Pitco Frialator Kitchen Appliances - Others - Page 9 - Recent Questions, Troubleshooting & Support

Hi there.
you can view a picture of gas valve knob position when you visit http://www.pitco.com
Regards.

If it's a manual gas, then you have to hold the pilot button down for awhile, in order for the sensors to tell the pilot to lite....It takes some time. If you need help, call our service tech, Ray, at 888-542-5959 at Restaurant Equipment Outlet, Cincinnati, Ohio. He's pretty good over the phone even...Thanks, Susan

You have to switch the orfices out to smaller ones for LP Gas. We can order the parts for you, if you need a parts order. Call Ray at 888-542-5959 with any questions, parts order, and pricing. We are Restaurant Equipment Outlet, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and parts orders ship in 1-2 days... Thanks, Susan REO

There are a number of things here I would need more info on before I could help you....OK, you say you're using water, but oil heats up differently, so you really can't substitute one for the other... Secondly, are you setting the thermostat to 200 degrees and expecting the unit to shut off? I'm guessing you have a digital unit, which is telling you to drop the product down into the oil, at 200 degrees? If that is correct, 200 would not be a correct temperature for frying, but if you set it there to start with, maybe it's heating up just fine? The fryer knows when you drop product, the temperature will go down, so it staying on doesn't surprise me... That could be completely normal.... I would need to know the model and serial of this unit in order to make heads or tails of this and what exactly is wrong h ere? Do you think it should be getting hotter? Are you setting it to 350 and it only goes to 200? Remember oil takes longer to heat up than water and the density if also alot different than oil. One cannot be used to replace the other.... The water will heat up quickly and cool alot quicker too. If your temperature is off, then the first thing to check would be the thermostat, but I wouldn't just yet.... I need more info first to diagnose your issue. Thanks, Susan REO

Call Ray at 8889-542-5959... Explain this to him, as he is our service tech for fryers at Restaurant Equipment Outlet, Cincinnati, Ohio... He has been with us for many years now, and is pretty good. He may be able to walk you through this over the phone. If you need a part, he can also get you one in 1-2 days. Thanks, Susan REO

Have you or someone converted this fryer to LP and/or back to Natural Gas? This sounds like your orfices are too big and the flames are shooting out, with leaking gas around the orifice itself? I would have the orfices redrilled, so you know they are correct, as this is dangerous... The only other reason you would have fire outside the designated area is because of a leak. When the pots leak, you will sometimes have the oil leaking catch on fire and burn around that leak area... You don't have a leak, do you? My best guess is the orfices are too big...and someone drilled them out that way...too big... Any further question or if you need new orfices, please call Paul or Susan at Restaurant Equipment Outlet, Cincinnati, Ohio, 888-542-5959. Thanks, Susan

Two things when you clean out the pots.....Number one is, make sure you rinse all the soap or cleaning solution out really well, and I mean WELL... any left over residue will ruin your new oil, and number two, your oil temp should never be above 325, especially with new oil.... Sounds like you are burning your oil up with too high of a temperature. Actually, there is another option here too,
have you ever tried a fryer additive? Like Miroil is one....? You add this liquid prior to lunch or dinner, according to how much oil is in the fryer, how many hours a day the fryer is on and how many days a week you are open....Anyway, if you are interested, we could help you with the formula, and from that point on, you never dump a whole vat of oil again. Each day, you would drain off a pre-measured amount of oil, and lets say you have a chicken fryer, and a fish fryer. You would drain off the chicken fryer and dump into the fish fryer, and put the same exact amount back into the chicken fryer of new oil. It might be a 2 cup measurement or alittle more, but the point is by freshing your fryer each day, you will never dump it all out again. They also recommend oil temp at 325, no higher, and making sure all soap residue is rinsed out completely before adding any oil.
By doing this, your oil will look golden all week long, and you will no longer have the darker oil as the week goes by, with the really dark, crappy stuff right before you end up dumping it...Hence, your products will always look the same too, light golden, absorb alot less grease during cooking, and again, that's all week long, not just first part of the week....If you are interested in trying the additive, I can price you some, or you can go online yourself? Not one person I have ever set up on this additive program has ever complained or stopped using it so far...They love it, and it really works.

If you have new thermostats and a high limit switch, you might have had a bad thermostat before, and your temperature was really alittle lower with the older one? Now, that you have a new one, and it's working correctly, maybe that 350 is too hot? If the other one was bad, and running alittle less hot, say 300 or 325 all along, and you just never knew it, now you have one that's registering your temperature at the correct reading and it's too hot? Or, another scenerio could be your tech installed a bad thermostat? That happens too, where a new thermostat is actually bad to start with, and maybe it's off alittle the other way? LIke 350 is actually 450? If you have other questions, or are interested in the additive, my name is Susan, with Restaurant Equipment Outlet, 888-542-5959 and I would be happy to asist you in any way, and I'd love to know what you end up finding out on your fryers.... Thanks, Susann REO

Hi there.
Make sure that all wiring connections are tight.
Check the continuity across the hi limit terminals.
Also check the thermostat setting.
Regards.

Is this a new fryer first of all? If so, then whoever you bought it from should be working with you to help you get it fixed. If it's new, it's under warranty from Pitco... If it's not new, and used, was there any kind of warranty from Bargreen? If not, then you're screwed. A deep fryer that leaks, cannot be re-welded and to replace a leaking frypot is expensive and usually not worth the money it cost to do so.... A new 40 lb. fryer runs approx $750, and to fix one normally runs $5-600.00. So, you can see that it's more cost effective to just go ahead and buy a new one. Try and find a dealer who sells and deals with used equipment, and buy your new fryer through them. See if he/she will give you some sort of credit for the used one that leaks towards your new purchase... That dealer can then replace the frypot and resell the unit to another customer.

