The tunnel oven received its name because of its elongated style with openings at both ends. At one end, the product development starts when placed on the conveyor belt that rolls through a series of baking chambers. Within that long tunnel, air and heat work together to cure the product until it is finished and removed from the opening at the opposite end.

Tunnel oven designs include tunnel ovens for bakery products, pizza tunnel oven, shrink-wrapping tunnel oven and more. Engineers design these large industrial machines with precision controls to ensure even baking, easy cleaning and low maintenance. For tunnel ovens education and training for your employees, please consider the following suggestions:

1. Attend conferences for industrial tunnel oven education.

2. Utilize tunnel bakery oven-training programs.

3. Find certification programs for tunnel oven safety and design.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Attend conferences for hands-on information on tunnel ovens

Within conferences for those in the baking industry are educational courses that discuss business-baking tips and include baking equipment. The baking industry centers around the ovens they use to make their products, so consider attending conferences with tunnel oven distributors in attendance. If you seek to buy a tunnel oven, all the information, products and demonstrations are in one place.

I recommend: Check out the American Society of Baking BakingTech conference, which includes oven discussions and education. The International Baking Industry Exposition has a Baking Expo that offers information and answers for all industry bakers.

Enroll employees in tunnel ovens for bakery products training

Training for tunnel ovens comes in a variety of areas. You want employees to learn how to successfully operate and perform regular maintenance on your oven so that it stays in proper operating order. Training also includes instructions for cleaning the oven safely. Invest in training for your employees to learn proper information to operate your equipment at optimal levels.

I recommend: NAFEM (North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers) has a calendar of events on a national and international level with training programs provided with the events. If you want heat-specific training, see what CCI Thermal Technologies offers for those interested in infrared ovens.

Seek certification programs for tunnel baking ovens

In addition to baking industries, the industrial tunnel oven also serves mechanical and packing industries. Quite often, employers want employees who operate these ovens to take and pass a certification course. These tunnel ovens operate in similar fashion to food service tunnel ovens, but they have different designs and structure for a different product return. Some provide shrink-wrapping, paint curing, smoldering processes and more, and certification training is important in these industries.

I recommend: For shrink-wrapping tunnel oven on-the-job training and certification, see PMMI - a company that focuses on people in the packaging industry. Get training from Mahan Oven in operation of equipment.

Used mostly in the engineering, automotive, baking and packaging industries, tunnel ovens are large, industrial-sized machines designed with a conveyor system and other parts for faster processing. Tunnel ovens are effective because they can boost productivity and maximize your business profits. Most tunnel ovens heat to anywhere from 150 to 2,000 degrees. They also come in all sizes and models, such as front-loading recirculating, floor model shelf and tabletop shelf.

These stainless-steel structures are commonly available as electric, infrared or gas. Some tunnel ovens come as combination heating or baking systems, such as electric convection or infrared convection. An electric tunnel oven provides free-flowing air ventilation and temperature controls for even heating or browning. A gas tunnel oven relies on burners and multiple heat zones, while an infrared tunnel oven provides flameless, or dry, heat for even, quick drying. Decide on space for your business or factory, and customize your tunnel oven based on these factors:

1. Choose a tunnel oven capable of multiple functions in addition to heating and cooling.

2. Buy a tunnel oven that pertains to your specialty, whether it's engineering, manufacturing or food.

3. Decide whether to buy a new oven or rely on a used tunnel oven.

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Buy a tunnel oven with many uses

Tunnel ovens are valuable for multiple functions, such as high-speed production, even heating, curing, cooling and drying.

I recommend: ITS Industrial Ovens supplies tunnel ovens of different sizes and configurations such as roller hearth, truck or walk-in. Find a programmable or automatic tunnel oven at Thermcraft, Inc.

Pick a tunnel oven that is tailored toward your specialty

Having an industrial tunnel oven comes in handy if you work with automotive paints, materials packaging or lab work. Tunnel ovens for bakery products are necessary if you work in the food processing industry.

I recommend: Tunnel oven distributors Innovative Industries manufacture industrial tunnel ovens intended for lab work, automotive parts and paint drying. If you're looking for a tunnel bakery oven, Gemini Bakery Equipment Company features pizza tunnel ovens and other tunnel ovens for bakery products such as bagels and rolls. For a shrink-wrapping tunnel oven, Chase Industries, Inc. provides several stainless steel varieties.

Choose used tunnel ovens to save money and energy

Find used tunnel ovens that produce the most goods and services in an energy efficient and cost-effective manner. Also, consider accessories for conveying, loading, unloading, cleaning and storage.

I recommend: Andre Robin and Associates manufacture industrial tunnel ovens used for processing and packaging. Mahan Oven & Engineering offers new and used tunnel ovens. Types include electric, infrared and gas tunnel ovens.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Good tunnel ovens should have proper air flow as well as cooling mechanisms to prevent overdrying, cracking or any other damage.
• •  Consider new or used tunnel ovens that feature pressure wash systems or automated cleaning to prevent product contamination.

