Chocovision Revolation 2 vs. 2B

[cslas]

Hi all,

 

I'm still exploring tools that might help me maintain my temper over time and I know some folks use the Chocovision devices. I was looking at their website and for the life of me I can't seem to figure out what the difference (besides price) between the Revolation 2 and 2B models are. I literally compared them side by side and all of the information (except maybe which baffles it came with) was identical. Does anyone know?

[Jim D.]

It looks as if the Rev 2 is being phased out and replaced with the 2B (the Chocovision website lists the first as being out of stock). You can always call or email them; their customer service is good.

 

If you are reasonably certain that you will never have chocolate needs beyond what the Rev 2 machine can do, then it's a good starting point. Its main drawback is that it is quite noisy; in addition, its small bowl size eliminates the possibility of emptying molds into it in order to make shells, and it is not programmable to the degree that the larger machines are. I have one as well as a Delta, and I still use the Rev 2 for dipping centers--for this purpose the bowl is the perfect size and keeps the chocolate at the working temp quite well. If, however, you can imagine that you will be making more chocolates (if you think you will really be into making chocolates, if you hope to get reasonably good at this, if you might start a business someday--I went through this myself), then I would strongly recommend that you go for one of the larger Chocovision machines. I know they are expensive in relation to the Rev 2, but better to spend more money now than to buy the smaller machine and need to upgrade in the future.

[curls]

10 hours ago, cslas said:

Hi all,

 

I'm still exploring tools that might help me maintain my temper over time and I know some folks use the Chocovision devices. I was looking at their website and for the life of me I can't seem to figure out what the difference (besides price) between the Revolation 2 and 2B models are. I literally compared them side by side and all of the information (except maybe which baffles it came with) was identical. Does anyone know?

Just wondering how much chocolate you usually work with at one time and how long you want to hold the temper of your chocolate... knowing the answers to this may help us give you better advice. As Jim D. mentions, the Rev 2 machines are very noisy. They also do not hold a lot of chocolate. When I first started, I was given a Rev 2 as a very generous gift from a wonderful and well-meaning person. Honestly, I haven't pulled it out of its box in years. It may be the right solution for you but I would not recommend it for many scenarios. Where do you live? If you're nearby, perhaps you would like to purchase my lightly used Rev2. The larger Rev machines are far more capable and quiet... still, my general recommendation is getting a melter and the EZ Temper.

[cslas]

Thanks for the clarification about the Rev 2 vs. 2B. It's nice to see the price come down on something for once. In terms of my plans, I guess I really don't know yet. I just started chocolate work a couple of months ago and am still learning. One thing I do know is that I'm having trouble holding temper over a period of time. I have a sort of homemade melter that consists of a casserole-style crockpot and a digital temperature controller that turns the crockpot on and off, so I'm able to generally keep it in the right temperature range, but there's still a lot of moving pieces between maintaining temper and doing whatever other parts of the process you're doing, so I'm interested in tools that might help me. I read this thread about people's most important tips and it got me thinking about the Chocovisions. I'm not in an immediate hurry to buy anything, still really just researching.

 

@Jim D.Out of curiosity, what's the minimum amount of chocolate the Delta can temper? At this point, I haven't tempered more than 2 lbs at a time, and that's about the right amount for the moment, though that could obviously change. 

 

@curls I'm in Central New York, don't suppose you'll be passing through any time soon?

Edited October 5, 2019 by cslas (log)

[Jim D.]

3 minutes ago, cslas said:

Out of curiosity, what's the minimum amount of chocolate the Delta can temper? At this point, I haven't tempered more than 2 lbs at a time, and that's about the right amount for the moment, though that could obviously change. 

 

The minimum for the Delta is 3 lbs.  I find it needs 900 grams (about 2 lbs.) for the thermometer to register the temp, so you need to add that to whatever amount of chocolate you are melting. According to the Chocovision website, the Revolation V tempers between 1 and 5 lbs. The company offers what it calls the "holey baffle," which is a divider inserted into the bowl that has holes in it so that the chocolate can flow more freely between the two sections; this enables all the machines (excluding the Mini Rev and Rev. 2) to hold more chocolate.  I always "pre-melt" the chocolate so that when I add it to the machine, it is very close to its maximum temp and is ready to have seed added, shortening the whole process quite a bit. 

[cslas]

Good to know. Maybe the Rev 5 would be a good in between tool?

