Automatic Water Bath Cooling Tunnel for Sauce Pouches with Bubble Gum Continuous Water Circulation 6m to 24m

Product Description

Automatic Water Bath Cooling Tunnel for Sauce Pouches with Bubble Gum Continuous Water Circulation 6m to 24m

Product Description

After hot filling and sealing, sauce pouches need to be cooled quickly and evenly to protect product quality, prevent pouch deformation, and improve packaging stability. An Automatic Water Bath Cooling Tunnel for Sauce Pouches with Bubble Gum Function, available in lengths from 6m to 24m, provides controlled water-bath cooling while continuously moving the pouches through the tunnel. The Bubble Gum Function is particularly useful for helping separate and stabilize floating or lightweight pouches during cooling, reducing pouch stacking and improving heat-transfer efficiency. The right tunnel length depends on the sauce filling temperature, pouch material and size, production speed, target outlet temperature, and available installation space. In practical production, simply choosing the longest cooling tunnel is not always the best solution-water temperature, pouch spacing, conveyor speed, and water circulation are equally important for achieving consistent cooling.

Key Features:

• Continuous Water Bath Cooling - Provides continuous and uniform cooling for hot filled sauce pouches and packets.
• Adjustable Cooling Temperature - Flexible temperature control according to product type, inlet temperature and required outlet temperature.
• Variable Speed Conveyor - Adjustable conveying speed controls cooling residence time to match different production capacities.
• Multi-Zone Cooling System - Multiple cooling zones support gradual temperature reduction for more stable and consistent cooling.
• SUS304 Food Grade Construction - Stainless steel structure offers hygienic operation, corrosion resistance and easy cleaning.
• Flexible Production Line Integration - Easily connects with filling, sealing, pasteurization, drying and packaging equipment for continuous sauce production.

Product Parameters

Testimonials

Customer Case 1 - 24m Beer Tunnel Pasteurizer Delivered to Argentina (2025) In 2025, we successfully delivered a 24-meter industrial tunnel pasteurizer for beer to a leading brewery in Argentina. The system was customized with multi-section heating and gradual cooling zones to ensure stable PU control for high-volume beer production.

Customer Case 2 - 12m Juice Warming Tunnel Delivered to Canada (2024) In 2024, a Canadian juice producer partnered with us to install a 12-meter warming and pasteurizing tunnel for their fruit juice line. The system was engineered to stabilize bottle temperature after hot filling, preventing condensation and ensuring safe downstream labeling and packaging. The customer highly appreciated the machine's compact design, low energy consumption, and consistent heating performance.

 

Why Choose Us

 

	As a leading water filling equipment manufacturer, we provide comprehensive solutions, complete production lines from bottle blowing to packaging. Years of focus have enabled us to be well aware of industry trends and customer needs. Our equipment uses the latest technology to ensure filling accuracy, speed and hygiene. The automated system enables efficient production, and precise control guarantees product quality. Our equipment effectively kills pollutants in the water and meets national hygiene standards. Choosing us means choosing an innovative and reliable partner to help you achieve long-term success in a competitive market.
	National high-tech enterprise certificate in 2019 With 35 invention patents Jiangsu Province private technology enterprises, Technology-based medium-sized enterprises, Jiangsu province high-tech enterprises
	Specialized in the beverage machinery industry over 16+ years. Export to over 80+ countries. Get a quote in 24 hours 2 years warranty CE certificate Distributor available in Canada, Australia, India, etc
	We use professional packaging to protect your shipment as much as possible and prevent damage. We'll keep you informed about the shipment, and we're here to answer any questions you may have.

 

Company Information:

 

ZHANGJIAGANG BEYOND MACHINERY CO., LTD. is a group company located in Sanxing Industrial Park, Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, China.

For beverage machine, our main products including:

              *The capacity of 2000-- 30000 BPH for juice and tea hot filling producing line.

              *The capacity of 2000 -- 30000 BPH for mineral water and purified water producing line.

              *The capacity of 2000 -- 30000 BPH for carbonated beverage and cold filling producing line.

              *The capacity of 1000 - 8000 BPH for vinegar and alcohol and oil producing line.

              *The capacity of 100 -- 2000 BPH for 1 and 3 and 5 gallon barrel producing line.

              *The capacity of 2000 -- 10000 BPH for soybean milk and peanut milk and other plants protein drink producing line.

              *2~20T/H water treatment equipment(mineral water and pure water).

              *PET perform inject and blowing-stretching machine.

 Relevant equipments: Bottle unscrambler/Full bottle overturn sterilizer/Concentrating equipment/Plate and tube UHT device/CIP system/Labeling machine/Auto film shrinking packing machine.

 We carry a strict quality management system in accordance with ISO9001 requirements. We have established a complete processing line including design and manufacture and sale and after sale service. Our products are well sold around the world.

 We are proud to adhere to our company slogan "Engineering Excellence". Please be free to contact us for more information and we are ready for making business relations with you in the near future
 

Main production line

 

FAQ:

FAQ: Automatic Water Bath Cooling Tunnel for Sauce Pouches

1. What is a water bath cooling tunnel for sauce pouches?

A water bath cooling tunnel is a continuous cooling system used after hot filling and sealing of sauce pouches. The sealed pouches pass through a controlled water bath, where circulating water removes heat from the product and packaging. Compared with air cooling, water has much better heat-transfer efficiency, making water-bath cooling suitable for high-speed sauce and food production lines.

