Some common problems experienced when using soft serve in soft serve machines

'STRETCHING' THE MIX
Some machine operators sometimes add extra water or milk to the soft serve mix when they mix it up, trying to make a few extra cones for the same price. This should not be attempted! It can actually break the machine, because the extra water can cause the machine to freeze up, resulting in bent or broken beater assemblies, broken freezer doors and scarred freezing cylinders (barrels). It will be a very expensive mistake!

FREEZE-UP
Problem: Freeze-up of machine
Possible causes:

>	Too much water in mix due to wrong mixing instructions followed.
>	Machine settings too cold.
>	Badly formulated mix, which separates in the hopper causing the water part of the mix being drawn into barrel resulting in a freeze-up.

HANDLING RE-RUN
When it is time to clean the machine, the machine is put on ‘wash’ for 5 minutes and any leftover product drained into a jug or bucket. This can be kept in the fridge for 3-5 days. This is called re-run.

There are 3 important aspects when handling re-run:

>	Always cover the jug with clinging plastic or a proper lid and put into the fridge immediately. (If not, fridge odors can enter the soft serve giving it an 'off' taste and smell)
>	When starting up the next day, re-run should be mixed with freshly prepared mix at a ratio of no more than 40% re-run to 60% fresh mix ONLY AFTER barrel was filled with fresh mix. Skim off any foam on mix before filling hopper.
>	Re-run should be completely discarded every 3 days to break the chain of possible bacteria growth.

FORGOT TO PUT THE MACHINE ON STAND-BY
Problem: Forget to put machine on ‘Stand-By’ mode overnight - product is sloppy, won’t take air and won’t stand up.
Handling problem:

>	Put the machine on ‘wash’ cycle for 5 minutes to liquefy the soft serve in the barrel. Drain into a sanitized container. > Prepare fresh mix and fill barrel.
>	Mix the drained mix with freshly prepared soft serve mix at a ratio of no more than 25% over-beaten product to 75% fresh mix.
>	Skim off any foam that may have accumulated on the surface of the mix and pour into hopper.

STARVING BARREL
Problem: Starving barrel (meaning you try to pull a cone but nothing comes out or comes out very slowly)
Possible causes:

>	Draw rate set too fast or too slow. Change set-screw on draw handle.
>	With gravity machine: drainage hole in mix-feed tube or air-orifice is blocked. Check and clean.
>	Mix-feed tube inverted, blocking the drainage hole to the barrel.
>	With pump machine: pump not working. Check pump and connector pipes.

CHEMICAL TASTE /BURNING THROAT
Problem: Soft serve has a chemical taste and burns your throat.
Possible cause:

>	Sanitizer was not drained properly from the machine and was mixed with soft serve.
>	Sanitizer was accidentally mixed with water for mixing soft serve.

MIX GOING OFF
Problem: Mix goes ‘off’ (bad smell, sour taste)
Possible causes:

>	Using contaminated mixing utensils or containers.
>	Using contaminated water.
>	Hopper refrigeration broken down.
>	Using bucket for other purposes. (It has happened that plastic mixing buckets were used for peeling onions. Onion odors entered the plastic and when the bucket was used later for mixing soft serve, the odors were released into the soft serve giving it an 'off' taste and smell.)
>	Continually re-using re-run. Bacteria cycle is not broken.
>	Freshly mixed soft serve left un-refrigerated for extended periods before poured into machine.

TOPPING GOING OFF
Problem: Toppings going ‘off’

Toppings may sometimes go ‘off’ because of fermenting. This is usually because pumps are transferred from one bottle to the next without first being cleaned, sanitized and air-dried. Always have spare pumps which can be used on a new bottle of topping when a bottle runs low. Rinsing under hot water is not enough to sterilize pumps. Always use proper sanitizer and soak for 5 minutes.

CONES NOT STANDING UP
Problem: Cones not standing up
Possible causes:

>	Over-beaten product due to long periods of no use or low use.
>	Over-beaten product due to forgetting to put machine in stand-by (sleep) mode overnight.
>	Wrong temperature settings - check temp. Check stand-by temperatures. Soft serve must be in a liquid state when on STAND-BY mode.
>	Bad mix formulation.
>	Wrong mixing instructions.
>	Blunt blades - replace.
>	Low refrigerant levels in compressor.
>	Wrong machine settings

SQUEAKY BELTS
Problem: Squeaky belts
Possible causes:

>	Belts stretching because of wear or age. May need re-tensioning or replacement.
>	If it suddenly happens that belts start to squeak, the machine is working too hard. There could be a chance of a freeze-up due to too much water in mix. Switch off. Leave to defrost for 10 min. Put on ‘wash’ cycle for 5 min. Drain. Put a new mix in. If problem persists, call technician.

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