Troubleshooting Commercial Refrigeration Problems

Keeping product out of the danger zone and ready for preparation on the line is one of the most important tasks facing any commercial kitchen, and your commercial refrigeration units play a critical role. Maintaining and fixing the refrigeration units in your...

Troubleshooting Gas Range and Oven Problems

If your gas range or oven is down, chances are you’re looking for a way to fix it fast.  Luckily, troubleshooting most problems with commercial gas equipment is fairly easy as long as you know how to replace a few key parts. To learn more, simply click the link below that corresponds to the part or the problem you’re having and...

Jerry’s Tech Talk: Replacing Refrigeration Door Latches & Hinges

There are many different styles of hinges and latches. Both the hinges and latches have a number on the back.  In addition, they may say “flush” or have the offset size, e.g. 1 1/8, 1 ½, etc.  It is important to have that number on the back to ensure you get the proper replacement. Let’s talk hinges! ...

Jerry’s Tech Talk: Replacing Refrigeration Fan Motors & Blades

Refrigerators are the backbone of your kitchen.  They are usually durable and long-lasting, but when they go down, you have to have them fixed right away.  Some tips on replacing the fan motor in your commercial refrigeration unit: There are two types of motors for refrigeration. 1. Condenser fan motor. 2. Evaporator fan motor. First, we will discuss the condenser fan motor: The condenser fan motor is mounted on the condensing...

Identifying Electric Cooking Equipment Elements

There are five types of elements in electric food service equipment: 1. Calrod (metal) type 2. Glass tube (quartz) type 3. Ceramic type 4. Wire type 5. Solid type These five elements are either submersible, dry, or both.  No matter what type of element you’re trying to replace, the most important piece of information you need is the element’s manufacturer, model, and serial number.  ...

Replace Commercial Refrigeration Thermostats Yourself

There are two types of temperature controls used in commercial refrigeration: 1. Thermostatic: either an Air Sensing type or Evaporator Coil Sensing type 2. Low pressure control Let’s start with thermostatic type controls.  An air-sensing...

When Restaurant Equipment Goes Down: 10 Ways To Save

Keeping your commercial kitchen humming along is not always an easy proposition.  You use this equipment every day, and sooner or later something is going to give out on you.  If the next step you’re used to taking is picking up the phone to call your service tech, this post is for you. That’s because if you have the right tools and a little basic knowledge, you can handle the most common equipment failures yourself...

Jerry’s Tech Talk: Fixing Gas Ranges

The most used and abused piece of kitchen equipment is the range.  Luckily it’s probably also the easiest to repair.  There are five range components that need to be replaced the most frequently: 1. Top Grate 2. Burner Head 3. Venturi...

Jerry’s Tech Talk: Fixing Commercial Oven Problems

Oven problems are fairly simple to diagnose.  The most common complaints are: 1. The pilot won’t stay lit. 2. The oven won’t get up to temperature. 3. The oven gets too hot. 4. The oven does not cook evenly. Problem number one is probably the most common.  Usually it’s the ...

Jerry’s Tech Talk: Fixing Fryers

When your fryer goes down you probably want to get it up and running again fast.  Fortunately, commercial fryers are generally easy to fix, and parts are also pretty easy to come by.  There are four fryer parts that most commonly cause a fryer to fail: 1. Hi-Limit 2. ...