You might wonder what a thermocouple or thermopile is, why hi-limits exist, and why these common gas parts are important to your commercial ovens and fryers. Gas parts are important for one main reason—they save you a lot of money when your commercial equipment unexpectedly calls it quits. It's no surprise that pricey kitchen ovens, commercial fryers, and other gas equipment makes up the bulk of your expensive heavy hitters in the kitchen. Lucky for you, commercial gas parts help you extend the life of your equipment—saving you from footing the bill for a new piece of restaurant equipment.
At Tundra Restaurant Supply, we sell hundreds of gas and oven parts, thermocouples, solenoid valves, thermostats, pilot burners and assemblies, hi-limits, orifices, gas fittings and tubings and much more to keep your commercial equipment up and running.
Difference between OEM and OCM Gas Parts
When it comes to commercial gas parts, you will encounter parts designated as either OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and OCM (Original Component Manufacturer). OEM parts refer to those commercial parts that are sold under a company's brand name. OCM parts on the other hand, bypass the costs associated with branding and often deliver an exact copy of the part for much less. Both OEM and OCM parts work for much of your equipment, and the best way to identify which commercial part you need for your gas equipment is to note the brand name, model and serial number.
Common Oven and Fryer Fixes
The most common complaints we receive from customers concerning broken ovens or fryers are typically fall into one of the following:
- Why won't my pilot light stay lit?
- My oven gets too hot!
- The oven won't reach temperature
On commercial ovens, you may find that you have a bad thermocouple or thermostat on your hands. A bad thermostat could mean it's defective or not properly calibrated, which would result in improper heating temperatures.
More often than not, however, you may find that a bad thermocouple is preventing your pilot light from staying lit. If the thermocouple is not directly in the flame when you light the pilot, then it cannot get hot enough to open the safety valve. Conversely, if you find the thermocouple is directly in the flame and still won't' stay lit then the thermocouple is probably defective. If however neither of these situations sound familiar, and your thermocouple has already been replaced, then you may have a defective safety valve on your hand.
If your pilot light will not stay lit on your commercial fryer, it could be a result of a bad hi-limit, thermopile or combination safety gas valve. You can quickly check the hi-limit by taking a wire off and connecting it with the other wire. If the pilot light remains lit, then you know you need to replace the hi-limit. If the pilot light still doesn't remain lit, then check your thermopile. Still no success? Then time to replace the combination safety gas valve.
For more information about fixing commercial fryers or commercial ovens, check out Tundra Restaurant Supply's BackBurner Blog.
