Discount Restaurant Equipment Parts



A B C D E F G H I J K l M N O P Q R S T U V W - Z

This is a collection of terms commonly used in describing restaurant equipment parts and their function.

Glossary of Restaurant Equipment Parts - F

Fabricated

When an item is "fabricated" (a fabricated warmer) it means it is produced by a specialty component manufacturer other than the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for use in a larger piece of equipment produced by the OEM. Fabricated items are produced for and assembled by the OEM to work in tandem to acheive the equipment's operational design specifications.

Faceplate

A faceplate is a removable protective shield separating the inner workings of a machine from operator and observer, or a rigid flat surface that has an active role in the interaction of a device with an operator or user.

Fascia

In the manufacture of restaurant equipment, a fascia is referred to as a covering or panel. A fascia may be decorative and purposeful at the same time such as in a louvered panel that allows ventilation. A fascia may also have translucence as used in lighted merchandising sign panels. A fascia is generally held in position by a frame or interlocking connector or it may be adhesive-backed as in a vinyl keypad or control pad.

Fastener

A fastener is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together. In general, fasteners are used to create non-permanent connections (those that can be removed or dismantled without damaging the adjoined components).

Faucet

A faucet or a tap (also spigot) is a valve controlling the release of a liquid or gas. Turning a valve knob or lever adjusts flow by varying the aperture of the control device in the valve assembly. The result when opened in any degree is a choked flow. Its rate is independent of the viscosity or temperature of the fluid or gas in the pipe, and depends only weakly on the supply pressure, so that flow rate is stable at a given setting.

Filament

The word filament, which is descended from Latin filum meaning "thread", is used in English for a variety of thread-like structures.

Filter

A particulate filter is a device composed of fibrous or porous materials which remove solid particulates. A water filter removes impurities by lowering contamination of water using a fine physical barrier.

Grease filters are designed to remove grease particles from the exhaust hoods in a kitchen air stream. Exhaust systems that have broken, missing, or undersized air filters are prone to collect accumulations of highly combustible grease deposits throughout the entire duct system.  Air filters or grease filters may also be used inside of cooking, beverage, and refrigeration equipment to reduce the build up of crumbs and dust, and to limit grease migration.

Fryer filters help remove particles from your fryer systems and preserve food quality. They act as a fine sieve, cleaning the oil of food particulate as it passes through. Fryer filter papers are available in both single sheets and with an envelope design, into which the oil is poured.

Finally, there are air filters used in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems and air handlers. These filters are designed to trap dust, pollen, and even bacteria and viruses during ventilation while protecting the internal components of the heating and cooling system.

Firebox

A firebox is the combustion chamber (as of a commercial gas fryer or steam boiler) that contains and confines a flame.

Firmware

Firmware is software that's embedded in a piece of hardware and programmed into memory contained in the hardware itself. Modern commercial foodservice equipment of all kinds utilize control boards and keypads where the operation, inputs, and outputs of those devices are manged and processed by firmware. Firmware may be periodically updated to accommodate feature additions, processing upgrades, menu additions and more. Updates may be onboarded either over the air or via a physical port and cable connection. Most commonly, firmware update payloads are delivered via an SD card, USB stick, laptop, or other portable electronic storage device.

Fitting

A fitting is any machine component, piping or tubing part that can attach or connect two or more larger parts. Examples are couplings, compression fittings, and piping and plumbing fittings.

Flamefailure

For commercial cooking equipment, a flame supervision device (FSD), flame failure device (FFD) or flame failure valve (FFV) – is a general term for any device designed to stop flammable gas going to the burner of a gas appliance if the flame is extinguished. A flame failure device is responsible for shutting off the gas supply in if the flame is interrupted or extinguished for any reason.

Flange

A flange is an external or internal ridge, or rim (lip), for strength or for attachment to another object, as the flange on the end of a pipe, steam cylinder, etc. The term "flange" is also used for a kind of tool used to form flanges. Pipes with flanges can be assembled and disassembled easily.

Float

A simple example of a liquid level "float" is seen in coffee brewing systems where they are used to indicate the amount of coffee or water in the brewer or dispenser. Liquid level floats, also known as float balls, are spherical, cylindrical, oblong or similarly shaped objects, made from either rigid or flexible material, that are buoyant in water and other liquids. They are non-electrical hardware frequently used as visual sight-indicators for surface demarcation and level measurement. They may also be incorporated into switch mechanisms or translucent fluid-tubes as a component in monitoring or controlling liquid level.

Liquid level floats, or float switches, use the principle of material buoyancy (differential densities) to follow fluid levels. Solid floats are often made of plastics with a density less than water or other application liquid, and so they float. Hollow floats filled with air are much less dense than water or other liquids, and are appropriate for applications such as auto-fill and flow control systems.

Flue

Flues or chimneys, are commonly found in all kinds of restaurant equipment such as ovens and ranges, exhaust hoods, and even as simple heat dissipation or redirection accessories. A flue is a stack, a vertical pipe, channel, duct, vent, chute or similar structure used to exhaust heat or gases.

Float Switch

A float switch is a type of level sensor, a device used to detect the level of liquid within a tank. The switch may be used to control a pump, as an indicator, an alarm, or to control other devices.

Flowmeter

Flow measurement is the quantification of bulk gas and fluid movement. Both gas and liquid flow can be measured in volumetric rates such as liters per second or kilograms per second, respectively. These measurements are related by the material's density. The density of a liquid is almost independent of conditions. This is not the case for gases, the densities of which depend greatly upon pressure, temperature and to a lesser extent, composition.

Flow Control

A control valve is a valve used to control fluid flow by varying the size of the flow passage as directed by a signal from a controller. This enables the direct control of flow rate and the consequential control of process quantities such as pressure, temperature, and liquid level.

Flow control is the function regulating the rate of flow of a liquid or gas. A flow control or flow controller allows for adjusting the rate of fluid expulsion within a closed system as well as for mix adjustment. Examples of flow controllers may be as simple a manual faucet or a complex as a powered electro-mechanical multiplex mixing valve.

Footpedal

Foot and knee pedals are common in commercial kitchens and serve as a hands-free means of operating fixtures and equipment where they serve to manipulate valves from closed to open positions (such as sinks) and enable switches to activate a machine.

Funnel

A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening.

Foot

As opposed to a caster, which rolls and may have a locking mechanism, a foot is a stationary weight-bearing implement at the base of a piece of restaurant equipment. It may be made of metal, plastic, or rubber and usually screws into the frame or base of the machine. A Foot Pedal refers to a foot controlled actuator or valve such as that used to turn on a machine or a faucet.

(Note: "foot" may also refer to a unit of measurement of length, width, and depth covering a distance equal to 12 inches.)

FreoCom

The FreoCom is a microprocessor-based temperature controller.

Fuse

A fuse is an electrical safety device that operates to provide over-current protection of an electrical circuit. Its essential component is a metal wire or strip that melts when too much current flows through it, thereby stopping or interrupting the current. Once a fuse has blown, it must be replaced or rewired, depending on the type. There are thousands of different fuse designs which have specific current and voltage ratings, breaking capacity and response times, depending on the application. The time and current operating characteristics of fuses are chosen to provide adequate protection without needless interruption. The speed at which a fuse blows depends on how much current flows through it and the material of which the fuse is made. The operating time is not a fixed interval, but decreases as the current increases. Fuses have different characteristics of operating time compared to current. A standard fuse may require twice its rated current to open in one second.