Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why did Burger King Corporate choose Duke?
A: "The first major project we did with Duke was the Product Holding Unit. They earned a good reputation with us through that project; they never failed to impress us with their professionalism and quality."
"Back in 2004, when we brought the concept of batch broiling to some of our other suppliers, they said it couldn't be done. Duke, on the other hand, said it could be done. And they did it. The finished broiler is better than we anticipated."
"We're proud to have Duke as our solutions partner."
John Reckert
Vice President of Operations, R&D and Quality Assurance
Burger King Corporation
Q: How can I order a broiler from Duke Manufacturing?
A: Duke offers multiple ways to order a broiler, which makes it easy for you. The fastest way to place your order is by ordering on this website. Click on the link that says Place Order Now. Ordering online provides up to the minute pricing and allows you to make payment with credit cards. Orders can also be placed over the phone by calling 1-800-735-3853 ext. 260. Sue Scuito will be happy to assist you and get your broiler on order. Lastly, orders can be faxed using the order form that was distributed at the Burger King Global Convention, or the form can be downloaded from our website.
Q: Are there any requirements that I need to be aware of when I want to purchase a broiler from Duke Manufacturing?
A: Yes, every broiler purchase must include a mandatory start up procedure, which costs $250. This validates your warranty, but also ensures that your broiler is installed, calibrated and operating correctly. A Duke Qualified Technician performs the start-up procedure at your store location. Duke also offers an installation and start-up option for $450. Another requirement is a pre-installation site survey. You can do the survey, or Duke Manufacturing can assist with the survey for a nominal fee of $150. Duke reserves the right to not ship a broiler order if a site survey is not completed and verified.
Q: Can my own service personnel become certified to do start-up on the broiler?
A: Yes, contact the Duke Manufacturing service department at 1-800-735-3853 for additional information.
Q: Can I install the broiler myself?
A: Duke does not recommend this, but the broiler can be self-installed. To make it easy for you, Duke offers an installation and start up package for $450. The package includes installation of the broiler and also covers the mandatory start up procedure. Before the broiler is installed, a site survey is required, which Duke Manufacturing can either perform for a nominal fee or you can perform a self-survey. After installation, a mandatory start up procedure by a Duke Qualified Technician is required. This validates your warranty, but also ensures that your broiler is installed and operating correctly.
Q: Does Duke offer disposal services for my existing broiler?
A: Yes, Duke will dispose of your existing broiler from your site for a nominal fee of $100. The broiler must be placed outside the restaurant and ready for pick up by the freight company.
Q: Should I be concerned about the quality of the Duke broiler since it only carries a 90-day labor and 1-year parts warranty?
A: No, the Duke broiler has undergone 2 years extensive field-testing prior to making it available for sale. We now have over 300 broilers installed and performing well in the Burger King network, and Burger King Corporate has selected the Duke broiler for all company-owned stores. Duke Manufacturing stands behind the warranty that we offer. You will notice that our warranty does not have a lot of exceptions and exclusions that many manufacturers put in their warranties.
Q: I think the Duke broiler is new to the market. Should I be concerned about the reliability of the broiler?
A: The Duke broiler, like Nieco's flexible broiler, is a new product to the market. However, many of the technologies that go into the Duke broiler are proven technologies deployed in other products. The Duke convection ovens use similar gas components. The electronics (control) and infrared burner technology is similar to what is deployed in Frymaster fryers, which so many Burger King locations have installed without any reliability problems. Also, Duke's rigorous product development process, ISO certified quality system and two years of field-testing helps ensure that we are producing a reliable broiler.
Q: What has been the most common problem experienced by those who have the Duke broiler installed and operating?
A: More than two-thirds of the service calls we get are related to cleaning issues. We have learned that the Duke broiler is very reliable if it is cleaned according to the recommended schedule. If it is not, there will be problems with the automatic lighting of the burners. When this happens the crew can quickly fix it by cleaning the burner. Once the restaurant begins cleaning the broiler according to the recommended schedule, we don't get repeat calls.
Q: I had one of the Davmore broilers with ceramic IR burners and the burners cracked. Why is the Duke broiler different?
A: The Duke broiler uses the same IR burner technology that is in the Frymaster fryers you have in your restaurant. They are reliable and a big improvement over the old burner technology that was used on the Davmore broiler years ago.
You don't have to clean the Duke IR burners, and there are no worries about reverberator screens that deteriorate and need replacement like those on the Nieco broiler IR burners.
Q: Does the Duke broiler really have the capacity to handle high-volume restaurants?
