How commercial deck and rotary ovens compare on trays per hour, recovery time and energy type: model capacities and dimensions, container loading, and a pre-shipment checklist.
Oven quotations are usually compared on one line: tray count. That line says how much fits inside, not how much comes out — two 12-tray ovens can differ widely in hourly output once bake, door exchange and recovery are counted. Energy is the other silent variable: a gas deck draws under 0.4 kW for controls, an electric 32-tray rotary draws 48 kW. This guide is for buyers sourcing either type from a China manufacturer or exporter.
Deck and rotary ovens are two production systems
A deck oven is a stack of independent chambers: each with its own top and bottom heat, its own door and controller, and trays resting on stone or steel. A rotary oven is one tall chamber around a rotating rack, so every tray passes the same burner or element; 32 trays load through one door in a 2450 mm chamber.
Many products in short runs, each with different top and bottom heat, point to decks. One or two products at volume point to a rotary, where one operator loads 32 trays and rotation does the evening out.
| Model | Decks / trays | Energy | Connected load | Tray area | Dimensions (mm) | Net weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZMC-102D | 1 / 2 | Electric | 6 kW | 0.48 m² | 1310 × 1015 × 670 | 180 kg |
| ZMC-204D | 2 / 4 | Electric | 15.6 kW | 0.96 m² | 980 × 1300 × 1790 | 480 kg |
| ZMC-306DG | 3 / 6 | Electric | 21.5 kW | 1.44 m² | 1190 × 1400 × 1800 | 690 kg |
| ZMC-312DG | 3 / 12 | Electric | 27.5 kW | 2.88 m² | 1600 × 1600 × 1800 | 900 kg |
| ZMC-204M | 2 / 4 | Gas | 0.24 kW (controls) | 0.96 m² | 1300 × 1050 × 1800 | 520 kg |
| ZMC-312M | 3 / 12 | Gas | 0.36 kW (controls) | 2.88 m² | 1700 × 1250 × 1800 | 880 kg |
Tray area is 0.24 m² per 400 × 600 mm tray, and on gas models the connected load covers only controls and ignition.
Convert trays per bake into trays per hour
trays per hour = trays per bake × 60 ÷ (bake + load and unload + recovery minutes)
A 12-tray electric deck at 16 minutes with 4 minutes reload and 4 minutes recovery: 60 ÷ 24 = 2.5 bakes, or 30 trays an hour. A 32-tray rotary at 18 minutes with 2 minutes exchange and 4 minutes recovery: also 2.5 bakes, or 80 trays an hour.
Pieces come from your own tray: count one 400 × 600 mm tray of your product and multiply by trays per hour.
Recovery time is the figure brochures leave out
Recovery time is how long the chamber takes to return to set temperature after the door has been open — not preheat time. A heavy deck with a thick stone holds more heat but pushes back more slowly; a rotary's fan moves air quickly, but a 2450 mm chamber loses more of it each time the door opens.
Ask for the figure with its conditions: return to set point after a 30-second opening, full tray load, stated temperature. Then test it — data logger at the chamber centre, loaded bake, door held open 30 seconds, curve plotted.
If recovery is 8 minutes instead of 4 on the 12-tray deck, the cycle becomes 28 minutes, output falls to 2.14 bakes an hour, and 30 trays become about 26: a 14 percent shortfall on every shift.
Gas, electric or diesel: what the site must provide
The energy decision is often made on fuel cost and then fails on the electrical supply. A 27.5 kW electric deck draws about 42 A per phase when supplied at 380 V three-phase, and cannot be fed from a normal single-phase 220 V service. A gas deck of the same size draws 0.36 kW for controls; it needs a regulated supply, jets for your gas family and a flue.
A 32-tray electric rotary is rated 48 kW, which at 380 V three-phase is about 73 A per phase; confirm the service voltage on the nameplate before the panel is ordered. Gas and diesel versions of the same body draw 3.2 kW for fan, rotation and controls, with heat from a burner or a diesel chamber, and both still need a flue to outside.
| Model | Trays | Energy | Connected load | Site work required | Net weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZMZ-16M | 16 | Gas | 2.2 kW | Regulated gas, jets for your gas family, flue | 1300 kg |
| ZMZZ-32D | 32 | Electric | 48 kW | Supply and cable for about 73 A per phase at 380 V | 1800 kg |
| ZMZZ-32C | 32 | Diesel | 3.2 kW, 380 V | Fuel tank, exhaust flue, fuel storage rules | 1800 kg |
| ZMZZ-32M | 32 | Gas | 3.2 kW, 380 V | Regulated gas, jets for your gas family, flue | 1800 kg |
Check frequency (50 or 60 Hz, which affects motors more than elements), your gas family and pressure against the jets supplied, and the flue route. A 64-tray gas rotary in the same range lists 1800–2000 Pa and about 4.2 kg/h of LPG; ask for the figure for your exact model.
Steam, chamber material and the bake itself
Steam injection sets the crust, allows oven spring and gives the shine on a baguette or a rye. It is standard on the ZMC-3xxDG deck series, with a baking stone; on other models it is an option. Ask whether steam comes from a boiler or from water on a hot plate, how long first steam takes from cold, and whether a damper releases moisture at the end of the bake.
Chamber material is the long-term cost. Deck chambers are aluminised steel; the 32-tray rotary body is 1.5 mm SUS201 inside and 1.2 mm outside. SUS201 is the lower-cost grade and shows corrosion sooner in wet, salty washdown, so specify 304 for panels cleaned daily with chemicals.
Export, container and spares: the questions that decide the order
Can it be exported and installed here? Ovens in this range are built to order, so voltage, frequency, gas family and plug are set at production, not at the port. Give the supplier your site voltage, phase count, frequency and gas type in writing before the proforma invoice, and ask for a nameplate photo before the balance.
What about certification? Ask which certificate your market requires — a declaration of conformity for Europe, a listed mark for North America, or the local equivalent — and check the number with the issuing body. The nameplate rating has to match the certificate, or the unit fails inspection on arrival.
How does it ship? A 12-tray deck packs into 1.65 × 1.65 × 1.83 m, about 5 m³; a 32-tray rotary packs into 1.60 × 2.40 × 2.55 m, about 9.8 m³. On the floor of a 40 ft high-cube that allows five or six rotaries before lashing clearance, at 1.8 t each — around 11 t, inside a normal payload, but better booked as a mixed load.
What about spares and after-sales? Order wear parts with the machine: door gaskets, deck heating elements, a nozzle set for your gas, an ignition board, the steam valve and rack bearings. One to two percent of order value is the usual allowance, and the parts travel in the same container.
Pre-purchase and pre-shipment checklist
- Menu mapped to oven type: products, set points, bake times.
- Trays per hour calculated with your bake, exchange and recovery times.
- Tray size confirmed at 400 × 600 mm; pieces per tray counted on your product.
- Gas family, pressure and jet set confirmed in writing; flue route drawn.
- Electrical supply checked against the rating plate: voltage, phase, frequency, breaker, cable.
- Ceiling height and door opening measured against 2450 mm and the packed footprint.
- Recovery test witnessed with a data logger and a loaded rack at your baking temperature.
- Steam injection demonstrated on a loaded bake, first-steam time recorded.
- Packed dimensions and weights matched to the booking note; loading plan drawn.
- Spares kit, manual in your language and certificate of origin on the packing list.
Run that list against a video inspection before the container is sealed, and file the signed copy with the shipping documents.