Mepaco Blog

Mepaco® cookers are designed with ASME thermal jackets. The jackets are pressurized and therefore regulated by ASME standards. The ThermaBlend® Cooker features an ASME stay bolt (also called stay-rod) constructed jacket. Mixer-cooker equipment may also have stay-bolt or dimple jacket construction. 

Specifically, ASME engineering and construction requirements include approved calculations, ASME-certified techniques and fabricators, testing, and ASME stamps and documentation.

ThermaBlend® Cooker
With indirect steam heating, pressurized steam flows through a wrap-around ASME thermal jacket that cooks the product through conduction. Since the potential exists for burn-on, Mepaco’s patented scraper system keeps the surface clean to maximize heat transfer and mitigate sanitation issues. Product applications for indirect steam heating include stews, sauteed vegetables, scrambled eggs, granola, ground beef, and other food products that do not require additional moisture. The indirect steam cooking option can also provide caramelization if needed for the application. 

Stay-bolt rods are individually welded between the inner and outer jackets providing a robust jacket design. Due to expansion and contraction caused by heating and cooling with constant blending agitation, the 90+ psig, ASME-rated stay-bolt jackets are recommended for demanding applications of the ThermaBlend® cooker. 

Thermablend® cookers are also offered with direct steam injection (DSI). DSI is quick and efficient and eliminates burn-on and the need for a scraper system. Since steam is directly injected into the product, culinary steam filters provide clean steam for your process. Application examples include moist pet food, thick sauces, soups, fillings, and spreads.

Thermablend® cookers can utilize direct, indirect, or both steam heating techniques. Using both indirect and direct steam options will substantially increase batch cycle cooking efficiencies. The viscosity and make-up of the food product, processing, and production requirements dictate which type of Thermablend® and agitator option is the best solution for the application. 

Mixer-Cooker
Mixer-Cookers are designed with either ASME stay-bolt or dimple jackets that heat product indirectly. Dimple jackets utilize a thin gauge stainless steel layer welded to the tub shell in a regular pattern. The punched and spot-welded areas are called dimples, which create turbulence of the heating or cooling steam or fluid flowing through the jacket. 

Mixers, Pump Feeders, and covered Screw Conveyors may utilize ASME dimple jackets to maintain temperature control. 

An equipment nameplate will display the ASME stamp and compliance information, and the final certification will be registered with the National Board and made available to the customer. Pressured stay-bolt or dimple jackets over 15 psi, will require ASME compliance. 

Should there be a need for refurbishment or repair, please get in touch with Mepaco®, so your ASME jacket will remain compliant and altered by certified ASME specialists who will validate an R-stamp repair. Mepaco® also has compliance expertise with CRN (Canada Registration Number).

Mepaco® engineers equipment for the specific application in every project, providing high-performance equipment.  The ThermaBlend ® Cooker has a lot of customization options to fulfill the production goals of the food processor.  In fine tuning the specifications for a cooking solution, Mepaco® provides a consultative approach to the parameters around production, operation, product, process, safety, and automation.

Production
Discussions around production goals will define the capacity and size of the unit.  Other considerations that also factor into the capacity of the equipment are mixing time, cooling time, and how long it takes to load and unload the cooker.  Mepaco® will consider the total batch time and how many batches in an hour / day can be maximized for the new cooking solution.

Operation
Operational considerations are the physical requirements of the equipment.  What equipment is loading the cooker? How is it loading and what is the loading height?  Are there footprint limitations or existing plant requirements?  Which configuration, the single or the double agitator, is best for the application?  What equipment will the cooker discharge into and what is the discharge height?

Product
Mepaco® has significant experience in many food processing industries which may influence application direction. Considerations also include product type and size, moisture, protein, density, viscosity, and composition. With new products, Mepaco® encourages customers use our test cooker at their facility to determine the process and effectiveness of the ThermaBlend® cooker.

Process
Next, Mepaco® must discover the processes required for the cooking application. The ThermaBlend® Cooker is a versatile unit that is capable of mixing, blending, cooking, cooling, searing, caramelizing, sautéing.  The mixing or blending action and speeds are determined in defining the process. Also, scraper systems may be considered depending on the food product and process. The loading temperatures, cooking temperature, and unloading temperatures are all calculated to determine how the equipment will process the batch. Depending on the application, the process may require vacuum, cryogen, direct and/or indirect steam.

Safety
Under safety, Mepaco® will collect food safety and personnel safety requirements for the system.  Sanitary design and sanitation requirements are determined, as well as construction materials, exterior and weld finishes, and guarding needs are all added to the project scope.

Automation
After the equipment solution is determined, the controls and automation strategy can be developed. Controlled processes, recipe programming, steam, glycol, or water control, and certifications, if necessary, are planned for the controls solution.

The ThermaBlend® Cooker is designed specifically for large-scale batch operations. All components from the tub to the agitators are custom designed to meet the needs of the application.  The ThermaBlend® is designed with standard and modifiable options that include:

• A wrap-around steam jacket that provides up to 50% more heat transfer area than hemispherical kettles or other conventional jacketed cookers which results in highly efficient cooking cycles.
• Industry proven, application-specific agitator designs that provide quick homogeneous blending while minimizing shear.
• A durable, bi-directional scraper system that keeps the heat exchange surface clean, minimizing burn-on while optimizing heat transfer.
• The massive heat transfer area, highly efficient agitators and patent pending scraper system dramatically reduce process time over conventional batch cookers.
• Optional vacuum cooking and cooling can reduce process time.
• Reversing agitators w/VFD Speed Control from 6-30 RPM

Start a conversation with one of our consultative sales managers for more information. 

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