Wood Stone Ideas
Ideas Well Done and Wood Stone Corp have partnered to develop an integrated whole building system to capture, store, transport and reuse heat. The new company is called Wood Stone Ideas (www.woodstoneideas.com) and was introduced at NRA.
This new integrated system captures heat from a variety of sources - for example, a restaurant ventilation system - and transfers that heat by means of a new, proprietary thermal fluid. The system uses this heat as an energy source to help heat and store water, ready to be boosted to higher temperatures for hand washing, dishwashing, even space heating.
Boosting is achieved by another proprietary innovation of the system, compact Ohmic heating units that electrically boost water temperature at multiple points-of-water-use. By capturing heat from multiple sources, reusing it in multiple ways, and boosting water temperatures only as needed, significant energy savings and environmental benefits can be realized by restaurants, hotels and other facilities.
Progress on the development of the integrated whole building system will be reported on the Wood Stone Ideas website, where you can also find articles and information on building systems, energy efficiency and related areas.
When used for space heating and cooling the new system is anticipated to save a possible 12-20% of annual heating and cooling costs over conventional hot air systems.
 
Eco Steam Express
Introduced at IWD's Innovation Showcase and at NRA by Market Forge/Stellar Steam, the Eco Steam Express is a small single portion steamer designed especially for cooking lobsters and other crustaceans and shellfish. It is very energy and water efficient, easy to use and to clean.
The initial model has a base unit that holds two independently operated cooking compartments. Each compartment can hold one large lobster, or two small ones, and will cook a 1.5 lb lobster in about 14 minutes from a cold start. A compensating timer starts to countdown when the unit begins steaming and shuts the unit off when done. Operation is very simple, and cleaning is easy - just dump out the small amount water after each cook, rinse and reload.
Energy and water consumption is minimal - you use what you need only when you need it.
The Eco Steam Express is the first in a line of steamers that use ohmic heating - generating heat within the water itself and eliminating the problem of liming. Future models include a pasta cooker and an adapter to the Eco Steam Express that will accommodate one half-size steam table pan, plus a collar to stack two more pans.

For more information, contact Mike Colburn.
SA Vent
Introduction of the SA Vent line by Equipex has gone very well. The three small appliance countertop vent systems have answered the need for ventilation away from installed hood systems, such as for supermarket sampling stations, bars and convenience stores. All three units are approved to UL Safety and NSF Sanitation standards. Mistral and Pali models are certified to meet EPA 202 test method in accordance with NFPA 96. For more information visit the Equipex website.