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Manual water softeners need regenerating by hand from time to time to keep protecting your equipment from limescale. Here's how to do it. Adding salt In normal service mode, both taps should be in the 9 o'clock position. Check that the top hose is connected to your water supply and the bottom hose is connected to your machine. Turn the top valve to the 3 o'clock position, then unscrew the top black knob and remove it from the body of the softener. Add dishwasher salt to within an inch of the top, then replace the black knob, making sure there's...

Most commercial glasswashers and dishwashers can be bought with or without a drain pump. Getting this choice right before the machine is plumbed in can save you an expensive change later. When you need a drain pump A drain pump is required whenever the lowest point of the machine's drain system sits below the highest point of your waste system. This is common where the machine stands on the floor and can't be raised onto a plinth or stand. When you can go without one If the machine can be raised so that it sits above your waste plumbing, it...

Despite the name, food in a deep-fat fryer typically cooks in the top two inches of oil rather than being fully submerged. That makes it important to choose a fryer that matches your actual kitchen needs, rather than one that heats far more oil than you'll ever use. A common mistake is buying a fryer based on peak demand days, such as a Friday fish and chips rush, rather than average daily throughput, or misreading chips-per-hour ratings without accounting for different chip types (frozen, chilled, blanched, or different sizes). Ask manufacturers to calculate capacity based on weekly throughput so the...

Counters and serveries are merchandising units designed to keep food at the correct temperature, ensuring the best taste, safety and presentation for customers. The terms are often used interchangeably, but a useful distinction is that counters are fixed installations, while serveries are mobile units that can be moved as required. Both play a critical role in self-service environments, from school cafeterias to hotel breakfast buffets and pub lunch counters. Fixed countering Fixed counters are typically used in self-service traylines and combine several functions in one run: tableware dispense points, hot food service, chilled food service, and paypoint stations. Bespoke counters...

The cooking range is the traditional heart of any professional kitchen. From pubs and restaurants to schools, care homes and large-scale catering operations, there's very little that can't be cooked on a range. Robust, reliable and versatile, cooking ranges remain one of the most important pieces of prime cooking equipment in UK commercial kitchens. There are four main types, each suited to a different style of service and kitchen layout. 1. Open top cooking ranges Open top ranges feature either gas burners or electric radiant plates, with an oven positioned underneath. They're commonly available with four or six burners, with...