If there is one thing independent restaurant operators can agree on, it’s that working smarter is always a good idea. Knowing how to troubleshoot common equipment issues that may occur in your kitchen empowers you to diagnose many issues and perform simple repairs in-house to save time and money. It also allows you to make better-informed decisions about when to choose in-person service calls and how best to describe your problems to technicians, so you can get back to business faster.
According to our Hobart Service technicians, here are some symptoms and possible causes for common equipment issues to help you troubleshoot problems in your kitchen. As always, please feel free to reach out for help finding answers to your kitchen equipment questions.
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Dishwashers – Door-Type & Undercounter
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SYMPTOM
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POSSIBLE CAUSE
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Dishes not clean.
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- Insufficient wash water due to drain obstruction preventing proper drain closing.
- Worn or torn drain O-ring allowing wash water to drain.
- Loss of water pressure due to pump obstruction.
- Incorrect water temperature. Contact Service for adjustment or repair.
- Incorrect detergent dispensing. Contact your detergent representative.
- Excessive mineral deposits throughout wash and rinse system. Deliming may be necessary.
- Check wash and rinse arms to make sure they rotate properly.
- Strainers clogged causing inadequate water supply to pump.
- Obstruction in wash arms or wash arms will not turn.
- Detergent dispenser may be clogged.
- Excessive soil quantity; scrape dishes before cycle.
- Improper rack loading.
- Incoming water supply turned off.
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Machine won’t power on.
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- Machine off, turn machine on.
- Blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker at power supply.
- Check tank water level.
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Spotting silverware, glasses and dishes.
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- Improperly loaded racks.
- Incorrect rinse water temperature or rinse pressure.
- Loss of water pressure due to pump obstruction. Check for any obstruction at the pump intake.
- Excessively hard water.
- Incorrect detergent for water type.
- Incorrect rinse additive for water type.
- Incorrect concentration of detergent, rinse additive and/or sanitizer.
- Excessive soil quantity; scrape dishes before cycle.
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Door-Type Only
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Low temperature readings.
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- Low water supply temperature - make sure it meets the recommended minimum temperature.
- Rapid cycle use - if incoming water temperature is low and cycle use rate is high, the hot water supply may be insufficient to meet the demand.
- Heavy ware load cools wash water - do not overload racks.
- Booster heater or sump heater set low - contact your local Hobart Service Office.
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Undercounter Only
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No wash tank heat.
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- The machine is equipped with a low water safety device which shuts off heat if the water level drops. Check for proper water level. If the water level is too low, the overflow tube might be out of position. Or, something may be inhibiting free movement of the low water float; remove any foreign object from around the low water float or its magnet.
- Gas line closed.
- Blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker at power supply. If a failure occurs due to the
- gas heat control board or gas pressure, contact Hobart Service.
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SYMPTOM
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POSSIBLE CAUSE
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Low/Poor quality output.
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- Wrong cutting plates used.
- Plates need sharpened.
- Excessive feeding pressure.
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Machine won't start.
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- Fuse or circuit breaker interrupting power.
- Feed hopper/bowl/bowl cover not in correct place.
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FP stops and will not restart.
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- Pusher plate is raised.
- GFCI/Circuit breaker tripped.
- Overheated Motor.
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Cutting tool locked to shaft.
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- Build-up between cutting tool and dicing grid or potato chip grid.
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SYMPTOM
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POSSIBLE CAUSE
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Mixer won't start.
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- Flashing error code.
- Fuse or circuit breaker interrupting power.
- Mixer overloaded.
- Bowl guard not in closed position, bowl not in "in and up" position.
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Mixer lacks power.
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- Batch size too large.
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Agitator touches bowl.
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- Bowl not in closed position.
- Improper bowl-to-beater clearance.
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Not mixing product in bottom of bowl.
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- Improper bowl-to-beater clearance.
- Batch recipe incorrect.
- Incorrect agitator.
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Planetary seal squeaks.
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- Seal needs lubricated.
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