Commercial Fryer Not Heating or Slow to Recover Between Baskets

What it
usually means.

A commercial fryer, gas or electric, has a short chain of controls between the switch and the oil. On a gas fryer, a pilot or an electronic igniter lights the burners once the gas valve opens, and a thermostat or temperature probe tells the valve when to fire. On an electric fryer, contactors switch heavy elements on and off from the same kind of probe. Guarding both is a high-limit control that cuts the heat if the oil runs too hot, and many fryers add a drain valve interlock that blocks heating while the drain is open. So a cold fryer is often one of those guards doing its job: the melt cycle still running on a vat of solid shortening, the drain handle left a little open after filtering, or the high-limit tripped after the fryer was switched on low or empty. After that come worn parts: a pilot or igniter that cannot prove flame, a probe reading wrong, a gas valve or a contactor that has failed. Slow recovery during a rush is often the same story in its early stage, or a vat loaded with more frozen product than it was designed for.