What does it take to install a commercial oven?
A professional oven often requires more than just an available power outlet. Depending on the oven, you need to manage electricity, water, drainage, water treatment, and possibly extraction. And, of course, the oven must be able to fit into the kitchen.
The most important thing is to check the installations before the oven is ordered. Here, we go through the points we typically verify with our customers ourselves.
1. Do you have enough power for the oven?
This is one of the first things we ask. Many larger professional ovens require 400 V, and it is not enough to simply note that there is a power outlet in the kitchen. The circuit must also be able to deliver the power that the specific oven requires.
Depending on size and model, this could, for example, be 16 A, 32 A, or more. The requirement must therefore always be checked on the oven's data sheet.
A classic challenge is that the customer has found the right oven, but only afterwards discovers that the existing electrical installation does not have sufficient capacity.
Our advice: Find out what power is available already when you choose the oven. This way, you avoid buying an oven that subsequently requires a larger change to the electrical installation than expected.
2. Does water need to be piped to the oven?
A combi oven with steam must be connected to water. On UNOX, which we sell, a 3/4" water connection is standard, and the water pressure must be within the manufacturer's specified range.
The water tap does not necessarily have to be right next to the oven. The most important thing is that the location is known in advance. Then the oven can be prepared with a water hose of the correct length.
The same principle generally applies when installing professional ovens: base your plans on the data sheet for the specific model rather than assuming that the installation is the same as the old oven.
3. Remember water treatment
If the oven uses water for steam, we generally also recommend water treatment. Limescale can accumulate in the oven's water system and eventually cause problems with valves, hoses, and the steam function, among other things.
The need depends on the local water quality and the usage of the oven. There are areas in Denmark where the need is lower, but in practice, we provide water treatment for about 9 out of 10 of our customers who use steam.
At the same time, the water treatment must be correctly sized and adjusted according to local water conditions. It is therefore not enough just to mount a random filter in front of the oven.
4. How should the drain be made?
Misunderstandings often arise here. On UNOX combi ovens, the drain outlet on the oven itself is Ø30 mm. From here, drain pipes of approximately Ø32–40 mm are typically established leading to the building's drain.
Where the drain should be placed depends, among other things, on the height of the oven.
For a table-top model or an oven on a tall stand, a wall drain can often work fine. If the oven stands low – for example, with two ovens mounted on top of each other – the oven's drain outlet can instead be so close to the floor that a wall drain becomes problematic. Here, a floor drain may be necessary.
For large floor models, a floor drain must usually be planned for.
The decisive factor is the slope: The water must be able to drain correctly from the oven. The placement of the drain should therefore be planned based on the specific oven and its mounting height.
5. Does there need to be a hood over a commercial oven?
It depends on the oven, what is being cooked, the kitchen's ventilation, and the specific conditions on-site. Therefore, this question should be clarified during the planning stage rather than after installation.
A condensing hood mounted directly on the oven can in many cases be a practical solution, especially when:
- a traditional extraction hood cannot be easily established
- the oven is placed front-of-house, for example in a café or bakery
- you want to limit steam and humidity in the room
- you want to avoid a major ventilation installation
However, if a lot of meat, bacon, fatty products, or products that produce heavy smoke and fumes are cooked, a condensing hood is not necessarily the right solution on its own.
Furthermore, it is not just a question of the oven manufacturer's instructions. Requirements for ventilation and extraction may depend on specific working conditions and the assessment of the authorities (e.g., the municipality and the Danish Working Environment Authority).
6. Can the oven even get in?
It sounds trivial, but transport into the kitchen frequently causes problems during the installation of large professional ovens.
It is not enough to measure the space where the oven is to stand. The entire route from the delivery van to the kitchen must be checked.
Look, among other things, at:
- door width and door height
- narrow hallways and corners
- stairs
- elevators
- steps and level differences
- the final access to the kitchen
For larger ovens, access conditions should therefore be measured before ordering. Sometimes a compact model may be the solution, even if there is actually plenty of room for a standard oven inside the kitchen itself.
7. There must also be room to use the oven
Just because the oven can physically stand in the desired location does not necessarily mean the location is good.
Remember, among other things, to allow space for:
- opening the oven door completely
- handling hot GN trays or baking sheets
- workspace in front of the oven
- ventilation around the oven
- access for service and repair
- trays, rack trolleys, and other accessories
- necessary distance to other installations
A professional oven must be part of a well-functioning kitchen flow – not just equipment squeezed into an empty corner.
8. Table-top and floor models are not installed exactly the same way
For a table-top model, one must be aware of the table or stand, among other things. If the table has a high back edge, it can, for example, get in the way of the oven's drain pipe and other connections.
For large floor models (for rack trolleys), there are other considerations. Here, the drain typically needs to be established in the floor, and the oven must stand stably and be secured correctly.
For UNOX floor models, it may, for example, be necessary to fix the oven to the floor or mount spacers against the wall. This prevents the oven from moving when the large door is opened and closed. Of course, we help with this.
This is important because movement in the oven can otherwise strain or, in the worst case, damage the drain pipe and other installations behind the oven.
9. What must be ready when the technician arrives?
The easiest installation is the one where the fixed installations are already established according to the oven's data sheet.
This typically means that the customer ensures:
- correct electrical installation
- water connection, if the oven requires it
- correctly placed drain
- any necessary ventilation or extraction
The oven can then be prepared with the correct plugs, hoses, and other connections, so the technician can carry out the actual installation and start-up.
The two mistakes we encounter most often
The most common problems actually arise before the technician even begins the installation:
- The fixed installations are not ready. For example, the correct power, water, or a usable drain is missing.
- Access conditions have not been measured. The oven fits well in the kitchen but cannot get through the door or around a corner on the way there.
Both can usually be avoided by checking the installation before the oven is ordered.
Check the installation before choosing an oven
If you are in the process of choosing a commercial oven, power, water, drainage, access conditions, and ventilation should therefore be part of the decision from the start.
It can affect both which model fits the kitchen and what the total installation will cost.
