In electric equipment, the heat is generated through a heating element. Wires inside the heating element accept the incoming electric current. It might be microchrome wire (round, or flat “ribbon”-style wire), fiberglass-coated, or mica-coated. Fiberglass withstands temperatures as much as 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and a lot more expensive mica-coated wire withstands up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. Heating elements are also categorized by their watt density, or number of watts that they can produce per square inch. The higher the watt density, the greater the appliance’s ability to provide uniform heating.
If a piece of equipment doesn’t have a easy on-off switch, it has a thermostat to control the heat. A thermostat also turns the equipment on and off, allowing it to heat to some desired temperature and then cycle on and off to hold that temperature for as lengthy as needed. The cycle is often controlled by magnetic force. Magnets within the thermostat serve as contacts, keeping the power connected until the correct temperature is reached; then a bimetal control causes the magnets to snap open.
This releases the energy connection and the heat stops-until it cools down sufficient to cool the bimetal, which causes the magnets to snap shut and complete the energy connection, and the cycle begins again. Solid state controls-which use microprocessors to turn gear on and off rather than moving parts or heated filaments-are now obtainable in numerous types of kitchen area equipment.
Kitchen appliances ought to also be equipped with their own set of cords, which can be easily disconnected for cleaning and servicing. Neoprene cords are popular, because neoprene is really a tough but flexible substance that can withstand both water and grease. Nevertheless, neoprene will soften under conditions of extreme heat. Rubber-coated cords are not suggested, simply because they soften and deteriorate under grease and heat.
These days, numerous heavy-duty commercial cooking appliances could be ordered (at additional cost) for direct hookup to some 460-volt system. Nevertheless, 460-volt equipment doesn’t contain internal fuses or circuit breakers to isolate trouble. A malfunction in any component from the gear will cause the whole thing to shut down completely until the issue is located and repaired. When new equipment arrives in your kitchen, often read the nameplate one a lot more time prior to connecting it.
Should you don’t follow the electrical requirements, you will notice problems. If the operating voltage is lower than it is supposed to be, the appliance will heat more slowly or not heat fully, no matter how lengthy it is left on. For instance, a 12-kilowatt fryer connected to some 208-volt energy supply will be 25 percent less efficient and take longer to preheat. If the operating voltage is greater than recommended, the appliance will become hotter, heat quicker, and perhaps burn out the elements a lot more quickly than it ought to.
The same 12-kilowatt fryer, when wired to some 240-volt power outlet, will heat faster, but this will shorten the useful life of the appliance simply because all its parts are working harder than they were designed to work. Should you know some of the energy-related information for a particular appliance, but not all of it, remember there are formulas that can be utilized to calculate whatever you need to know. If an appliance is rated in kilowatt hours (kW), for instance, you can convert this rating to watts (W) and figure out how numerous amps (I) it will require.
Let’s try it. Let’s say we have a single-phase 13.2 kW appliance. It’s rated at 208 volts, but we need to know how many amps of electricity it will require. First, we have to convert the kilowatts to watts. This is really a standard calculation, because we know that 1 kilowatt equals 1000 watts: 13.2 kW x 1000 = 13,200 watts. Then we use the formula we learned earlier to convert watts into amps: I = W: E.
For this appliance, that means: Amps = Watts: Volts or Amps = 13,200: 208 = 63.5.
This appliance requires 63.5 amps of electricity. The Electric Food Service Council has calculated the power requirements of several different types of appliances: for example, a single gas pilot light (a necessary
component of each cooking device approved by the American Gas Association) consumes about 750 Btu of gas per hour. Multiply that by 24 hours a day, and that’s 18,000 Btu per day, or 18 cubic feet.
(Gas is purchased in cubic feet.) If a cubic foot costs five cents, this equals 90 cents per day. The kitchen that includes a dozen gas appliances will spend almost $4000 a year just to keep the pilot lights on.