I would try to deal directly with Pitco... Find out who your sales rep is for your area/state and call them directly. They are supposed to help customers with issues like this and should be happy to help you, as long as it's a new unit.... I really don't understand why they haven't helped you so far, if it's new? You can also tell either or both of them that you are going to the local paper... That usually works with just about any company. If you need any further help, I'm in Cincinnati and our number is 888-542-5959. Thanks and good luck, Susan Restaurant Equipment Outlet

Certainly, you can use a specially designed wire brush for cleaning the tubes... We sell them ourseles, however first I would recommend using a product called Deep Fat Fryer Cleaner. It comes in either a liquid or a powder, and is mixed with water, directly in the stainless frypot itself. You then turn up the heat, and boil the mixture for awhile. There will be directions on the product....You fryer brush is shaped like a small L so you can reach all around the tube area and in the drain area as well. By using the boil out product first, you will loosen up all that baked on crud and get rid of some of it, and keep in mind, that with commercial equipment and the crud that builds up.... You have to get the equipment warm before you can effectively clean it. A griddle must be turned o n to warm, a fryer also. Be sure when you are done, to rinse all the soap **** out of the ss pot. If not, you will ruin the next batch of oil that you use and with the price of that stuff, you don't want to take a chance on doing that. I also recommend a fryer additive from Miroil... It keeps you from ever dumping a whole vat of oil again. You can go online and look over the product information, and if you are interested, I can give you pricing, as it comes in a powder or a liquid. It keeps your product golden all week long, no golden brown at the lst of the week and darker product as the week goes on... You will have consistent golden brown product all week long, period... Miroil also recommends keeping your oil temp to 325 or below... Most people use 350 and it's too hot and ends up burning up the oil. That and the soap **** not getting rinsed out completely are what deteriates your oil and runis it. Those brushes are manufactured to take high heat without hurting them and they run $23.50 each. I also have straight brushes too. The miroil additive runs $29.95 a litre bottle, which will do 55 applications for a 50# fryer. (You use different amounts for different size fryers, and it makes a difference on how many days a week you are open and how many hours the fryers are on). A 3 pack runs $88.95. I also have the powder deep fat fryer cleaner, which comes in a 9 lb jug, for $11.95. I also carry Mr. Muscle individual liquid packets of deep fat fryer clean for $1.95 each. You just dump one in the fryer, along with your water and boil it, then rinse well.

I hope that's not too much overload... Somtimes I forget to stop and breath... If you have any other questions, please call us at 888-542-5959. We're in Cincinnati, Ohio, but ship everywhere. Our website is www.restaurantequipmentinc.com and email is [email protected]. Thanks, Susan

With the serial number, the manufacturer can help you...Call Pitco directly and ask them whatever you need to, with the serial number. Ask for parts/warranty dept. If you have any other issues, please call me at 888-542-5959, Susan @ Restaurant Equipment Outlet, Cincinnati, Ohio. Our website is www.restaurantequipmentinc.com

Either go to Pitco's website and look for cutsheets/parts info or call the company directly... They can walk you through it at no charge... Susan Restaurant Equipment Outlet, Cinc, OH
[email protected]

Hi there.
Check and tighten all wiring connections.
Check the hi limit for continuity across the terminals using an ohm meter, if it has no continuity, you have to replace the hi limit.
Regards.

Hi there.
The computer board of your fryer does not recognize a Temperature Probe connection.Try to check Temperature probe wiring if properly fitted on connector.
Regards.

Hi there.
You can download Pitco Fryer Manual at http://www.pitco.com
Regards.

Unless the fryer is running at 400 degrees or higher its that switch that is bad. That is a high limit and should not trip off unless the fryer gets close to the flash point of cooking oil which is in excess of 400 degrees for most oils. If I'm not mistaken the high limit is set to trip at 450. It's also a good idea to check the temperature of the oil when its working properly. It should run at 350 and its common to see the flames go off at about 360 and then come on again around 340 to maintain an average of 350. A bad high limit is a common problem.

Hi there.
You should inspect the fire tubes, it is a tunnel under the fry tank where the burner flames suppose to travel to heat up the oil. Your fire tubes may be clogged with soot or carbon that's why flames cannot go thru the fire tubes. Fire tubes must be free of soot or carbon deposits.
Soot build up on fire tubes can be prevented by keeping the gas pressure at standard as much as possible, low gas pressure produce yellow flame or poor flame quality and in turn will produce soot.
Also, make sure that no air or ventilation is directed towards the flue riser, otherwise, the same will result, flames rolling back towards the door.
Regards.

if its not the thermo couple, it may be the gas valve or the pilot jet needs cleaning

Use peanut, canola, or corn oil for deep frying. These hold up to the higher heat the best.

Oil needs to be changed every so often because the exposure to heat and then cooling causes it to start to break down. Smoking is one of the indications that it is time to change the oil.

If the oil is still light colored, doesn't have an odor, you may just need to filter it to clean out the food particles. I use coffee filters and a wire mesh strainer over a large bowl.

And if it is one of those units that just sets the temp to one thing for all uses, the thermostat might be not working well and heating the oil too hot. That is a fire hazard. To check, use a deep fry or candy thermometer. If the fryer is heating the oil much past 360-370, I'd be concerned. The flash point (fire) for many oils is just a bit over 400F. And oil that is too hot smokes first and then catches fire.
Also, check to make sure your element has now buildup on it.