Avtec FAQs

 

How can I save energy costs when choosing commercial kitchen ventilation?

Avtec’s EcoArch commercial vent hood is designed to use less air to exhaust the heat and effluents, thus saving energy costs by reducing the conditioned (heated or cooled), air that is removed. Savings can be as much as 40-50% over conventional ventilation.

 

 

What is UV and how does it work in commercial vent hoods?

In ultra-violet grease treatment systems, the UV light creates ozone in the plenum of the exhaust hood. The ozone reacts with very small grease particles that cannot be extracted by centrifugal force in a filter or cartridge and turns them to hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are not sticky, and they form easily removable “dust” in the plenum, keeping the duct cleaner. Hydrocarbons also do not burn, so the fire hazard of having a grease-filled duct is virtually eliminated. Avtec’s EcoArch UV commercial kitchen ventilation system is the least expensive, most efficient and easiest-to-maintain in the industry. Periodic maintenance is easy and bulbs are easily accessible for cleaning and replacement.

 

 

How can a Utility Distribution System (UDS) help me when designing a kitchen?

The Utility Distribution System (UDS), brought to the foodservice industry by Avtec in the early 1970’s, has many advantages over conventional construction and is once again becoming popular among forward-thinking commercial kitchen designers. The UDS can minimize rough-ins by combining all of the necessary utilities into a factory assembled unit that contains electrical and plumbing connections for ALL of the kitchen equipment attached. Less errors or omissions, fewer change orders, and complete flexibility make the Avtec UDS a natural choice. One of the biggest advantages, however, is the control of the project schedule. Easy coordination of the trades allows for meeting construction and completion schedules. The unit is delivered to the site and in a day or two, everything is hooked up and ready to go.

 

 

Doesn’t using a UDS add cost to the project?

It is a common misconception that the UDS always adds cost to a project. In reality, considering all of the connections necessary to power a kitchen cooking battery, the Avtec UDS can be equal to or less than conventional construction, especially when one considers the UDS in an island configuration. Factor in the costs to build a wall, coordinate all of the utilities and trades, and the possibility of errors and charge-backs, and the UDS looks better and better. Now add the advantages of the UDS - flexibility, a clean, easy-to-access kitchen layout and easier, on-schedule installation. Avtec offers four different styles of UDS to meet different needs, and our light-duty systems allow the use of the UDS concept in many more applications.

 

 

How can I relieve congestion at my tray return area, and help my dish room staff keep up with the demand?

Soiled tray/dish return is really all about accumulation. A larger drop-off area alleviates the congestion at the tray drop, but doesn’t solve the problem in the dish room. The vertical accumulator, like the Avtec BusTrac™ system, allows for more tray/dish space at the drop off area by vertically accumulating trays/dishes, and eases the congestion at the tray drop by allowing for more than three to five times the space for placement. Inside the dish room, the BusTrac™ allows for a “buffer” between the people dropping off dishes, and the personnel in the dish room scraping. Avtec’s versatile design allows us to create a perfect system to maximize your space and accumulation without increasing or over-working your employees.

 

 

My dish room conveyor is old and frequently breaks down. It’s costing me a lot of money to keep it running, but I cannot afford to redo my entire dish room. What can I do?

A dish room design usually includes a lot of stainless steel. There are dish table troughs, shelves and yes, a soiled tray conveyor. In most cases, the tables, troughs and shelves are fine, but the old conveyor is worn out, rusty, has broken slats, and missing doors and panels. Avtec’s dish room conveyor refurbishment program is the perfect solution! We can take the old conveyor apart and replace it with a brand new Avtec conveyor, utilizing the existing stainless steel and design. Any conveyor, of any type or manufacturer, can be transformed into a new Avtec dish room conveyor of any type and the cost is 50-60% less than redoing the entire dish room. Our skilled installers rejuvenate your dish room and are gone in four or five days, minimizing the down time for your dish room and minimizing the need for long term disposables.