Commercial Kitchen Maintenance Tips

When a commercial kitchen is running smoothly, it's a thing of beauty. However, there's a lot of work that goes on to turn a kitchen into a well-oiled machine. A major part of that is proper maintenance. The following tips will help keep your kitchen at peak performance.

Refer to Your Owner's Manuals – Everything in your kitchen, from the deep fryer to the PVC strip curtains & doors, has an owner's manual. Those manuals are your best resource for the proper care and maintenance of your kitchen equipment. Follow the manual's guidelines to help ensure everything stays in optimal condition.

Fill Out and Return Those Warranty Cards – Most major kitchen equipment comes with warranties that often include free parts and labor. It's worth the few minutes it takes to fill the warranty cards out and mail them or even to just go online and fill them out there, if that's an option. It doesn't make sense to invest in a piece of equipment, only to ignore the warranty that goes with it.

Clean, Clean, Clean – Food scraps, dirt, and grime all build up on a daily basis, so you need to clean your equipment on a daily basis. Simply keeping everything clean will help avoid this buildup, which is a leading cause of equipment failure and malfunction. For equipment that has deep cleaning requirements, be sure to meet those as recommended by the manufacturer.

Regularly Inspect Kitchen Equipment – The smallest of things can eventually lead to catastrophic failure, so taking the time to walk through your kitchen and inspect everything is well worth it. Catching and correcting something small, such as a loose fitting, can save untold amounts of money in bigger repairs down the line. Additionally, replacing worn parts will extend the life of your equipment.

Energy-Efficiency Tips for Your Charbroiler

You might be surprised to discover there are several ways you can save both energy and money when operating a charbroiler. Here's how:

Make Sure Your Charbroiler Is in Good Repair – Over time, metal fatigue and corrosion can develop, causing your charbroiler to perform inefficiently. Make sure to inspect your charbroiler on a regular basis and perform maintenance as needed, including replacing commercial charbroiler parts as needed. This will go a long way toward extending your charbroiler's life as well as maintaining energy efficiency.

Clean Properly – Raising the heat to scorch off debris not only is a waste of energy but can also damage your gas valves. Instead, use proper tools and preventative measures to keep your charbroiler clean. Make sure to keep the burner box free of ash to ensure proper heat transfer. Additionally, radiants should be removed daily and scrubbed with wire brushes.

Use Only What You Need – Eliminate stand-by times and significantly reduce energy costs by only using part of your charbroiler. Turn the unit off entirely during slow times. A charbroiler consistently uses more energy than six fryers combined, so turning it off for three extra hours a day can reduce your energy costs by over $600 a year. When preheating, do not exceed manufacturer's recommended preheat times. With underfired charbroilers, you can even reduce preheat time by 15 to 20 minutes.

Use Your Griddle – Whenever possible, use your griddle. Because griddles have thermostats, you can lower the temperature, reducing the amount of energy consumed. If your griddle has grooves, you can still have grill marks on your food the same as a commercial charbroiler.

Properly Ventilate – Charbroilers radiate an average of 25 percent of the heat they use. Make sure the kitchen is properly ventilated to avoid higher cooling costs.

Keep these tips in mind for a more cost-effective, energy-efficient charbroiler.

Why Walk-in Coolers Are Important for a Commercial Kitchen: Part II

 As mentioned in a previous post, maintaining standards for your walk-in cooler parts can be cost effective, as well as necessary for health and safety standards. Keeping up to date with repairs and maintenance can help you lower costs over time by staying away from urgent services on your appliances which can be more costly. Here is one more tip for keeping up with your commercial kitchen and your walk-in professional cooler.

·         You Need to Save Floor Space - One of the great things about walk-in coolers is that they don't have to take up precious space in your kitchen. They can actually be installed outside the restaurant's main kitchen space, located outside the back door. This is an ideal arrangement for smaller restaurants that need refrigeration but have limited kitchen floor space.

Are you looking for walk-in cooler parts? Check out O-Reps to shop a great selection of parts for many different makes and models of walk-in coolers. O-Reps also carries other items for your professional kitchen such as fryer parts and fryer baskets, as well as other hot-side replacement pieces. O-Reps has a great reputation for having a large selection of reliable replacement parts for your profession kitchen. Check out the assortment, today!

Why Walk-in Coolers Are Important for a Commercial Kitchen

If you're running a commercial kitchen, a walk-in cooler might seem like one more item to maintenance. However, if you want to stay in compliance with FDA standards, a walk-in cooler is a must. The good news is quality walk-in cooler parts are easy to find and well worth the investment. A properly maintained walk-in cooler will serve you well for years to come. Read on to discover more reasons why you need a walk-in cooler.

