A deep fryer should maintain the desired temperature to ensure the fried food retains its taste and quality. However, if there are sudden fluctuations in commercial fryer temperatures, you’ll end up with undercooked, soggy, or burnt food. So, follow below to learn about the common reasons for temperature fluctuations in a commercial deep fryer. And call in a commercial kitchen appliance repair expert if required.

Causes Of Temperature Fluctuations In Your Commercial Fryer

Low Oil Levels

Oil in a commercial deep fryer serves not only as a medium for frying food items, but also as a heat stabilizer for the fryer. If the oil levels are lower than the fill lines, this seemingly minor mistake can cause significant problems, including unexpected temperature changes.

Drastic Temperature Drop When Food Is Added

The first problem of low oil levels is a drastic temperature drop when food is added. When the oil level is optimum, the fryer temperature still drops slightly during the food adding process. However, in the case of low oil levels, the drop is significant. Due to this, the fryer takes longer to reach the required temperature. So, the food stays submerged in oil for longer and becomes soggy.

Overheating

Another problem that low oil levels trigger is overheating. Commercial deep fryers work effectively only when the heat transfer surface is covered with oil. Due to low oil levels, some of that surface may not be covered, which leads to overheating.

In electric deep fryers, the heating element overheats, which can cause it to fail prematurely. It means an expensive replacement. In gas deep fryers, the heat exchanger overheats and can get damaged or damage other components. In some cases, you may even need to replace the entire fryer.

Tripped High-Limit Thermostat

Overheating due to low oil levels can trip the high-limit thermostat. A high-limit thermostat is a safety device that monitors the oil temperatures and can turn off the heating source if it detects overheating. It cuts power to the heating element or turns off the gas valve for burners.

Once a high-limit thermostat is tripped, the fryer won’t heat. You will have to manually reset it to use the fryer. As the high-limit thermostat trips for a reason, if it’s not faulty, you should try to find the cause before resetting it and using the fryer.

Miscalibrated Or Malfunctioning Thermostat

A thermostat controls the temperature of your commercial fryer. So, if it’s miscalibrated or malfunctioning, the temperature will fluctuate. It happens because a faulty or miscalibrated thermostat won’t detect the correct temperature, which means the fryer and the oil would be either cooler or hotter than required, even when you set the thermostat correctly.

A bad thermostat can also trigger the high-limit thermostat to turn off heating. So, if your commercial deep fryer is frequently tripping and the oil level is optimum, it may be a bad thermostat overheating the fryer.

However, even if the high-limit doesn’t trip and the unit is not heating, you should check the thermostat because it’s also one of the signs of a bad fryer thermostat.

So, if your commercial deep fryer is cooking unevenly, check the thermostat. Recalibrate the thermostat or if it’s faulty, have it replaced.

Thermostat problems are common in commercial ovens as well so try to calibrate it. But if it still doesn’t detect temperature properly, consider commercial oven repair Arlington.

Faulty High-Limit Thermostat

A high-limit switch detects overheating and cuts power to the heating element or shuts off gas supply to burners. But if this switch is faulty, it won’t let the fryer heat or won’t shut off heating if the fryer overheats or will repeatedly shut off the heating even when the temperature is normal.

If it’s tripping repeatedly, check the oil temperature with a thermometer. If the temperature is around 340°F, the high-limit is bad because a working high-limit switch trips only when the temperature exceeds 450°F. So, you should replace the high-limit thermostat.

Using Old Oil Or Not Changing Oil Regularly

Using old or contaminated oil or not changing it regularly will cause uneven heating. This means rapid breakdown of the oil, sputtering or bubbling, oil overflow, poor food quality, and temperature problems can happen. Moreover, this can also overheat and damage components, especially the heating elements.

Therefore, never use old or contaminated oil. Plus, change the oil before it becomes dark or thick, or starts to bubble and sputter. A sign you should change the fryer oil is the oil smoking when the temperature is 350°F.

Furthermore, if you want to extend the oil life, use high-quality oil and filter it multiple times every day. This will also improve food quality.

Dirty Or Damaged Heating Element (Electric Fryers)

Electric fryers have heating elements for heating the oil. Over time, they can get dirty or faulty, leading to temperature fluctuations and unevenly fried food.

Dirty Heating Element

With excessive use, debris builds up on the heating element. This acts as an insulation so the heating element overheats. Because of this, you may experience problems like the fryer heating slowly, uneven cooking, oil overheating, a tripped high-limit thermostat, and even a faulty heating element.

This can happen due to ignoring maintenance and cleaning. You can avoid many problems by cleaning the deep fryer regularly.

Faulty Heating Element

A faulty heating element may heat slowly, not heat at all, or overheat. Various factors can influence and damage heating elements, like debris buildup, voltage issues, running the fryer dry or with low oil levels, using harsh cleaners, or age.

A heating element works well for 2 to 5 years in commercial deep fryers. You can hire an expert who will check the heating element and then clean or replace it.

Dirty Or Faulty Burners (Gas Fryers)

Gas fryers have burners and they can also get clogged or damaged, leading to temperature and heating problems. These problems can also cause pilot light issues.

Clogged Burners

Clogged burners or burner tube means the commercial fryer will take longer to heat up and recover slowly when food is added. Moreover, the food may cook unevenly because there can be cold and hot spots in the fryer.

Some signs that the fryer has clogged burners are inconsistent flames, some burner spots not lighting, slow heat recovery after adding food in the fryer, delayed ignition, and a whoosh sound upon lighting or a slight gas buildup before the burners turn on.

Gas burner clogs are common, so you should clean the fryer regularly to prevent this from turning into a problem. Plus, ensure proper ventilation.

Damaged Burner

A damaged burner also has the above-mentioned signs and causes. Two other signs are:

• Visible damage such as rust, corrosion, cracks, or holes on or near the burners or burner tube.
• Inconsistent flame even after cleaning the burners.

Before concluding that there is a burner-related problem, check the gas supply, gas valve, and other things to ensure that the gas supply is not the culprit for uneven heating.

Conclusion

Temperature fluctuations in a commercial deep fryer can be due to the lack of maintenance, not changing the oil frequently, or low oil levels. Other causes can be thermostat problems and heating element or burner issues. So, call in a deep fryer repair Fairfax expert for an inspection.