Commercial Gas Ranges

5 Essential Considerations Before Selecting a Commercial Gas Range

Commercial gas ranges—a fusion of a base unit and a cooktop with various configurations—are robust pieces of equipment featuring countless capabilities. They can incorporate standard elements or specialized components, and many different cooking equipment types. Understanding what you're seeking in a commercial gas range is vital to ensure you select the appropriate unit. In this guide, we'll explore the top five things you should understand before purchasing a commercial gas range.

What Cooktop Configuration Do I Require?

Commercial gas cooktops can feature numerous different configurations, including burners, griddles, charbroilers, salamander units, cheese melting stations, and hot surfaces. The cooking surface on a range features different heating zones and multiple heating methods can be utilized, such as gas, electric, and induction cooking.

Burners

Burners are regulated heat sources that can be utilized to boil, fry, sauté, simmer, and much more. Gas burners are the most widely used burner type, and they can be opened or sealed. Flames emerge from the burner head, which is surrounded by a burner cap. Generally, the burner cap is protected by a grate.

Charbroilers

Charbroilers—also known as chargrills—are comprised of a series of burners with grates positioned on top, delivering intense, direct heat. Charbroilers are perfect for grilling foods such as meats, seafood, and vegetables, creating appealing grill marks on food. They're excellent at charring and searing foods.

Griddles

Griddles can come equipped with a flat or grooved surface that's made of cast iron, stainless steel, chrome-plated steel, or aluminum. Food is positioned and cooked directly on the griddle—no pots or pans are required. Griddles can cook various foods, such as burgers, pancakes, eggs, hash browns, and much more.

Salamander Broilers

Salamanders are positioned in the space above a range, conserving space. They're extremely versatile and can cook nearly anything by delivering high heat, which comes from a gas heat source. Salamander broilers can be used to broil steaks and finish products by creating a crispy crust.

Cheese Melting Stations

Like salamanders, cheese melting stations are used to finish products. However, unlike salamanders, cheese melters aren't designed to cook products. In addition to melting cheese, these units can be used to toast bread, brown casseroles, and reheat pizza slices.

Hot Tops

Designed with a flat cooktop, commercial range hot tops look similar to griddles. Unlike griddles, however, hot tops are made to cook with pots and pans. A hot top's surface typically features a heated gradient pattern, which gets hotter as you move towards the center.

Pro Tip: When selecting your rangetop configuration, consider the types of dishes you'll be preparing most frequently and choose components that will maximize your kitchen's efficiency.

What Type of Base Do I Need?

In addition to different cooktop configurations, commercial gas ranges can be outfitted with different types of bases. Bases can include ovens, cabinets, legs, and more. Commercial gas ranges with oven bases can be equipped with standard, convection, or space saver ovens.

Standard Oven

Bases with standard ovens—also called conventional ovens—are what most people think about when they hear the word "oven." They heat food using two different heating functions. The oven bakes food by heating from the bottom and broils using heat from the top of the oven's cavity.

Convection Oven

Using a fan built inside the oven cavity, convection ovens bake food by circulating heated air around the product, enabling food to cook quicker and more evenly. These ovens can be paired with other configurations, such as another convection oven, standard ovens, and cabinets.

Space Saver Oven

A narrower model of a standard oven, space saver ovens are ideal for use in kitchens with limited space. These ovens are perfect if you want to bake smaller quantities of products. Their downside is that you can't fit full-size pans inside them.

Cabinet or Storage

Storage bases provide space for storing cookware and other items. These types of bases would be ideal for a restaurant that already has a stand-alone oven.

Do You Need a Heavy-Duty or Restaurant Range?

Heavy-duty commercial ranges are designed for high-volume cooking power and withstand heavy use. These units are recommended for businesses with more than 150 seats, such as cafeterias, hospitals, and correctional facilities. Ranges such as these can be battered, meaning they're connected and share a common gas source. This enables the cooking surface of one commercial gas range to touch another. If you have a high food volume scenario, a heavy-duty range would be the better option.

Restaurant gas ranges are typically found in low-volume restaurants with less than 150 seats, such as cafes, food stands, and fine dining establishments. Restaurant ranges are cheaper than heavy-duty ranges and should be purchased for businesses that infrequently operate the range.

Will My Range Run on LP or Natural Gas?

There are two different types of gas your commercial gas range can run on—LP and natural gas. The type of gas on which your commercial gas range runs depends on what gas is available in your area. A municipality or cooperative typically provides natural gas, which is lighter than air and disperses more quickly than propane. If you have the proper hook-up to use it, LP—or liquid propane—also comes through a pipeline; however, the pipeline is connected to a tank. This tank must be refilled once it's empty.

How Will I Ventilate My Commercial Gas Range?

To remove excess heat and vapors carrying grease, as well as protect indoor air quality, commercial gas ranges must have ventilation. How you vent your range depends on local building code requirements, fire safety requirements, and the setup of your restaurant. Hoods can be vented or ventless. Vented hoods remove grease-laden vapors, fumes, and smoke through ducts that lead to the outside of the building. Ventless hoods use filters that trap and pull unwanted elements into the kitchen. Some regulations don't support ventless hoods in some kitchens or appliances, so check with the laws in your state before deciding to go with a ventless hood.

Make the Right Choice

Choosing the right commercial gas range involves careful consideration of your cooking needs, space requirements, volume expectations, and local regulations. By understanding these five key factors, you'll be well-equipped to select a range that will serve your operation efficiently for years to come.

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