When a burner won’t stay lit or the oven under your range drifts thirty degrees off, the whole line slows down. Tickets back up, plates go out inconsistent, and one dead range turns a normal Friday into a bad one. Boer Brothers Restaurant Services repairs commercial stoves, ranges, and burners for restaurants across Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.
We’re family owned since 2007 and built around the realities of restaurant operations. Request an appointment or call 919-336-0271 and we’ll get your cook line back to full output.
Signs your commercial stove or range needs repair
Most commercial stove repair calls start with one of the symptoms below. Catching them early is the difference between a scheduled visit and a mid-service failure. Watch for:
- A burner that lights but won’t stay lit once you release the knob
- Pilot lights that keep going out, or won’t relight at all
- Yellow, orange, or jumpy flames instead of a steady blue flame
- Cooktop or hot top elements that don’t heat, or heat unevenly
- The oven section running hot, running cold, or drifting off its setpoint
- Nothing happening when you turn on an electric range
- No heat when broiling, or a broiler that ignites late
- Timers not advancing and control boards that won’t hold a program
- A gas smell near the range, which is an emergency, not a repair ticket
If you smell gas, shut off the appliance at the gas valve, ventilate the space, and call your gas utility before you call us.
What commercial stove and range repairs we handle
Boer Brothers services the full range unit: the burners on top, the oven underneath, and the controls that run both, as part of our broader commercial cooking equipment service. These are the commercial stove services we get called for most.
Burner and pilot problems
Commercial burner repair is our most common range call, and most of it traces to four parts: the thermocouple, the pilot assembly, the spark igniter, and the burner valve. A thermocouple that has failed cannot prove flame to the gas valve, so the burner lights and dies the moment you let go. A clogged pilot orifice does the same thing intermittently, which is why the problem seems to come and go.
We clean and adjust burner ports, replace thermocouples and igniters, rebuild or swap burner valves, and set the air-to-gas mixture so you get a steady blue flame instead of a lazy yellow one.
Gas range and gas stove repairs
Commercial gas range repair work usually means gas train components: safety valves, manifolds, regulators, and the valve bodies behind each knob. These are not parts to improvise on. We test for leaks, verify incoming pressure, and confirm every burner fires and holds before we leave.
Oven section repairs
The oven under a range fails differently than the burners above it. Temperature drift is usually a thermostat, a failed sensor, or a control board that has lost calibration. Heat that escapes before it does any work is usually a door gasket or a warped door. We calibrate ovens, replace thermostats and sensors, and reseal doors so your bake times mean something again.
Griddle, flat-top, and hot-top repairs
Commercial griddle repair covers uneven heating across the plate, burners firing inconsistently underneath, thermostat failures on thermostatically controlled griddles, and surfaces that have warped past the point of even contact. We service griddle tops, French tops, and hot tops as part of the range unit.
Commercial stove symptoms and their likely causes
Use this to describe the problem accurately when you call. A precise symptom often means we arrive with the right part on the truck.
| What you’re seeing | Most likely cause | Service call or in-house? |
|---|---|---|
| Burner lights, dies when you release the knob | Failed thermocouple or dirty pilot orifice | Service call |
| Pilot won’t stay lit, comes and goes | Clogged pilot port, often from a boil-over | Try cleaning first, then call |
| Yellow or jumpy flame | Air shutter out of adjustment or blocked burner ports | Service call |
| One burner dead, others fine | Burner valve or igniter on that station | Service call |
| Oven off by 25 degrees or more | Thermostat, sensor, or calibration drift | Service call |
| Oven heats but won’t hold temperature | Door gasket, warped door, or failing thermostat | Service call |
| Griddle hot in spots, cold in others | Burner fouling underneath or a warped plate | Service call |
| Electric range won’t start at all | Power supply, contactor, or control board | Check the breaker, then call |
| Gas smell near the range | Leak at a fitting, valve, or manifold | Shut off gas, ventilate, call the utility |
How much does commercial stove and range repair cost in the Triangle?
Commercial range repair at Boer Brothers is billed by the technician hour at rates we publish: $130 an hour to evaluate the problem during regular hours, with a two-hour minimum, then $175 an hour for the repair itself, with no minimum. There is no trip charge, billing starts when the technician is dispatched, and there’s no extra fee to look at a second piece of equipment on the same visit. What the total comes to depends on which component failed. A thermocouple, pilot assembly, igniter, or oven door gasket is a short job; a burner or gas safety valve, an oven thermostat, or a control board takes longer and costs more in parts.
| Service | Rate | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Issue evaluation, regular hours (Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM) | $130 per technician hour | 2 hours |
| Repair, regular hours | $175 per technician hour | None |
| After hours and weekends (Monday to Friday 5 PM to 9 PM, Saturday and Sunday 9 AM to 9 PM) | $215 per technician hour | 2 hours |
| Installing customer-provided equipment | $200 per technician hour | None listed |
That puts the evaluation floor at $260 during regular hours and $430 after hours or on a weekend. Rates are per technician hour, so a job that needs two technicians bills both. Evaluation and repair are billed separately, so you know what failed before repair time starts. Full rates are on our Pricing & Guarantee page.
After-hours and weekend work is billed at $215 per technician hour with a two-hour minimum, so a Saturday-night burner failure costs more than the same repair on a Tuesday morning. High-BTU burners, wok ranges, and ovens with tight access also take longer to reach, which adds repair hours.
Repair or replace your commercial range?
Repair the range when the failure is a single component and the body of the unit is sound. Replace it when the gas train and manifold are deteriorating, parts are no longer available, or the same failure keeps returning after being fixed properly.
