Commercial Kitchen Equipment FAQ for Local Restaurants, Bakeries & Grocers
If you run a busy kitchen or grocery store around New Orleans, the Northshore, or Coastal Mississippi, you already know one thing: equipment never seems to act up at a convenient time. We get a lot of the same questions from chefs, bakers, deli managers, and independent owners in the area — so we put together a simple FAQ to help answer the things people ask us most.
These aren’t textbook answers. They’re real explanations based on what we see every week in the field.
FAQ: Common Equipment Questions We Get From Local Businesses
1. “Why is my oven taking forever to heat up?”
Most of the time, it’s not your imagination.
If your oven is slow to reach temp — or keeps dropping below your desired setpoint — something is usually starting to fail. Worn or damaged door gaskets, burned wiring, clogged burner orifices, or aging thermostats are all common.
We see this a lot in older ovens around New Orleans and Slidell that run hard, all day, every day. If you’re compensating for it, you’re probably wasting time and gas.
2. “My fryer keeps tripping the high limit — what’s going on?”
This is one of the top calls we get from restaurants on the Northshore.
A fryer that constantly shuts off is usually telling you something:
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Low gas pressure
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The high-limit thermostat is failing
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Weak thermocouple
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Poor cleaning habits
If you have to babysit the fryer, it’s time for a service call.
3. “My mixer suddenly sounds louder than usual. Should I be worried?”
Short answer: yes — at least a little.
When a Hobart, Escher, or Globe mixer gets louder, it’s almost always bearings/gears wearing down or belts at the end of their service life. Once the noise starts, it rarely gets better on its own. The prudent operators call us when the noise is first noticed. Waiting for the transmission to seize, on the other hand… that’s a very bad (and very expensive) morning.
4. “My steamer keeps shutting off . Why?”
Steamers can be one of the most used pieces of equipment in the kitchen. When they start shutting down early, it often points to:
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Excessive scale build-up
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Worn out door gaskets
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Dirty water level probes
The hardness of the water in our area can wreak havoc on steamers. A little regular maintenance goes a really long way.
5. “How often should I service my equipment?”
There’s no perfect schedule for everyone, but here’s what works best for most of our customers:
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Ovens & ranges: Once a year
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Mixers: Twice a year
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Fryers: As needed
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Rack ovens & proofers: Annually
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Steamers: Quarterly at a minimum
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DIGI retail scale systems: Annual calibration or as required
If your equipment runs long hours (many New Orleans and Gulf Coast kitchens do), a bit more frequent service saves money in the long run.
6. “Do you work on grocery store scales and wrappers?”
Yes — that’s actually one of the things we’re known for.
We’re the DIGI dealer for our region, and we handle:
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Deli and Produce scales
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Meat & Seafood department scales
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Bakery labelers and printers
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Automatic wrappers and hand sealers
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Calibration and Weights & Measures compliance
If it weighs, wraps, or labels in a grocery store, we have a solution.
7. “What areas do you cover?”
Most of our weekly routes include:
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Slidell, Mandeville, Covington
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Picayune, Waveland, Bay St. Louis
If you’re somewhere in Southeast Louisiana or Coastal Mississippi and you see our trucks around, we likely service a business near you.
8. “How do I know when to repair something vs. replace it?”
Listen, we don’t sell new kitchen equipment (we do offer scales and wrappers) so there is no incentive for us to condemn a unit.
We look at a few things:
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Age and condition of the unit
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Service history; how often does it break
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Parts availability and price
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Whether the repair cost makes good business sense
Most of the time, repairing is still the better value — especially for ovens, mixers, and proofers. But if something is near the end of its life, we’ll tell you straight.
The health of your business is the health of ours as well.
9. “Do you offer emergency service?”
Yes.
That said, everybody deserves some time off. We are closed five days out of the entire year. Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day,
Have a question not on this list?
Whether you’re running a mom-and-pop restaurant, an artisan bakery, or a local grocery store, we’re always happy to help troubleshoot or point you in the right direction.
📞 833-916-1508
🌐 gcequipcare.com
