Beverage servers come in a variety of sizes and brands and are used for both hot and cold drinks. At Cook’s, you’ll also find them with plastic or metal latches. We carry both because many of our customers require plastic in their facility. While beverage servers are commonly used in most institutional foodservice operations, we still get questions about them regularly. Here are five things you may or may not know about your beverage server.
1. How does an insulated beverage server work?
An insulated beverage dispenser feature double walls construction to hold heat in for hot beverages or hold heat out for cold beverages. The container walls work similar to the walls of your home, where they shield cold liquids from the outside heat and for hot beverages, they keep heat from escaping the container. Some beverage servers will have air filled walls and some will have insulation, like a polyurethan foam, between the two walls and others will be air filled.
2. Can you use hot and cold beverage dispensers interchangeably?
Often you can use an insulated beverage dispenser with hot or cold drinks, but not always. For a products described as cold beverage dispensers, hot beverages are not recommended as the material may not be able to handle heat and this could damage and even ruin the equipment.
3. How long will an insulated beverage dispenser keep the contents warm?
While you can rely on an insulated beverage dispenser to keep hot beverages hot and cold beverages cold longer than if the contents were not in an insulated container, the time will vary between different brands and types of dispensers. An air insulated dispenser will have different insulation properties than a foam insulated dispenser and the holding time for product will be different in each. The best way to know the temperature retention time frame you can expect is to review the manufacturer’s product specifications. Some containers will promise holding times of 3 to 4 hours and others 8 hours or longer.
4. Where are Insulated dispensers used?
Insulated beverage dispensers are used in a multitude of settings including out door events, conferences for coffee and beverage stations, churches, catered events and many more applications. Insulated beverage dispensers are ideal for coffee, tea and hot water and are an excellent way to transport and serve large amounts of these beverages, particularly when you don’t have access to power to for a heated dispenser. You will see dispensers on serving lines, in corporate lobbies and breakrooms, at reception areas and more. There are even Soup and Chili Servers available.
5. Are replacement parts available for beverage dispensers?
Most manufacturers offer replacement parts for beverage dispensers so that you can use these items for many years. The most common parts to replace include the spigot, gaskets and latches. Cook’s carries these items for many Cambro beverage dispensers and for many Carlisle Beverage Dispensers. We can also work with other manufacturers or parts distributors to find more options.