You may have heard the 50/50 rule from residential appliance repair: replace the unit if it is halfway through its expected life and the repair costs half of replacement. It is a reasonable starting point, and it is usually too pessimistic for commercial equipment. A commercial gas range is built heavier than anything residential, commonly running 10 to 15 years or more with maintenance, and most of its wear items are designed to be replaced. A new thermostat on a twelve-year-old Vulcan is often the right call, where the same math on a home stove would say replace.
The signals that actually point to replacement:
- Parts for your model are discontinued or on long backorder
- The manifold, gas train, or valve bodies are corroded rather than just worn
- You are paying for the same repair two or three times a year
- The unit no longer matches your menu or volume, so you are working around it
- Downtime is costing more per incident than the equipment is worth
When it is time, we handle installation and can walk you through options that fit your line and your gas service. Ranges are one piece of our commercial cooking equipment repair across the Triangle, so we can look at the whole cook line while we are on site. If the range still has good years in it, we will tell you that instead.
Brands we service
Boer Brothers services more than 90 brands across the commercial restaurant equipment world. On the cooking side that includes Vulcan, Garland, Wolf, Southbend, Bakers Pride, Imperial, Lang, Star Mfg, Toastmaster, Blodgett, and MagiKitch’n, among others. If you don’t see your brand, ask anyway. We can probably help. You can see the full list of brands we service on our site.
Daily upkeep that prevents most stove and range repairs
A large share of the range calls we run trace back to cleaning that slipped while the kitchen stayed busy. Boil-overs extinguish pilots and clog ports. Grease bakes onto burner heads and changes how they fire. None of that is complicated to prevent.
Let everything cool before cleaning, then work through this at the end of each shift:
- Wipe spills as they happen so food doesn’t bake onto the range top. If a spill kills a pilot light, clean the burner head and pilot orifice before relighting.
- Pull and clean the grates and burners, and clean underneath them while they’re out. Cast iron grates wipe down wet, or soak in warm soapy water for a deeper clean.
- Empty and wipe drip trays daily. Done daily, they never become a project.
- Scrape griddles throughout the day, then flood the surface with water at 150 to 175 degrees at close and wipe it down with a heavy cloth. Degrease weekly and re-season as needed.
- Fire each burner one at a time after cleaning and look at the flame. Steady blue is what you want. Jumpy means the shutter needs adjusting; yellow or white means it needs more air or a port is clogged.
- Clean the oven interior at least monthly, more often after a spillover.
Kitchens that put this on a written schedule call us for breakdowns far less often. Our commercial kitchen maintenance agreements build calibration and inspection into a cadence so problems surface before service does.
How our stove and range repair service works
Restaurant operators can’t sit around waiting, so we keep it simple:
- We call ahead, so you’re not guessing about when we’ll arrive.
- We diagnose quickly and show you what failed.
- Our rates are published, and evaluation and repair are billed separately.
- We stock common range parts to aim for a single-visit repair.
- We clean up and leave your line ready for service.
Service area: the Triangle and surrounding communities
Boer Brothers Restaurant Services supports restaurants throughout the Triangle from our Chapel Hill location. We provide commercial stove repair and range repair in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, plus Carrboro, Hillsborough, Pittsboro, Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Garner, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Knightdale, Wake Forest, Wendell, Willow Spring, and Zebulon. Not sure whether you’re in range? Call us and we’ll confirm quickly.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to repair a commercial stove?
At Boer Brothers, evaluation is $130 per technician hour during regular hours with a two-hour minimum, and the repair is $175 per hour with no minimum. There’s no trip charge. Thermocouple and pilot work is at the quick end; gas valves and control boards take longer and cost more in parts. Full rates are on our pricing page.
Why won’t my commercial gas burner stay lit?
A burner that lights and dies when you release the knob almost always means a failed thermocouple or a clogged pilot orifice. The thermocouple’s job is to prove flame to the gas valve, and when it stops doing that the valve closes for safety. If cleaning the pilot port doesn’t fix it, the part needs replacing.
What is the 50/50 rule, and does it apply to commercial ranges?
The 50/50 rule says replace an appliance if it is half its expected life and the repair costs half of replacement. It is a residential rule of thumb and it usually understates what commercial equipment is worth repairing. Commercial ranges are heavier, longer-lived, and designed around replaceable wear parts, so repairs that would fail the test on a home stove often make sense here.
How much do commercial appliance repair technicians charge per hour?
Boer Brothers publishes its rates: $130 per technician hour for evaluation (two-hour minimum), $175 for repair, $215 after hours and on weekends (two-hour minimum), and $200 for installing customer-provided equipment. There’s no trip charge, and billing starts when the technician is dispatched. Rates vary between shops, and many add a separate trip or callout fee; we eliminated ours.
Do you offer commercial stove repair near me in the Triangle?
Yes. Boer Brothers provides commercial stove, range, and burner repair across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Cary, Apex, Hillsborough, Pittsboro, and surrounding communities from our Chapel Hill base.
Do you repair commercial gas cookers and cooktops?
Yes. Whether you call it a gas cooker, a cooktop, a stove, or a range, it is the same service call for us. We repair open burners, French tops, hot tops, griddle tops, and the oven sections underneath.
Can a bad hood cause range problems?
It can affect how your range performs and how safe the line is. A hood that isn’t pulling properly lets heat and grease build up around the cooking equipment. If your range issues come with a smokier kitchen, have the commercial hood system checked as well.
Get your range back to full output
A range that won’t hold flame or temperature costs you covers every night it stays broken. Boer Brothers repairs commercial stoves, ranges, griddles, and the ovens under them across the Triangle, with upfront pricing and stocked parts. Request an appointment or call 919-336-0271 to schedule commercial stove and range repair in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and the surrounding area.