CommercialApplianceRepair.center (844) 571-4566Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm Book a visit
A working restaurant cooking line under a stainless ventilation hood, two stainless gas fryers with baskets hanging above the oil, a flat griddle and a combi oven with a glass door beside them, the equipment clearly the subject, a cook seen only from behind and shoulders down at the far end of the line, warm kitchen light, small blue flames visible under the griddle.

Commercial Cooking Equipment Repair

Fryers, griddles, charbroilers, restaurant ranges, convection and combi ovens, steamers, kettles, holding cabinets and toasters, on gas or electric, that make up the hot side of a kitchen line.

(844) 571-4566

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • 4 things that fail on it
  • 24 makes build it
  • 7 problems it shows

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or call (844) 571-4566

Is yours
a cooking equipment?

The hot side of a commercial kitchen is a line of heavy equipment set shoulder to shoulder under the hood, and each piece has its own way of making and controlling heat. A gas fryer heats its oil through tubes or an open pot, with a thermostat that holds the setpoint and a separate high-limit that shuts the gas if the oil runs away; many carry a built-in filter pump that returns oil to the vat. Griddles and charbroilers run burners under a steel plate or radiants, and the six-burner restaurant range beside them runs on pilots or spark ignition with an oven below. Convection ovens push air with a blower, and a combi oven adds a steam generator or direct injection, so it roasts, steams or does both, and it needs deliming because hard water scales its boiler. Steamers and kettles share that water problem. Holding cabinets and warmers keep food above 135°F until it goes out. Vulcan, Garland, Southbend, Imperial and Wolf Commercial build much of the line; Pitco, Frymaster and Henny Penny the fryers; Rational, Alto-Shaam, Blodgett and Cleveland the ovens, steamers and kettles; Star and Hatco the griddles, toasters and holding gear. What wears out follows the heat: pilots and thermocouples, thermostats that drift, igniters, blower motors, gaskets, scaled probes and boards cooked by the hood's heat.

A technician in a plain gray work shirt, seen from behind and shoulders down, kneels at the open lower door of a cold stainless gas fryer on a restaurant cooking line, a small flashlight pointed at the gas valve and pilot area inside, the empty vat and baskets above, the fryer clearly the subject, even kitchen light. What fails on a piece of commercial cooking equipment

How to tell

01

The equipment sits under a ventilation hood on a gas manifold or a heavy electrical supply, usually on casters with a restraint cable at the back.
02

Gas pieces have a quick-disconnect hose behind them and a pilot or ignition window; electric ones carry a thick cord or a hard-wired conduit.
03

A fryer has a deep vat with baskets and a drain valve at the bottom front; a combi oven has a water line and a drain as well as power.
04

The rating plate names the maker, the gas type and input in BTU or the kilowatts, and the equipment is built of heavy stainless rather than enamel.

Not yours?Commercial cold storageCommercial dish machinesCommercial laundry equipment

What fails
on this design.

On a piece of commercial cooking equipment: pilots, thermocouples and gas valves, thermostats, high-limits and probes, steam generators and scale, blower motors, door switches and boards.

The problems it shows

Pilots, thermocouples and gas valves

On a busy line, spills and grease reach the pilot assemblies, and the heat beside the burners ages thermocouples and thermopiles. A burner that will not stay lit, or a fryer that shuts itself off mid-rush, usually traces back to this small group of parts.

Thermostats, high-limits and probes

A fryer thermostat drifting fifteen degrees changes every batch that comes out of it, and a high-limit that trips too early shuts the vat down on a full lunch. Griddle and oven thermostats drift the same way, and a coated probe reads the wrong temperature.

Steam generators and scale

Combi ovens, steamers and kettles boil water all day, and every gallon leaves minerals behind. Scale coats the heating elements and the water level probes, so steam comes slowly or the controller reports a fill or level problem, unless deliming and water treatment keep up.

Blower motors, door switches and boards

Convection and combi ovens depend on a fan to move heat evenly. Bearings wear, door switches stop telling the controller the door is shut, and electronic boards mounted near hot flues fail from years of heat soak.

Getting at it,
and whether to.

If anyone smells gas, shut the gas at the appliance or the main, use no flame or switches, get people out and call the gas utility or 911 from outside.

What repairs cost

On the visit

  1. Let fryer oil cool fully before the visit where you can; nobody should reach into a vat or move a fryer that is still hot.
  2. Leave room to pull the unit forward on its casters, and keep the restraint cable and the quick-disconnect hose free for the technician.
  3. Note the maker, model and serial from the rating plate, the gas type, and any code shown on the controller when it stopped.

