Due to the need to increase steam capacity at its dairy processing facility, Devon-based cheese maker Quickes Traditional has decommissioned its existing boiler and installed a dual-fuel RBC steam boiler from Fulton Boiler Works.
The new boiler system, which complies with latest regulations governing the operation of continuous-running boilers, includes a down-rated RBC 750 with automatic main blowdown system, a BDV5 blowdown vessel with after cooler and high-integrity controls. It has also been fitted with a switch to reduce pressure in the boiler during periods of low usage. The new system was designed inBristolbyFulton’s own team of engineers and installed by Bridgwater-based VAS Engineering.
Manufactured as a horizontal extension to its vertical boilers,Fulton’s nine-model RBC range of wet back fire tube boilers has capacities from 957 to 4787 kg/h and boasts operating efficiencies in excess of 90% (nett C.V.). Developed in response to customer demand for higher capacities, the RBC range can be specified with matched multi-stage oil, modulating gas or dual-fuel burners as standard, with other burners available on request. They meet current and anticipated legislation and have been engineered to provide a substantial performance margin and are constructed to BS2790, 1992 Class 1 standard with a maximum working pressure of 10.34 bar.
Quickes dairy manager Malcolm Mitchell says: “Steam fromFulton’s RBC boiler is used at every stage of the process from pasteurising, scalding and brine washing, to the cleaning and sterilising of cooking vessels, which is why we needed a larger, purpose-built boiler system to increase steam capacity.”
Explaining the processes involved in the manufacture of its cheeses, Malcolm says that after milk has been collected from the company’s own herd, it is pasteurised to 73°C using steam from theFultonboiler and then cooled to 89°F. It is then mixed with a starter culture and rennet and left to set in a junket to produce curd.
When set, the curd is cut into small pieces and placed in double-skinned vats where it is scalded to 107°F, again using steam. The curd and whey are stirred for a further hour, at which point whey is drained off and the remaining curd is cut and turned until it reaches the required acidity. It is then put through a chip mill where salt is added.
After this process, the curd manually punched into cheese moulds and pressed over a three day period. Mid way through pressing, the cheeses are washed and scalded in brine using steam from the boiler, to help the rind set.
The final stage is to cover the cheeses in a larded cloth before sending them for maturation, which can take anything from nine months to two years.