Food steamers are an important piece of equipment in a commercial kitchen. If your commercial food steam has stopped working, various things can trigger it. You should get help from a commercial appliances repair service or try to fix it by taking a lot at why your commercial food steamer is not working.
Causes Of A Commercial Food Steamer Not Working
The Steamer Is Not Receiving Power
Before you consider your food steamer faulty, you should check the power-related elements first. Many times, a commercial food steamer is not working only because the power cord is not plugged on or the power cord is loose or damaged. Check the below elements:
Power Cord
Check the power cord of the steamer and look for damage, cracks, bents, or worn insulation. If there are damages, replace the power cord, and check it with another power outlet.
Power Outlet
After inspecting the power cord, check the power outlet. You should plug in the power cord of the steam to another power outlet. If the steamer turns on, the cause was the faulty power outlet.
Breaker
A breaker is turned off due to a power surge or any other reason. Check the circuit breaker, find the breaker that flows power to the area where the steamer is located, and make sure it’s at the ON position.
Blown Fuse Of The Food Steamer
If your steamer is not turning on, you have checked the power sources, and made sure they are fine, the next thing you should inspect is the fuse of the steamer.
A common cause of a commercial food steamer’s no power issue is a blown fuse of the steamer. You need the services of a food steamer expert to check for a blown fuse of the steam which is typically located at the back of the appliance.
Steamer Tripping The Breaker
There are some signs that can show you that your commercial steamer is tripping the circuit breaker and that’s why it’s not turning on.
If you turn on your steamer and the power goes off instantly or after a few seconds/minutes, it’s probably the steamer tripping the breaker. Another sign that your commercial steamer is tripping the circuit breaker is that power goes out of the area where the steamer is located when you turn on the steamer.
When any appliance is tripping the circuit breaker, you can’t fix it by turning the breaker back on because the appliance will trip it again.
You should fix the issue that usually causes this problem.
Overloaded Circuit
A common cause of a food steamer or any other appliance tripping the circuit breaker is an overloaded circuit.
An overloaded circuit has less to do with your food steamer. If the breaker panel installed for that section of the building is too small for the electrical load it’s getting or the building doesn’t have enough separate circuit breakers for high-power appliances, then circuit overloads are likely to occur.
To check if the overloading circuit is the cause of your food steamer tripping the breaker, carry out a test. Unplug all the electrical appliances of the section that’s breaker is being tripped. After unplugging all the appliances, turn on your commercial food steamer. If it works without switching off or tripping the breaker, the issue is a circuit breaker that is too small or not enough breakers for various parts of the building.
Be sure to avoid turning on all the appliances on the breaker again. You will need the services of an electrician to check the breaker panel and install more circuits, upgrade the electrical system of the building, or fix the problem in any other way they suggest.
Overheating Commercial Food Steamer
If your food steamer is overheating, the breaker may detect it and cut power to the appliance by tripping itself. There are many causes of a commercial food steamer overheating.
Make sure that you’re not overpacking the steamer with food items and not using it non-stop for the entire day. However, the cause of the issue can be the malfunctioning of one or multiple components of the steamer.
Therefore, you must call in a commercial kitchen appliance repair technician Alexandria who can inspect your commercial steamer and find out the cause of the issue.
Electrical Short
An electrical short can occur inside the food steamer, the outlet, or the switch. If any of these parts malfunction, they can cause an electrical short which leads to your food steamer tripping the circuit breaker.
The causes of an electrical short can be hot and neutral wires touching, damaged or severed wires, and faulty or loose parts of the appliance.
If you suspect an electrical short to be the cause of your food steamer tripping the breaker, get it inspected by an appliance expert.
Ground Fault
A ground fault can stop your food steamer from working and trip the breaker. In a ground fault, a hot wire touches a ground wire or a grounded part of an appliance or switch box. The cause of a ground fault can be damaged wiring, a water leak, or a malfunctioning appliance.
A ground fault means that water and electricity are in contact somewhere. So, you should consult an electrician.
If you can’t figure out why your commercial food steamer is tripping the circuit breaker, you can leave it to an appliance repair technician to find out the cause.
Defective Internal Components Of The Food Steamer
Any appliance won’t switch on even if one of its essential components fails. The same is with a commercial food steamer. If an essential component is faulty or failing, the appliance might not turn on. Some components can stop the functioning of a commercial food steamer like high-limit control, lower water probe, water level control, and others. So, an expert can check and determine the problematic component.
Food Steamer Door Issues
If the door of a commercial food steamer is not closed properly, the steamer may not begin to steam. An improperly closed door can be due to:
Human Error
A staff member didn’t close the food steamer door properly. In this case, you should open the door and close it again. Then, check if the food steamer turns on and steams.
Obstructions
There may be a rack or food items keeping the door from shutting properly. Remove all the items and racks and put the racks again in the appliance carefully. Then, try to close the door. If it shuts properly, carry on with putting food inside it for steaming. If it doesn’t shut, it may have worn seal or gasket.
Worn Seal
The door of a commercial food steamer has a seal that makes the steaming part airtight for effective food steaming. Over time, the seal is damaged or worn and the door doesn’t shut properly due to that.
Sometimes, there is grease and dirt stuck on the seal, so you should also clean the seals as well when cleaning the food steamer.
In some commercial food steamers, you can adjust the door pin, so check the user manual to see if you can.
Clogged Drain Or Vent
A clogged drain or vent can lead to door issues as well. Ensure that the drain lines are clean and avoid attaching multiple appliances to the same drain line.
Conclusion
Many problems can trigger a commercial food steamer to stop working. So, for a speedy fix of any problem, you should consult a commercial steamer repair Northern VA service.
