Common Commercial Oven Issues, Part 1
At Stratton Sales, we’re proud to be your go-to experts when it comes to repair for commercial bakery equipment. No matter what your issue is, large or small, we can assess the problem and help you find the most cost-effective solution.
There are a few different issues that might present themselves when speaking specifically about your commercial oven, and we can address all of them for you. In this two-part blog, we’ll go over a few of the most common such issues and what might need to be done about them – in part one here, we’ll discuss one specific issue: An oven that won’t heat up. There are several distinct sub-causes here that you should be aware of. Let’s take a look.
Defective Heating Elements
Commercial ovens use multiple heating elements to create the required temperature for baking, and the most common reason they struggle to heat up properly is that one or more of these elements isn’t working the right way. First check to ensure that your oven is set to the proper setting, then look to see if all your heating elements are glowing red – this is a telltale sign that they are working.
If one or more elements isn’t working, it may need to be replaced. In other cases, electrical issues in the wiring may be causing this element to be faulty, and you might just need to have a few things tweaked.
Igniter Issues
In other cases, the bake ignitor might be the reason your oven isn’t heating up. This is a more common issue when the oven simply won’t heat at all, rather than only heating partially.
If you think this is your issue, first shut off the gas to your oven and pull it away from the wall. Find the ignitor, which is located on the back of the oven. You will then need to use an item called a multimeter to detect whether the ignitor has power – our pros can help with this if you’re unsure how.
Sensor or Bulb Problems
Most modern ovens have sensors that monitor and control temperatures, but these can go out and not display correctly. Other ovens without sensors, though, use a temperature-sensing bulb to control temperature – but again, this can go out or become loose.
Thermostat and Calibration
If you’ve tried all of the above with no success, consider your thermostat and selector switches. The former might be defective or just sticking, while the latter might be defective and stopping you from switching between various cooking settings.
Furthermore, your oven may need to be calibrated. This is done using a dial on the back of your temperature knob, or sometimes at the bottom of the small shaft. For more on what the causes of your oven not heating might be, or to learn about any of our commercial ovens or other baking equipment, speak to the pros at Stratton Sales today.
