Is putting water in your deep fryer a good idea? Or perhaps, your deep fryer can perform another purpose as a water boiler aside from its primary purpose.
Worry no more; you’re in the right place. This guide will answer all the possible questions you’ve concerning putting water in the deep fryer and all the related questions. Ensure you read it carefully.
Yes, you can put water in a deep fryer. However, it requires you to be extra careful because it can cause much damage. Ensure that the fryer is free from oil to avoid fire explosions. So, don’t try putting water in your deep fryer without following the proper safety precautions.
What Happens If You Put Water In A Deep Fryer?
There is a vast difference between the temperature levels of hot oil and boiling water. More so, oil is less dense than water. These two features make putting water inside a deep fryer with oil dangerous.
Water has a lower boiling point than oil. Therefore, oil and water do not mix. Once you pour water into a deep fryer with oil inside, the water sinks to settle at the bottom of the oil.
Then, the water boils rapidly, becomes steam, and travels back immediately through the oil.
As the oil travels back up, it expands to form large bubbles, which results in the hot oil splattering everywhere, which can eventually cause a large explosion, which can cause massive damage to you and your property.
So, putting water in a deep fryer is super dangerous, and it’s not advisable. Deep fryers are designed to cook oil.
So, instead of trying to use deep fryers to boil water, it’s best to use them for their sole purpose of avoiding fire hazards.
How To Clean a Commercial Deep Fryer?
Cleaning your deep fryers from time to time is essential. A dirty deep fryer changes the quality of your foods and reduces the lifespan of your deep fryer.
Apart from these, maintaining your commercial deep fryers is very important as it contributes significantly to the health of your customers.
Follow the steps below to clean your commercial deep fryers.
#1. Disconnect Deep Fryer From Power Supply Source
The first thing you need to do before you begin to clean your deep fryer is to turn off the deep fry and disconnect it from its power supply source. This is advisable to prevent electrocution.
In addition, allow the deep fryer and the oil inside it to cool to at least 150°F. Allowing the hot oil to cool is very important as it may result in a fire accident if water touches it.
#2. Drain the Oil
After the oil inside the deep fryer is cool enough, the next thing is to drain it. Place a container under the drain valve, and drain the oil.
You can either reuse the oil if it’s still good or dispose of it if it has gone wrong.
#3. Eliminate The Large Debris
After draining the oil, the next thing is to remove any large particles of dirt that are found inside the deep fryer. Next, remove the basket or holder; this makes cleaning easy.
Then, use a cleaning rod to thoroughly clean the deep fryer’s interior. Ensure that the cleaning rod reaches the walls, the bottom, corners, etc. Scrub, pack the debris and wash them away.
#4. Fill the Deep Fryer With Water and Cleaner
After getting rid of the large debris, the next thing is to fill the tank of your deep fryer with water and ensure that the water reaches the level line.
After the water reaches the level line, add deep fryer fat cleaner liquid inside the water, it’s a degreasing cleaning solution and works more effectively than ordinary cleaners.
#5. Turn On the Deep Fryer
Once you fill the deep fryer with water and oil, the next thing is to turn on the fryer and slowly boil the water and cleaner mixture inside it for 20-30 minutes. After the water boils, turn on the dryer and allow it to cool well.
#6. Drain the Water
After the water cools down, open the drain valve, and place a large pan under it.
Start draining the water; as you’re draining it, use a long-handled brush to scrape off the interior part of the deep fryer. Continue cleaning the interior with the brush until the water drains completely.
#7. Rinse With Water After Draining
Once the water and cleaner mixture drain completely, the next thing is to rinse the interior of the deep fryer with warm or ordinary water. Rinse the interior thoroughly until it’s clean enough.
After you finish rinsing it, wipe the interior of your deep fryer with a lint-free cloth or a paper towel, allow it to dry completely, and close the drain valve. Wash the basket inside the deep fryer until it’s free from oil.
#8. Clean the Exterior Parts Of the Fryer
After you’re through with the interior cleaning, the next thing is to clean the exterior surfaces of your deep fryer.
Use a brush, water, and degreasing cleaning solution to clean the outer surfaces of your deep fryer.
If any stubborn part is not cleaned efficiently, use a synthetic pad to scrub the part thoroughly. After the whole cleaning, you can now fill your deep fryer tank back with fresh or recycled oil.
Can You Clean a Deep Fryer With Water?
Yes, you can clean a deep fryer with water. However, you can’t use ordinary water during the cleaning because you’re dealing with an oily material.
A deep fryer’s interior and exterior parts are always full of oil. To get an effective cleaning result, ensure that you use warm water or the “boil out” method. The latter, which is the boil-out method, is much more effective.
Boil out is the process in which you clean out all the residual oil from your deep fryer, pour water inside it, add fat fryer cleaner liquid inside the water, turn on the deep fryer, and boil the water slowly to get rid of the oil dirt inside the deep fryer.
Check the table below for a better cleaning method than warm water and boiling out.
Meanwhile, you must be careful when cleaning your deep fryer with water. Ensure that you disconnect the power supply source, and also, make sure you allow the oil inside the fryer to cool down well before you start the cleaning.
Drain the oil completely, and after the draining, you can now start the cleaning.
Is It Safe To Add Water To Hot Oil?
No, adding water to hot oil is hazardous, don’t try it! It depends on how much water you add to the hot oil.
If you only sprinkle a small amount of water inside hot oil, perhaps, to make what you’re frying crispy, there will be some oil splashes around where you’re cooking, but it won’t be much because the water is small.
However, if the water you want to add to the hot oil is too much, there will be some huge chemical reaction, eventually exposing you to the risk of injury and fire eruptions.
Water is heavier than oil. If you add water to oil, the two won’t mix; instead, the water will sink to the bottom of the oil while the oil floats on top of the water.
Water is a polar molecule; oils are non-polar, so oil expels it rapidly. Within a few seconds, the water heats thoroughly turn to steam and goes back to the top of the oil.
The steam expands as it goes up and splashes everywhere, which can cause serious fire explosions. Also, If the bubbles splash on your body, it can lead to severe burns.
So, it’s best to avoid such action, i.e., adding water to hot oil, because of its hazardous consequences.
Conclusion
Adding water to hot oil is a hazardous activity, so it’s better to desist from it. Why would you expose yourself to fire hazards when you can avoid them? Deep fryers are meant to cook oil, don’t boil water inside them.
However, if you’re left with no choice, follow the instructions mentioned in this guide.
