5 Warning Signs to Replace Your Commercial Kitchen Equipment

Having commercial kitchen equipment is indeed a significant investment. That is why when it starts failing and breaking down, stretching out its life through repair is rather tempting compared to purchasing a new one. While repair is a perfectly acceptable fix, knowing when to replace your equipment is important to ensure you don’t end up with bigger and recurring expenses in the long run.

Check out the five telltale signs that it’s time to upgrade your existing commercial kitchen equipment.

Your Equipment’s Performance Is Deteriorating

Continued use of damaged kitchen equipment is highly not recommended. It can cause you to experience inconsistent cooking temperatures, risking serving undercooked or overcooked meals. Bottomline is older machines may not sustain the daily demands of your business.

Aside from its decreasing performance, it can change the quality of food you serve—even causing it to go off way before their expiration dates. When this happens, not only do you need to deal with constant service interference and food waste, but you are also at risk of losing customers.

You Experience Accidents and Safety Risks

Old faulty ovens, leaky commercial stoves, and other outdated kitchen equipment increase the likelihood of electrical challenges, fires, and gas leaks. Plus, your employees may face threats ranging from minor burns, cuts, and electrical shocks to food poisoning and other serious injuries.

Preserving old equipment instead of replacing it can bring immeasurable hazards to your restaurant, impacting your reputation, insurance, and profit.

You Pay Higher Maintenance and Repair Costs

The need to constantly repair your equipment is the most obvious indicator that it’s in dire need of replacement. While occasional maintenance and repair calls are unavoidable, when they become alarmingly frequent, your equipment could be too worn out for repair. At first, repair might feel like a cheaper option than replacement, but when you add up these costs, your total spending on a worn-out machine might surprise you.

In comparison, replacing faulty equipment may be far more practical and cost-efficient. More importantly, investing in new commercial kitchen equipment comes with a warranty, limiting the need for additional spend on repairs.

You Have Unreasonably High Utility Bills

Did you know that continued use of old machines can cause your utility bills to increase? As your kitchen equipment depreciates, it consumes almost twice the energy it used to because of the excessive heat they tend to use up to function.

It is a restaurant or foodservice owner’s goal to bring in more money with less spending, so keeping old equipment is more counterproductive than inexpensive.

You Can’t Find Spare Parts

It’s quite common for old kitchen equipment models to lack replacement parts. Since sourcing old and outdated spare parts requires more time and effort, it only prolongs your machine’s downtime, directly affecting your restaurant’s performance.

By having upgraded kitchen equipment, you won’t have these problems because their spare parts are easier to find when needed.

Conclusion

Does your old kitchen equipment check all the signs listed above and is failing beyond repair? Then it is time to consider replacing and upgrading them to newer and superior kitchen appliances.

Middleby has a wide range of commercial kitchen equipment to support your growing restaurants’ needs. Check out your options here.