My name is Alan Peterson and I am the equipment brand manager at Clark Associates. What I'm doing here today is to show you basic operation and maintenance of CPG griddles.
First off, show you where the pilot light is. The pilot light is actually further within the griddle. After the griddle is properly connected to the gas line and everything, you'll make sure that the knobs are off. Take your lighter, stick it back in there, light the flame, and once the pilot light is lit simply go to the left and turn it on higher, or to the right, lower.
When you turn the knob all the way to off the pilot light is still going to be on. So when it comes to the manual griddles, at the end of the day, you don't have to worry about having to relight your griddle the next day or so on.
When it comes to thermostatic griddles you're going to actually push this knob in and turn it to pilot. You'll again take your lighter, put it through the pilot hole there and, you'll see the pilot light is a little bit further back, you'll get it lit. After a couple seconds of the pilot light being lit you'll turn it on to whatever temperature you desire.
To turn it off for the end of the day, you're actually just turning it to where you'll see Fahrenheit degrees. That means the pilot light will still be on. That way you are not turning the pilot light on and off day after day. Now, if you wanted to turn the pilot light off on a thermostatic griddle you are going to simply push it back in and turn the knob up to off. That will shut off the pilot light.
When you get your CPG griddles there will be a coating on it. You will light your pilot flames and then we suggest turning it on mid-way or full-way, the point is get it hot cause you're going to burn off the oil that is on top of it. So that is simply just to keep the plate clean.
In case anything happens, knob comes off, something breaks, whatever - in that case we do have replacement parts. One being the knobs themselves, the pilot light valves, the feet, grease trays as well.
In the event that you are using the CPG griddle in high elevations, let's say you're in Colorado, there is the different gas orifices that allow different amounts of gas to be released to the burners. That will be as needed. All of our CPG griddles are set to be used at sea level. If it's anything far above that, that is where you may want to look into getting the different gas orifices to then allow for better operation at those different elevations.
The nice thing about CPG griddles is the legs on these units are actually adjustable. So if you need to lower or heighten the CPG griddle from the level that it's at, the working height, you can do so.
We also have our CPG griddle cleaning kits. It comes with everything you need - your scraper, brushes, and even our Noble Chemical Blast cleaner. Everything that you need to get started is right in there.
The other thing to do when it comes to operation and maintenance, we recommend to clean the sides and front daily and then as well clean at least weekly the actual top of the griddle itself. We do have videos to show you how to clean your steel griddle.
This is how to use your griddle gear cleaning kit. First, scrape the griddle while hot. Then turn it off, spray Blast on the top, scrub the top with a brush, and rinse with water. Then, drain the water, wipe down the surface, and coat it with oil. Spread the oil across the top of the surface, and it is now ready to use.
In the event that you are using a chrome plated CPG griddle, the CPG Ultra Series, we also have videos referencing on how to clean those units as well.
Maintaining the cooking surface on your CPG Ultra Series chrome griddle is key to long service and peak performance. On average, chrome griddles take 45% less time to clean than standard steel plated griddles, saving you time and money. The best time to clean the plate is while it is still hot between 300 and 350 degrees Fahrenheit. With a blade scraper, scrape at the grill surface to remove baked on residue.
Once most of the heavy residue is lifted, pour water, or for heavy-duty cleaning use Noble Chemical Griddle Kleen chrome liquid cleaner or QuikPacks Griddle Kleen chrome cleaner, on the cook top. Scrub the griddle with a natural non-scratching stiff bristle brush and sweep the excess water or cleaner into the trough at the base of the griddle.
Wipe off and polish the surface with Noble Chemical Griddle Kleen cleanser polish powder and a clean lint-free cloth. Lastly, rinse with water to remove any remaining polish. This quick and simple cleaning process ensures a long-lasting life yielding optimal performance and saving you time and money.
When seasoning a CPG griddle, we have our Sprease by Regal Foods. This will be something that you can spray onto the griddle to get it seasoned. We recommend doing about 1 ounce of cooking oil, Sprease, whatever you want to use, per square foot of cooking surface. You're going to spray that on there and then once you get that on the entire surface of the griddle you want to make sure to then wipe it down with a cloth afterwards. You will want to do seasoning of the griddle plate after every weekly cleaning or as often as you're cleaning the surface of the griddle.
After your pilot light is lit, you got the gas running, and you're ready to start cooking we recommend leaving the burners on about 15 to 20 minutes at the beginning of the day. That way it gets the griddle to preheat and be at the temperature and heat you are looking for.
However, after you've been cooking for the day and everything, it should be fine to where you don't need to wait 15 to 20 minutes again, but when you are starting the day off we would recommend waiting 15 to 20 minutes to get it going.
Hopefully this gave you an overview of how to operate and maintain your CPG griddles. If you have any questions, you can reach out to our project manager or myself Alan Peterson at ampeterson@clarkinc.biz. Thank you!