Repair or replace

Commercial cooking equipment is built to be repaired: nearly every part on a fryer, a griddle or a restaurant range is sold separately, and swapping a thermostat, a pilot assembly or a gas valve costs far less than a new piece plus the gas connection and a hood inspection. Combi ovens and rapid-cook units carry costlier boards and steam generators, so on an older one with a scaled boiler and a failing controller the technician lays out both the repair and the replacement, with how long each keeps the line down.

Book a visit for a piece of commercial cooking equipment

The problems
it shows.

On a piece of commercial cooking equipment, most often commercial kitchen gas smell along the cooking line: clear the room first.

All problems
An empty stainless restaurant cooking line after hours, every burner on the fryers and griddle dark and cold, a yellow gas shutoff handle on the pipe behind the line turned crosswise to closed, the back door of the commercial kitchen propped open to the night. Gas, fire, food at risk or water near power

Commercial Kitchen Gas Smell Along the Cooking Line: Clear the Room First

6 causes, cheapest first

 A bank of stainless commercial fryers under a steel exhaust hood, white wet chemical suppression agent coating the vats and the hood filters after a discharge, a thin haze of smoke drifting up into the hood, the frying station deserted. Gas, fire, food at risk or water near power

Commercial Fryer Fire or Grease Flare Under the Hood

6 causes, cheapest first

 A stainless commercial fryer on a kitchen line with its oil sitting still and pale in the vat, two empty wire baskets hanging on the rack above, the burner sight opening at the front dark.

Commercial Fryer Not Heating or Slow to Recover Between Baskets

6 causes, cheapest first

 A stainless double-stack commercial convection oven with its top door open, a sheet pan of cookies pulled halfway out, browned dark at the back and pale toward the front, a second pan on the rack below.

Commercial Convection Oven Baking Unevenly Across the Racks

6 causes, cheapest first

 A stainless combi oven with its glass door open on an empty cavity, white mineral scale crusted around the steam outlet at the back wall, a stack of hotel pans with pale steamed vegetables on the counter beside it.

Combi Oven Steam Problem: Weak Steam, Scale or a Dry Cavity

6 causes, cheapest first

 Close view through the open lower door of a stainless commercial griddle, a small blue pilot flame barely visible at the tip of the pilot burner beside a copper thermocouple tube, grease-darkened steel around it.

Pilot Won't Stay Lit on a Fryer, Griddle or Steamer on the Line

6 causes, cheapest first

 Close view of the dark touch control panel on the front of a stainless combi oven in a commercial kitchen, one abstract amber warning indicator glowing among unlit icons, the steam-fogged glass door blurred beside it.

Commercial Appliance Error Code on a Combi, Fryer, Dish Machine or Laundry Display

8 causes, cheapest first

Who builds
a cooking equipment.

24 of the makes on this site build a piece of commercial cooking equipment. Each mark opens that make's own page.

All 35 brands

Commercial cooking equipment repair,
where we come out.

9 metros, each with its own page.

All service areas

Tampa BayFL · 31 areas

OrlandoFL · 30 areas

Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas

New York MetroNY · 75 areas

HoustonTX · 36 areas

ChicagoIL · 50 areas

Los AngelesCA · 95 areas

San DiegoCA · 31 areas

San Francisco Bay AreaCA · 74 areas

A restaurant team working a busy commercial kitchen line.
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
pieces of commercial cooking equipment.

Why does our fryer shut off in the middle of service?
The usual suspects are a high-limit tripping because the thermostat overshoots, a pilot or flame sensor losing its signal, or a filter pump that left the vat low. Note whether it happens during filtering, after a long idle or at peak load; that pattern narrows the cause quickly.
How often does a combi oven need deliming?
It depends on water hardness and how much the oven steams. Many kitchens run the maker's automatic cleaning daily and descale the steam generator on the schedule the controller asks for. A water filter or softener sized for the oven stretches that interval and protects the probes.
Can a gas fryer or griddle be moved to clean behind it?
Yes, if it sits on casters with a quick-disconnect hose and a restraint cable, and only when it is off and cool. Shut the gas valve, release the quick-disconnect as the maker describes, and reconnect and leak-check it before lighting; if any of that is unclear, leave it to us.

Back to your everyday

Is it a piece of commercial cooking equipment?

Say so when you book — it changes what the technician brings and how the visit is planned.

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(844) 571-4566 Schedule a repair