Tunnel ovens are ovens that heat a product to bake, finish, dry or shrink-wrap in batch or continuous process. These ovens are useful in the food, metal finishing, packaging and automotive industries. These ovens move the products placed on conveyors and have single or multiple heat chambers for heating or melting the industrial products. Tunnel ovens are open on both ends. The processing of the products takes place in the tunnel ovens.

In this guide we will cover some of the key terms related to tunnel ovens such as infrared heating, electric heaters, conveyors, thermocouples, calibration and tunnel oven length.

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Infrared heating

As the name indicates, infrared heating uses infrared light waves. These waves are invisible to the human eye and can be used to heat a component or a specific portion of the component. Infrared heaters are more efficient than the convectional heaters.

I recommend: You can find the information about the infrared heating process at Solaronics, a reputable manufacturer of infrared heating products. Haraeus Noblelight also explains the basics of infrared heat through a flash presentation.

Electric heaters

Electric heaters are devices that use electricity to create heat through the heating elements.

I recommend: Industrial Quick Search, a manufacturers’ directory, provides information about the different types of electric heaters and explanation for technical terms related to electric heaters.

Conveyors

Conveyors move the material from one location to another. The material and size of a conveyor depends upon the dimensions and weight of the package or component that needs to be moved.

I recommend: Cisco-Eagle, a reputable manufacturer of the conveyor systems, offers information about conveyors, their different types and accessories.

Thermocouples

Thermocouples are devices that measure temperature and can be found in ovens, furnaces and other temperature-sensitive applications.

I recommend: Omega Engineering provides detailed information about thermocouple products and types.

Tunnel oven length

Tunnel oven length is determined by the speed of the conveyor system and the dwell time. The tunnel oven is the place where the actual heat processing takes place.

I recommend: The Grieve Corporation, a reputable manufacturer of heat processing equipment, provides information about tunnel oven length and methods to calculate it.

BTU (British Thermal Unit)

BTU is the British unit for measurement of heat. One BTU is the amount of heat needed to raise one pound of water 1°F from a starting point of 39.2°F.

I recommend: To learn more about BTU and its relation with other units, read through the glossary of wood heating terms at Greenwood Technologies, a provider of renewable heating solutions. Alternative Energy Solutions also provides a glossary of biomass boiler terms, including BTU.

Tunnel ovens, sometimes referred to as conveyor ovens come in many forms. There are industrial tunnel ovens that are utilized for shrink wrapping or assembling parts, as well as tunnel ovens for bakery products that service everything from bread to pizza.

Take the time to learn about the associated costs with purchasing new and used tunnel ovens, as well as the different costs for tunnel ovens for different industries. Here are some helpful links to get you started on your journey. Think of your exploration as a tutorial in "tunnel ovens pricing and costs."

1. Locate an industrial tunnel oven that is meant for pizza or baking bread-based products.

2. Find a industrial tunnel oven manufacturer or dealer and learn about the associated costs of ownership and operation.

3. Locate used tunnel ovens and other food tunnel ovens and learn about the costs associated with it.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find tunnel ovens that are specifically geared for pizza

Tunnel ovens are popular in some pizza business because it allows the staff to create a pizza, place it on the conveyor belt, and by the time it comes out the other end, the pizza is completely cooked. This cuts down on the overall heating time usually associated with a pizza oven. View the various costs associated with conveyor or tunnel ovens and see if they'd help enhance your food based business.

I recommend: Visit the website for Kitchen Gadgetry. It offers tunnel ovens for pizza from about $6000 to $26,000. Instawares also offers tunnel ovens from the mini-version to the large industrial version for about $2,000 to $13,500.

Educate yourself about the pricing and costs associated with industrial tunnel ovens

Tunnel ovens play a big part of the manufacturing process. Any time a part needs to be heated intensely for a regulated amount of time, that part is placed on the belt of a tunnel oven and run through the machine. The operator can regulate both the heat and length of time that the part is in the oven. Tunnel oven machines are also popular for shrink wrapping. The part is moved along with conveyor belt as a shrink wrapping cover is placed over it and secured.

I recommend: Go to the website for Uline. It offers a shrink wrapping tunnel oven for between $2,200 to $2,400. Stevenson Industries also produces a shrink wrapping tunnel oven for about $3,500.

Educate yourself on tunnel ovens that are geared toward food based businesses

Tunnel baking ovens are quite popular in commercial bakeries. The bread-based product is placed on one end of the tunnel oven. By the time the dough moves through the tunnel oven, the bread-based product will be fully baked and ready to cool. Check out the prices of bakery tunnels ovens and see how they might benefit your business.

I recommend: Go to the website Bakery Equipment.com. It sells many versions of a tunnel bakery oven that range in price from $39,500 to $110,000. Also, the website Bakery Equipment Classifieds sells used bakery tunnel ovens in the neighborhood of $105,000.