·         You Need to Keep Food Stored at a Constant Temperature - Food handling safety guidelines dictate certain foods must be kept at certain temperatures on a consistent basis. This is because refrigeration preserves freshness, quality, and appeal. Not only that, it also helps reduce food spoilage and associated expenses.

·         You Need a Large Space to Store Refrigerated Food - In addition to foods with FDA guidelines for refrigeration, other foods can benefit from refrigeration as well. For instance, baked goods, fruit, and vegetables all stay fresher longer when refrigerated. Also, pre-work items such as raw meat and sliced produce can be safely stored in a walk-in cooler in preparation for lunch and dinner rushes later on in the day.

Finally, you might own a small restaurant now but if you're planning on growing at all, you're going to need the space to do so. A walk-in cooler allows you the refrigerated space you need when you need it.

How to Clean and Store Your Commercial Fryer

Keeping your fryer and baskets in good clean order, is essential to well prepared food, and the least amount of maintenance costs. Here are a few tips for taking care of your commercial fryer and accessories.

·         Daily Clean Up – Having a daily cleaning routine for the outside of your fryer can be extremely beneficial, not to mention, sanitary! Also, think of work safety for mold and other issues that might arise from a fryer that is not cleaned on a daily basis

·         Flush Out Every 3 Months – Stay on the safe side and do a full flush of your fryer every three months. This consists of draining the fryer of oil and then filling it with warm water and dish detergent to let sit for approximately an hour. This will help to remove any residual discarded food or oil. Drain continue to fill with just warm water a few times or until clean to touch and smell.

·         Hire Professionals – Once a year your fryer should be inspected by a professional. This will help you stay ahead of any possible issues that might come up. It will also keep you from surprise emergency costs for expedited repairs.

Looking for American Range fryer parts? Check out O-Reps for all the parts, at a great price, that your business will need!

The Basics of Industrial Cooling Equipment

Refrigeration is the best tool in your kitchen equipment arsenal. Being a commercial refrigeration owner means that it might be helpful to know the basics of your equipment. Here is a brief overview of industrial cooling equipment.

·         Hot Out – The first step in refrigeration is to use a gas, usually, tetrafluoroethane, or HFC, to move through parts of the unit to cool the space. The keys to this include the process of 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics which states that two objects of different temperatures that are close to each other can exchange temps. Meaning that when these chemicals are close to other materials, the chemical becomes warm as the object becomes cooler.

·         Keep It Moving – The second portion is a little easier to understand as it consists of constantly moving the air throughout the space to continue this chemical reaction. As the HFC warms up, it becomes a liquid and then gets evaporated into the air and the cycle continues. This will continue until the space is cooled.

Are you looking for refrigerator freezer parts? Check out O-Reps for the best selection or parts and equipment around! At O-Reps, you can find everything you’re looking for, to complete your industrial kitchen. 

Preventative Maintenance Checklist for Commercial Refrigeration Systems

Whether you’re running a five star restaurant or a small town deli, your refrigeration system is an integral part of your business. In order to keep your refrigeration system in proper working order, it’s important to practice preventative maintenance. Here are a few things you can do to keep your system in tip top shape. 

• Temperature - Check the temperature settings and make sure the equipment complies with local health regulations. The life of your food depends on the refrigeration system being set to the correct temperature.
• Door Hardware - Check the refrigerator latches, handles, door gaskets and heat strips to make sure the door is sealing properly and all handles are in proper working order.
• Airflow - Stacking boxes or containers of food in front of vents can cause an airflow blockage, which causes your system to run inefficiently. Each fan should rotate freely and quietly.
• Electric – Check all electrical wires and components for kinks, discoloration, and breaks. You should also check to make sure all electrical connections are secure. Loose wires can result in equipment failure. 

In addition to the above, restaurant owners should also clean shelves, walls and the doors of the refrigeration systems, in order to maintain a clean workplace. For questions or concerns regarding refrigeration system replacement parts, call O-Reps.net at 888-289-5911. 

Welcome to the O-Reps.net Blog!

Welcome to the O-Reps.net blog! We’re excited to share news, tips, and product updates with you regarding our food service equipment and replacement parts! We are a proud Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSM) that was founded in 2006. Here at O-Reps.net we’ve made it our mission to provide our customers with the best products and services at the most affordable prices.  We offer same day shipping on all in-stock items for orders placed before 4 pm, as well as a free shopping guarantee by Norton.

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From refrigerator freezer parts to Hot side oven, range and broiler parts, we carry equipment parts and hardware from a variety of name brands including Kason, Frymaster, True MFG, Traulsen and many more! If you can’t seem to find what you’re looking for, email us at sales@o-reps.com or call us at 855-804-6477; and someone will help you.  We look forward to hearing from you!