Commercial appliances in household settings

[fan-of-fans]

Have you ever seen commercial appliances installed in a household setting?

I have seen pictures once of a newer house that had an island kitchen and it had a Kenmore Pro gas cooktop IIRC but next to it there was a fairly big Wells electric griddle built in.

I recall seeing pictures of Paula Deen's tv kitchen and she had a Wells fryer in it.

I had an old kitchen remodeling magazine from the 80s and it had some kitchens with Montague gas cooktops I think three burners each that looked commercial.

The only person I know with commercial equipment at home is I have an uncle with a big Hoshizuki ice machine at their beach house. It makes lots of ice.

 

[launderess]

Just because an appliance has the word "Professional&#34

Slapped on it does not follow it is truly commercial. This can be good or bad, depending upon the appliance in question and or several other factors.

Here in NYC throughout the 1990's or so there was this huge interest in commercial kitchen appliances. Ranges, burners, refrigerators, etc....

Well true commercial ranges need larger gas lines than standard residential IIRC. So that was another cost. They also give off large amounts of heat so fire code demands certain protections before installing. Also using one with all that heat isn't exactly pleasant. Unless one can install a fan/venting system that goes directly outdoors (as in restaurants) where is all that heat and smoke going to go?

Commercial fridges are loud and often not very practical for most residential settings.

Needless to say many spent huge fortunes on their "commercial" kitchens and like Edina Margaret Rose Sassoon of AbFab only ever light their cigarettes off the things and otherwise rarely cooked/baked.

AGA ranges were another fad, until people realized just why the things are popular in northern Europe; they give off tremendous amounts of heat 24/7. Great if you are living on the moors, not so much in NYC for most of the year.

 

[circlew]

My friend Brenda had a Garland commercial gas range in her kitchen, along with a large hood with fire extinguishing system. She doesn't live there anymore, and I don't know what she has now.

Some cousins in Mississippi had a soda fountain at their house, and a Hotpoint griddle and also fryer.

 

[superocd]

I dream of a commercial kitchen at home

...with a Vulcan Snorkel gas convection oven (pre-1980s), Koch 3-door fridge (or 6-door "split", 1970s), McCall 3-door fridge (or 6-door "split, 1970s-1990s), a Vulcan or Montague gas range (1970s-1980s) and a Hobart C-line dishwasher (1970s).

...and a huge range hood under the cooking equipment with a huge as heck exhaust fan. The kind that makes your hair fly up towards the suction. I will no longer fear cooking something that gives off odor like I do with my weaksauce Whirlpool OTR microhood.

How could we have a discussion about commercial appliances without bringing up the laundry room? I'd love to have a brand new 50-75 lb. Huebsch dryer and a UniMac washer-extractor. I'd also love to have all kinds of older stuff from Huebsch, Hoyt, Wascomat, Cissell and Cook Aldwash/Aldry.

Of course this is in my dreams. I must get back down to reality.

 

[gredmondson]

I installed a commercial exhaust fan, but kept the Nutone stainless steel 48" hood in a house I no longer have. That fan was so strong that it acted like a whole house fan--the curtains would blow in the room in the bedrooms when I turned that fan on. The motor was on the roof, and I thought that would make it quiet, but there was still quite a "swoosh" noise when it was on. It was so effective that I could fry two pounds of bacon, and no one in the kitchen could smell the bacon. The whole experience really taught me how important a strong exhaust fan is in the kitchen.

 

[tolivac]

I would think for some of these giant washers,exhaust blowers,etc you would have to have a 3 ph supply to run them.These things are just TOO big for me.At most I have some commercial blenders.Commercial Vita-Mix and Blendtec-don't need three phase power to use them-Vita-Mix Max Performance,and Blendtec "Titan" blender-also a Vita-Mix "XL" 1.5 gal blender-NEVER have mixed 1.5 gal in it-but its fun to use nonetheless-it also has a smaller half gal jar-use that the most!Same with restaurant size ranges-again just too much overkill for me-also your floors have to be reinforced to hold them safely as well as the heat problems-hence the huge exhaust blowers!

 

[volvoguy87]

Exhaust.

I'm renovating my kitchen right now, but I'm using residential-grade vintage appliances. One thing I did, however, was to get a 1950s NuTone hood with a seized fan motor. I completely removed the fan and motor, but am keeping the grease filter. I installed an external fan, so the motor and blower are outside my house, not in front of my face! The whole exhaust line is under suction, so I added a second intake near the ceiling (with another grease filter). It's not too loud, it's all residential-grade equipment, and it moves one heck of a lot of air! It won't make my bedroom curtains blow, but it should keep the kitchen tolerable.

The smell of frying bacon is one of the greatest smells in the world at 9:00 on a Saturday morning. By 4:30 in the afternoon, however, the smell has gotten old. My hope is that with a powerful exhaust fan, and the second intake near the ceiling, the exhaust system can remove the normal cooking odors, huumidity, and heat coming off the stove, but also that which gathers near the ceiling and can make the whole room unpleasant.

