? This is essential in a high turnover, high volume juicing environment. How well does the juicer eject the pulp and how often does any pulp ejection bin need emptying?

What guarantee and servicing schedule come with the juicer? What happens if the juicer needs a new part? Does it need shipping from the other side of the world? Does the juicer need to be sent away for servicing or is it available on site?

How efficient is the juicer at extracting juice? The more efficient the juicer, the less fruit and veg you will need to buy to make the same amount of juice. What is the juice quality like? Your customers won't keep coming back to you if your juice has huge lumps of pulp in it.

How loud is the juicer? You don't want to damage your staffs hearing or have your customers requests drowned out.

How easy is the juicer to clean? At the end of the shift your staff will be ready to go home, don't have their timesheets extended due to the fact that your commercial juicer is a nightmare to clean.