HELP Needed, Deep Fryer Cleaning!

[Wart]

I suppose I could have/ should have put this in the equipment section but I figure I may have more luck with those in the know seeing it here.

I have take on the cooking and maintenance duties in a 'social' clubs kitchen.

Long story short (meaning I'm omitting a vicious rant about lazy people), these fryers have not been cleaned in a very, VERY long time.

The baskets and tank lids have been washed regularly, but none of the upper shrouds have been removed in I'm guessing years.

There is a thick coating of oxidized Vegetable (?) oil just about everywhere. Under the shrouds is thick and brown, some of it gummy, most of it hard, very little is soft enough to be scrapped away with a knife.

Some of the fittings about the heating coils have carbon.

The thing that is most disturbing is the amount of crud about the thermocouple leads. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that in places the crud forms a crust 1/4 inch in diameter.

Any hints on cleaning this? Yes, I'm going to do a Google search and see what I can find, I thought I would ask here.

I w2ould like to say I'm completely blameless in this situation, can't. Truth is I have been a volunteer in this kitchen for 3 or 4 years, I have assisted in the creation of this mess. BUT NOW I"M AN EMPLOYEE. I have a little authority. And Responsibility.

To give an idea of the social dynamic, the thing I have had to tolerate till now, I can't seem to convince 'them' that thawing fish on an open rack in a warm room for 4 hours before the fish fry is a very bad idea.


So, PLEASE! I'M BEGGING FOR HINTS ON CLEANING THESE DARN THINGS!!!

I'm starting to clean these tonight (draining oil, pulling them apart) and have all day Tuesday. They will not be used until Wednesday evening so if water is involved I have a day to let them dry.

PS: Everything needs to be food safe. I thought of Eazy-Off and carburetor cleaner but I'm not sure those could be completely removed.

[Andy M.]

You need some industrial strength cleaners. Can you check with a restaurant supply store for some stuff?

As an alternative, oven cleaner and Dawn Power Dissolver could help.

[pacanis]

What was recommended to me was Dawn Power Dissolver for spraying onto fryer gunk to get it off, but I won't be able to tell you how it works until later.....
I'm cleaning my deep fryer in a little bit and changing the oil.

[Fisher's Mom]

Do all the parts come apart? I've had a lot of luck cleaning gunky old grills and such with a pressure washer. I put the parts in a big plastic garbage bag with some kids of cleaner and let it soak for a few hours. Then pull them out and use the pressure washer, starting with the lowest setting.

[pacanis]

What a great idea! Maybe a soaking in Simple Green and then hit it with the power washer.
I've got my pieces soaking in the Dawn stuff right now. As soon as this DW load is done I'm going to toss them in on the pots and pans cycle. That will only leave me with the element I need to fool with, and it's as gunky as everything else.

[VeraBlue]

You can use oven cleaner and a product called Grease Cutter. You have to wash the chemicals off, but you'd have to do that anyway, to get the build up off once it's loosened by the cleaners. Once you get most of the gunk off, you can work with hot soapy water. Salt is a good rub, too.

[Corey123]

I used Grease Cutter when I worked in the flight kitchen for United Airlines. It IS good, but be careful, as it will etch aluminum.

[Constance]

The soaking in Simple Green is going to help a lot. That stuff soaks right into the burned on grease and softens it up.

Bless your heart, you've got a big job on your hands.