Perhaps I'm a bit nuts.
Dave

 

[superocd]

I feel that bacon is one of the WORST smells

...to have in my home. Bacon is good on a Saturday or Sunday morning, but I cook it outside. I cherish my electric skillet and gas grill for allowing me to move the mess and odor out of my house. My stovetop cooking is limited to soups and boiled items. I still run my OTR microhood on max any time I use the range top or oven (which is not exactly powerful -- none of them seem to be. The exhaust outlets on OTR hoods are comically tiny and the airpath from the filters to the exhaust is complex).

I cook a lot of other things outside, anything that requires frying and/or puts off a noticeable, lingering odor.

Since I have severe OCD, completely "normal" things disturb me. The thought of oil droplets not only depositing themselves over the vicinity of the cooking area but throughout the entire house and in my HVAC system bothers me.

There's more tidbits about the extent of my OCD. I have never owned a car without leather seats, because cloth seats cannot be "wiped". I will not sit down at the doctor's office, I will stand and touch nothing, even if the wait exceeds an hour. The typical tossing mail and household objects (car keys, handbags, phones, etc) on the kitchen table or kitchen counter--things normal individuals and families do--is a big no-no in my eyes.

My occupation isn't exactly clean: I'm an HVACR tech. I don't get super dirty (like road crews do) but I am always crawling in dusty areas and I can get a little oily. It doesn't bother me because I am at work. Fortunately, I normally do commercial calls which are somewhat cleaner (restaurants being the exception) but the residential calls I get aren't usually too bad (like running into a hoarder's house). Regardless, I take my service van home so that way I don't muck up my car and my clothes go straight into the washer.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

The closest I had probably ever seen was a Whirlpool coin-operated dryer... (With the coin-operation disabled, except to still push it to start...)

 

 

-- Dave

 

[dsimonl]

Not a major appliance, but I have a commercial Panasonic microwave in my kitchen. LOVE it. All stainless (in and out), no turntable, 1-touch buttons, and designed for a duty-cycle of 50 uses/day. The only disadvantage - expensive, and....NO warranty if used in a non-commercial kitchen

 

[gyrafoam]

My folks also had a Garland Gas Range. There was also a KAid chopping machine they called a "buffalo chopper". It weighed like a ship's anchor.

 

[superocd]

that's odd that there would be no warranty...

...on a commercial item used in a residential setting, where it will almost always see less use, abuse, wear and tear. Usually its the other way around, if a domestic product is used in a commercial setting, there is either a restriction on the warranty or there is no warranty at all.

That Panasonic commercial unit should outlast 2-3 domestic units. I don't see why there would be no warranty for residential use.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Was thinking the insurance company would not be happy if they found out commercial appliances were installed. Don't know how the Wells griddle installation passed code, especially as it was in contact with counter top and no fire extinguishing system.

As for exhaust fans - I do recall seeing a few houses with the units installed on the roof. Assuming either the kitchen or patio had a large hood installed.

My kitchen had a recirculating hood. It just blew grease across the room. Prefer a hood vented outside, but I don't do much frying in the house. Agree the smell starts to get old after a few hours.

I do have some commercial steam pans in the kitchen half size and full size and covers. Sometimes I use the half size ones when cooking in bulk. Never have used the full size one, never make enough food to need it. Maybe if I was cooking for a party.

I would like to get one of the commercial warmers to put the pans in however. Otherwise don't need any commercial equipment.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Was watching a show on TV where couples were looking at homes to buy in the Louisiana Bayou and thought of this thread.

One home had a second kitchen. It had a gas floor model fryer and a six burner gas range with oven below. I didn't see close enough what type of hood it had. Weird thing it seemed the range was installed right next to the cabinets, can't imagine it would be safe, unless there was actually a space next to it.

Another house had a Jenn Air downdraft cooktop and it was a really big one. Not the type you usually see with double cartridge inserts, this one had three cartridge inserts! I think the fan intake was between two and between the other two it looked like a narrow wooden cutting board top. I think I recall reading that below that was usually a compartment for utensil storage. I saw a smoothtop insert in one and a grill in the other and not sure what the third insert had installed.

 

[tolivac]

I use a "commercial" vita-mix "Quiet one" blender in my kitchen-LOVE it -running at full speed you can hear other things over it!From what I understand commercial stoves and ranges are another matter-they require more gas or power than what homes are fed with and the floors have to be stronger to support the weight.For stoves-homes ones work fine for me.The Quiet one blender simply runs from a 15 or 20A 120V outlet-any home has that.Its expensive-but worth it to me-the machine is used daily-sometimes more.

 

[askolover]

Even my 20 year old TOL Kenmore VENTED range hood will work as a whole house fan.  When the weather permits to have the windows open (all two weeks out of the whole year) we just turn it on.  I never have cooking odors from bacon, onions, garlic, or grease.  When I have lasagna sauce simmering on the stove the whole neighborhood can smell it...but we can't smell it in the house.  It's powerful enough that last year when Tony got hurt he sat in a chair in front of the stove to smoke and it took it all out (he doesn't normally smoke in the house).  My only complaint is that when I use it, it sucks out all the bought air (heated, cooled)!   My mother has the same fan in her kitchen.

 

I've always wanted a Wolf range but my Frigidaire works just fine along with the portable induction cooktop.