If you are a reader of our blog, you’ll notice that we mention the term “heat retention” often when talking about servers. But what does that really mean? And how do you know which type of server you should look at? Here’s the break down on heat retention:
- Plastic Lined Servers (from right to left) Eco-Serv™ 1.3 Liter in Latte (ECO13LA), Aeroserv™ in black (AEROSERV3), Thermo-Serv™ Push Button in Copper (TS421CB), Stainless Water Pitcher in 0.6 Liter (WP6), Foam Insulated Urn in 1.5 Liter (URN15),Thermo-Serv™ Flip Top in 1 Liter Black (TS101BL) and New Generation™ in Stoneware/Brown in 1 Liter (NG101ST/BR).
• Foam insulation — if a product has foam insulation that usually means that it’s a plastic server, but that is not always the case. Some of our products that have foam insulation include our large capacity urn, Eco-Serv® and other plastic servers as well as our WP series stainless water pitcher. If a product has foam insulation, you can expect a heat retention time of 2-3 hours.
- Stainless Lined (from left to right): NSF SteelVac Carafe 1 Liter (SSN100), Stanley ErgoServ Airpot with Decaf Indicator (10-00189-001), FVP SteelVac 1.2 Liter (FVP12), KVP Series 1.9 Liter (KVP1900), WJ in Copper 1 Liter (WJ10SSCP), SAL Series Airpot 3 Liter (SAL30), Alfi Hotello 1 Liter (55710), Eco-Air Jewel Airpot 2.4 Liter (ECAJL22), Champ Series Vacuum Bottle 1 Liter (SVH1000A) and 982 Series Brushed 2 Liter (98220BS).
• Stainless insulation — if a product has stainless insulation, or a stainless vacuum, you can expect to have longer lasting heat retention. A majority of the servers you will find on the market have stainless insulation, as they are unbreakable and easy to clean. If you have a product with stainless insulation, you can expect a heat retention time of 4-6 hours. A wide range of our products offer stainless insulation, including several of our airpots, our new Flame Free Thermo-Urn line for large capacity, both push button and flip top servers, twist top creamers, vacuum water bottles, all of the Stanley® Commercial line that we distribute (with the exception of the Clear Pitcher) and a large number of Alfi® products. Depending on the construction of the product, a majority of stainless vacuum products are hand wash, but there are a number that are dishwasher safe.
- Glass Lined (from left to right): H100 Series in Copper (H100CB), Alfi Cool Bottle in Orange (1135971075), HPW Series 1 Liter in Chrome (HPW101), Classy 1 Liter in Stainless (CJ10SS), HC Series 1 Liter in White (HC106W), Alfi Gusto in Aquamarine (3521253100) and Alfi Kugel Ball in Cobalt Blue Matte (115KC).
• Glass insulation — if a product has glass insulation, or a glass vacuum; it will have the longest staying power of any insulation. There is a stigma associated with glass insulation because of the fact that it can break if not treated properly. However, glass insulation offers the least amount of flavor transfer to your beverages and allows you to serve the best tasting beverage possible. The way glass insulation works is that when the glass liner is made, the outside is coated in a reflective paint, which creates a mirror effect on the inside of the liner. The heat from the beverage then works kind of like a ping-pong ball — bouncing back and forth between the different walls of glass to keep your beverage hot. Several of our products feature a glass liner, including a range of our airpots, several of our push button and flip top servers as well as a number of Alfi® servers. With glass insulation you can expect heat retention of 6-8 hours.
Now that you know what to expect from each variation of insulation, you can then decide for yourself what type of server will best suit your service needs. Happy hunting!