Riesgo de liquidez

Frank Murphy of Gas Consumer Services, Inc. supplies these maintenance tips for specific types of equipment.

BROILERS AND CHARBROILERS

Most problems with broilers and charbroilers are the result of grease and food particles clogging the burners, pilots, and/ or shutters. These components need to be cleaned weekly and to be properly adjusted to restore optimum operation. A good way to prevent this buildup is to make sure that broiler grates are positioned to direct the excess grease flow for burn-off, or collect it in grease drawers. Clean the broiler grates at the end of each day, which is easy to do—just place the grates flat on the broiler and set the gas valve on “High” for 45 minutes. Then turn off the broiler and allow the grates to cool. Remove them from the broiler when they’ve cooled down, and clean them (both top and bottom surfaces) with a wire brush, damp cloth, and mild detergent.

The grate channels and burner radiants should be thoroughly cleaned as well. Brush the burner’s heat reflector to remove dust or debris, and clear all the burner portholes at least once a week.

FRYERS

A major maintenance problem for gas-fired fryers may be its location in the kitchen. It is essential that there are no restrictions for “new” air entering the burners or blower motor. If the airflow is restricted, the fryer sidewalls and internal control components will be abnormally high. This will cause the electrical controls to overheat, and soon the equipment’s performance will diminish.

To prevent this problem, make sure the gas connections to the fryer are tight. Be sure that enough fresh, make-up air is available. And clean the hood filters each day, checking again for airflow restrictions there. Another maintenance concern for fryers is slow temperature recovery, which is related to having a reliable and controllable heat source. A fryer that takes too long to recover its temperature when cold food items are dropped into the kettle is losing its capacity to conduct or radiate heat efficiently. In high-efficiency fryers, the burner seals may be leaking, the blower motor speed may be too low, or a broken temperature probe could be the problem. In tube-heated fryers, internal heat-baffle wear causes recovery problems. Your owner’s manual should offer some guidance in these situations.

CONVEYOR OVENS

The cooling fan exhaust grilles should be wiped clean on a daily basis. Check to see that the cooling fan is turning when the oven is operating. Remove the entire conveyor every month so you can clean the jet-air “fingers,” being careful to replace all components in their original positions. And every two or three months, clean the combustion motor’s blower air intake, which is usually located behind a closed panel.

RANGES

Most maintenance problems with gas-operated ranges happen because bits of food and greasy particles settle into the gas lines or ports, preventing a smooth flow of gas and air to the pilot lights and burners. To identify this condition, check the burner pilot lights and flames for clear, even combustion. Clean the burner grate surfaces every day using a wire brush, damp cloth, and mild detergent. Clean and adjust the range pilots monthly; they should sit level in their mounts and be situated so the pilot light flame can easily ignite the burner. Check the range burners at least once a month for heat flow. If foods are taking too long to cook, ask a factory-authorized service person to check the gas pressure and flue.

GRIDDLES

Every month, check the underside of the griddle to make sure grease is not running where it’s not supposed to go—such as into the air vent for the gas pressure regulator. If the vent is blocked, the griddle’s heating performance will become erratic. Each griddle section and its burner/orifice must be kept clean to maintain a consistent flame and heat correctly. Also be sure that the thermostat mechanism is securely in place.

Source: Reprinted with permission of Equipment Solutions magazine (Talcott Communications, Chicago, Illinois, September 2002).

To determine the amount of therms used, the company (Nicor) multiplies your use by the Btu factor. The Btu factor may vary from month to month, and is listed on the bill.

“Delivery Charges” are Nicor’s costs to operate and distribute gas to you. These charges make up about 15 to 20 percent of your gas bill over one year.

MONTHLY CUSTOMER CHARGE

This is a minimum charge for most customers and it is the same each month, even if you do not use natural gas that month. For (Nicor’s) “Rate 4” business customers, this charge is based on your meter size and potential maximum hourly use of natural gas, in cubic feet per hour (cfh). Most business customers are in the “less than 1,000 cfh” category. Customer charges are:

Less than 1,000 cfh: $20.37 1,000 cfh to 10,000 cfh: $59.82 More than 10,000 cfh: $105.56 THERM USAGE/DISTRIBUTION CHARGES

These charges cover (Nicor’s) fixed and variable operating and distribution costs. A por- tion of these charges carries from month to month, based on the amount of natural gas you use. There are price variations at certain levels of therm usage. Volumetric delivery charges are:

First 150 therms @ $0.1329 Next 4,850 therms @ $0.0682 More than 5,000 therms @ $0.0482 ENVIRONMENTAL RECOVERY COST

This charge covers our costs for the environmental monitoring and possible cleanup of former manufactured gas plants in our service territory. This charge changes periodically, and Nicor does not profit from these charges.

FRANCHISE COST

Covers our cost for municipal franchise agreements. Nicor does not profit from this charge.

GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY ADJUSTMENT

This adjustment covers governmental fees and added costs, excluding franchise costs. This cost changes periodically, and Nicor does not profit from this charge.

TAXES

Gas bills also include a number of taxes; in the case of Nicor customers, these taxes make up five to 10 percent of a customer’s total bill over one year. In Illinois, where Nicor Gas is located, there are three different types of state taxes on utilities, and two municipal taxes.

Saving Energy with Gas

There are many simple, practical ways to take full advantage of the instant heating power of gas. Choose equipment that is enclosed and insulated, keeping the energy within the appli- ance (or absorbed by the food). Cook at the lowest temperature, or in the largest volume, pos- sible. Especially for solid-top ranges, use flat-bottomed cookware that makes full contact with the cooking surface. Curves and dents in pots and pans end up wasting money. The bottoms of the cookware should be about one inch wider than the diameter of the burner.

Although there are occasions for “big” flames and kitchen showmanship, for most cook- ing duties, it is sufficient that the gas flame tips barely touch the bottoms of the cookware

ILLUSTRATION 6-7 _{A sample}

gas bill.

Courtesy of NICOR, Inc., Chicago, Illinois.

and do not lap up over the sides. Burners should be adjusted accordingly. Don’t keep pots at a boil when simmering them would be sufficient, and cover them to hold in heat.

A common tendency is to turn equipment on early to let it “heat up.” Again, this is a waste of fuel and time. For open-top ranges, preheating is simply not necessary; for griddles, low or medium flames are sufficient for just about any kind of frying. Broilers don’t require much, if any, preheating; gas ovens, solid-top ranges, and steamers can be preheated, but no more than 10 minutes.

Energy saving is another good reason many ranges and griddles are built as adjoining, temperature-controlled, multiple-burner sections. During slow times, learn to group food items on the least possible number of sections, which eliminates the need to keep the entire cooking surface hot.

Regular cleaning and maintenance of the appliances are two important keys to wise use of natural gas, but there are also energy-saving innovations in the works. One is a concept called heat transfer fluids (HTF). The idea is to power several pieces of equipment with a single burner, using a series of pipes and a heated fluid that runs through the pipes to differ- ent appliances. (The heated fluid can’t be water, because its pressure would become too high and create steam.) The fluid may also be run through a heat exchanger, if necessary, to boost its temperature along the way.

A major hotel chain testing an early HTF system uses the same heating fluid to do such disparate tasks as drying laundry and frying chicken. At this writing, researchers are looking for a completely nontoxic fluid, because a leak or accident might release some of it into the food. On the drawing boards, however, is an entire integrated HTF kitchen, all heated by a single, closed loop of hot fluid and piping.