2. What is the Bubble Gum Function on a pouch cooling tunnel?

The Bubble Gum Function is designed to help control the movement and positioning of lightweight pouches during water-bath cooling. Sauce pouches can float, overlap, or stick together because of trapped air and buoyancy. The Bubble Gum function helps separate or redistribute the pouches so that more of the pouch surface remains exposed to circulating cooling water.

Industry tip: In actual production, pouch flotation is often related not only to the cooling tunnel but also to the amount of air left inside the pouch after filling and sealing. Optimizing filling, deaeration, and sealing conditions can significantly improve cooling consistency.

3. How do I choose between a 6m, 12m, 18m, and 24m cooling tunnel?

The required tunnel length should be calculated according to production speed and the required cooling time rather than selected simply by pouch size.

The basic relationship is:

Cooling tunnel length ≈ conveyor speed × required cooling time

For example, if the pouches require 3 minutes of effective cooling and the conveyor speed is 4 m/min, approximately 12 m of effective cooling length would be required.

However, the actual calculation should also consider water temperature, number of cooling zones, pouch thickness, sauce temperature, pouch dimensions, and final outlet temperature.

4. What temperature should the cooling water be?

There is no single water temperature suitable for every sauce pouch. The optimum temperature depends on the sauce filling temperature, pouch film structure, product formulation, and required outlet temperature.

For hot-filled products, a staged cooling process is often preferable to suddenly exposing very hot pouches to very cold water. Excessive thermal shock may increase the risk of pouch deformation, seal stress, or film-related problems.

5. Can the cooling tunnel be used for different pouch sizes?

Yes. A properly designed conveyor and water circulation system can normally handle different pouch sizes within the machine's operating range. However, very large differences in pouch dimensions may require adjustments to conveyor speed, water level, guide rails, or the Bubble Gum system.

When purchasing the machine, it is better to provide the manufacturer with the actual pouch dimensions, weight, filling temperature, and production speed rather than only specifying the pouch material.

6. How does water circulation affect cooling performance?

Water circulation is critical. The purpose is not simply to place the pouches in water, but to continuously remove heat from the pouch surface and carry that heat away through the cooling system.

Poor water circulation can create hot zones inside the tunnel. The pouches may then leave the cooling tunnel with inconsistent temperatures even though the average water temperature appears acceptable.

For high-speed production, I recommend paying particular attention to pump capacity, water distribution, spray/flow direction, filtration, and temperature monitoring in each cooling zone.

7. Does a longer cooling tunnel always provide better cooling?

No. A 24m tunnel is not automatically better than a 6m or 12m tunnel.

If the water temperature, circulation, pouch spacing, or conveyor speed is poorly matched to the production conditions, increasing the tunnel length may only increase equipment cost and floor-space requirements.

A well-designed 12m system can sometimes achieve better and more stable results than a poorly configured 24m system.

8. What happens if the sauce pouches are not cooled sufficiently?

Insufficient cooling can cause several problems, including pouch deformation, excessive residual heat, seal-area stress, product quality changes, condensation problems during downstream handling, and difficulties during secondary packaging.

If pouches are packed into cartons while they are still too hot, heat can also accumulate inside the carton, slowing further cooling.

9. How can I reduce pouch stacking inside the cooling tunnel?

Pouch stacking can usually be reduced by optimizing several factors:

• Adjusting conveyor speed

• Controlling pouch spacing at the tunnel inlet

• Optimizing water-flow direction

• Adjusting water level and circulation

• Reducing excessive air inside the pouch

• Using appropriate guide rails or separation devices

• Properly configuring the Bubble Gum Function

A common mistake is to treat pouch stacking as only a conveyor problem. In reality, filling volume, residual air, pouch dimensions, sealing quality, and buoyancy can all influence pouch behavior in the cooling tunnel.

10. What should I consider before buying a 6m-24m cooling tunnel?

At minimum, provide the machine manufacturer with:

1. Sauce type and viscosity

2. Filling temperature

3. Target outlet temperature

4. Pouch dimensions

5. Pouch material and thickness

6. Pouch weight

7. Production capacity, such as pouches/min

8. Required cooling time

9. Available factory space

10. Required downstream equipment

With these parameters, the manufacturer can determine the appropriate tunnel length, conveyor speed, pump capacity, cooling zones, and water temperature-control configuration.

11. Is stainless steel necessary for a sauce pouch cooling tunnel?

For food-processing applications, stainless-steel construction is generally preferred because the equipment is exposed continuously to water, food residues, and cleaning chemicals. The appropriate stainless-steel grade should be selected according to the product, cleaning process, and local food-equipment requirements.

More important than simply specifying "stainless steel" is checking the weld quality, drainage design, internal corners, cleaning accessibility, and dead-water areas.

12. What is the most important factor when designing a sauce pouch cooling system?

The most important factor is not the tunnel length alone. The system should be designed around the complete thermal process:

Hot filling → sealing → initial cooling → controlled water-bath cooling → final cooling → draining/drying → secondary packaging.

For a high-speed line, the cooling tunnel should therefore be considered as part of the complete packaging line rather than as an independent machine.

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