[amyneill]

I have the Rev Delta and I have issues with it constantly with chocolate falling out of temper or not able to temper correctly because it doesn't have a cooling mechanism and only a heating one. I keep struggling with it over crystallizing because it takes so long to drop from 115-85. Does anyone have any advice on this? I've always tempered by hand but we've taken on a big new project and upgraded to this and now I can't seem to temper for the life of me and I'm going insane.  

[curls]

34 minutes ago, amyneill said:

I have the Rev Delta and I have issues with it constantly with chocolate falling out of temper or not able to temper correctly because it doesn't have a cooling mechanism and only a heating one. I keep struggling with it over crystallizing because it takes so long to drop from 115-85. Does anyone have any advice on this? I've always tempered by hand but we've taken on a big new project and upgraded to this and now I can't seem to temper for the life of me and I'm going insane.  

What temperature is your room? Which chocolates are you trying to temper? Why are you taking your chocolate up to 115 degrees?

[Jim D.]

3 hours ago, amyneill said:

I have the Rev Delta and I have issues with it constantly with chocolate falling out of temper or not able to temper correctly because it doesn't have a cooling mechanism and only a heating one. I keep struggling with it over crystallizing because it takes so long to drop from 115-85. Does anyone have any advice on this? I've always tempered by hand but we've taken on a big new project and upgraded to this and now I can't seem to temper for the life of me and I'm going insane.  

 

As I write this, I have just finished using my Delta, so everything is fresh in my mind. I can provide what I have learned over many batches made with the machine.  I heat my chocolate to somewhere in the 110-115 range.  I do it overnight in a dehydrator before using the Delta, so it is ready to be poured into the machine.  Before I had the dehydrator, I melted the chocolate in a large bowl in the microwave.  Either of those methods will speed the melting process along.  But before melting, I remove 250-300g of the chocolate and set it aside (small pieces work best).  You are right that one drawback of the Chocovision machines (and any tabletop temperers, I suspect) is that they don't have a cooling mechanism.  Of course, if they did, they would cost a great deal more money.  There are such machines; they are called Selmis (or similar products).  A cool room temp will also speed the process.  I use the manual mode of the Delta so that I can control the process more precisely.  (Someone at Chocovision told me that the automated methods offered by the machine can be programmed to use whatever temps you want, but my machine was made just before that option was added.)  When I add the melted chocolate to the bowl and start the machine, I set the temp for 95F and add the amount of unmelted chocolate I set aside.  That helps to bring down the temp more quickly.  Then, at 95F, I add whatever seed I am using (there is no point in adding seed above that temp since it won't do any seeding).  You could add it earlier (as Chocovision directs), but I like to use a block of chocolate for seed and don't want to use it up just for cooling the chocolate.  I set the temp for 90, at which point I remove the seed and set the machine for whatever final working temp I want.

 

I have checked, and the Delta holds the set temp very well.  That is the reason I like this machine.  But the constant rotation does overtemper the chocolate.  Needless to say, overtempering happens with whatever method you use to temper.  It's just the way chocolate is.  Chocovision suggests several methods for coping.  The simplest is to raise the temp.  Raising it a degree at a time somehow thins out the chocolate.  I say "somehow" because I have no idea why this occurs--no Type V crystals are being melted out until we get above 93F or so.  I posted this question on eGullet once, and no one had a definitive answer.  When the overtempering appears again, you can take the step of raising the temp to something like 95 for a period of time, then lowering it to where it was.  I always check the temper at that point because you never know what has happened to those crystals.  Chocovision speaks of "killing" some Type V crystals--a vivid image, however inexact it might be.  This method works.  But the method I prefer, especially if I am doing a large batch, is to add untempered chocolate.  For this purpose, before I begin melting the chocolate the night before, I remove 1/4 to 1/3 of it and place it in a separate bowl to melt at the same time as the contents of the larger bowl.  When I want to start tempering, I leave the smaller amount in the dehydrator.  So when the overtempering starts, I remove the small bowl from the dehydrator and let the chocolate cool down but not below 95 or so.  I have found that it's OK to add it, small amounts at a time, to the Chocovision bowl at 95F, even as high as over 100 (which I just did today).  As long as you don't add too much, the temper will be maintained and the chocolate will be more fluid.  To me it feels like starting the batch all over again with freshly tempered chocolate.  Of course, the overtempering process starts again, and so it goes....

 

Probably more detail than you wanted, but I have experimented a lot over the years and wanted to include what I have learned.