A: Our broiler is currently installed in stores that are doing $1.8M in sales annually with peak hour periods of more than $1,000 per hour. In addition, our broiler has undergone extensive testing with Burger King Corporate to ensure that it can support volumes of $1,000 per hour consistently.
Q: Why is the Duke broiler so much less expensive than other broiler options?
A: The Duke broiler is less expensive because it was developed from the ground up versus just being a redesign of an existing, high-cost broiler. Through this new product development process, Duke was able to deploy new engineering techniques and new high quality, lower cost materials versus other competitive broilers on the market. This all adds up to make the Duke Flexible Batch Broiler a lower cost, high-quality alternative to you.
Q: Why does the price of the Duke broiler increase as Burger King buys more broilers?
A: When Duke was approached by Burger King to develop a new broiler almost 3 years ago, we were given an extremely aggressive price target to meet. That price did not change through the entire 3-year development process, even though raw material and labor costs increased and we added improvements to the design. The recent, substantial increases in stainless steel played a large part in the rise in material costs. In the interest of trying to honor our production commitment to Burger King, we renegotiated an agreement that would help offset some of the increased material costs as we sold additional broiler units. Duke established the first (lowest) pricing tier to provide equal opportunity to the company-owned stores and the franchisees, with each having about 800 broilers available to purchase at this price.
Q: What options and accessories does Duke recommend be purchased with the broiler?
A: Duke recommends buying a gas hose, catalyst and Parts B Kit with every broiler purchase. The gas hose, with its new swivel joints, will help ensure safe broiler operation. The catalyst's many benefits include reduced smoke and grease from the cooking process, reduced risk of ventilation hood fires and will help reduce ventilation hood cleanings. Additionally, the catalyst helps meet local code requirements in many US markets. The Parts B Kit provides all of the operator-removable parts for quick repair, should a problem arise. Additionally, Duke recommends that you purchase a parts A kit for every 4-5 store locations. The Parts A Kit provides all the critical repair parts required for the broiler. For additional information on all of accessories visit the Options and Accessories section of this website. Accessories, parts and options may be purchased direct from Duke only with the purchase of a new broiler. Purchasing these items after the broiler is installed must be done through your local service company, at a higher cost.
Q: My local regulations require that I operate my broiler with a catalyst. Does Duke offer a solution?
A: Yes, Duke offers a catalyst that will help you meet most current and future expected local code requirements. The Duke catalyst is an approved solution in Southern California. Regardless of your local code requirements, installing a catalyst offers many benefits including reduced smoke and grease from the cooking process, reduced risk of ventilation hood fires and will help reduce ventilation hood cleanings.
Q: Am I required to purchase a stand with a broiler purchase?
A: Duke highly recommends buying the stand with your broiler purchase. An existing Nieco stand will not work with the Duke broiler. The Duke stand comes with many features, including its adjustable height, piped gas connection and broiler cleaning kit. All of the company-owned stores are buying a stand with the new broiler. Our online ordering system has the broiler, stand and training material packaged together as one price. Requests for purchasing separately can be made by phone at 1-800-735-3853.
Q: When will international broilers be available?
A: We will have final CE approvals and begin testing in Europe in June. We are planning on ramping up CE broiler production in the 4th Quarter of 2007.
Q: How does the Duke broiler save so much in energy costs?
A: The Duke broiler is different from any other broiler that you will find on the market today. It's through this uniqueness that enables the broiler to save so much money in energy costs. The first way that the broiler saves energy is through its sealed cooking chamber. Whether food is cooking or not, the chamber is sealed which traps more of the existing heat requiring less new heat to cook the product. The second way is through its heat on demand cooking technology. What this means is that when the broiler is idle many of the burners go idle as well. In fact, it's not uncommon for all of the burners to shut down while still maintaining the proper cooking temperature " again, it's the benefit of the sealed cook chamber system that the Duke broiler offers. The integrated control makes sure that the broiler stays at the correct temperature so that when you need to cook a batch of product it will be ready to go.
Q: The Duke broiler has fewer parts to clean but how much do you estimate that it will save in labor cost per year?
A: Through testing done in conjunction with Burger King Corporate we estimate that the ease of cleaning of the Duke broiler will save approximately $1,400 per year. This is achieved through 30 to 60 minutes less in labor per day. Since the main daily broiler cleaning takes place at the end of the business day, having a broiler that's easier to clean allows your crew to go home 30 to 60 minutes earlier. This makes your crew happier and saves you money.
Q: Does Duke have a network of service providers that can fulfill my future service needs?
A: Yes, Duke has a global network of service providers to support your pre- and post-sale service needs. We have 200 service locations in the US and Canada and 85 International locations. To find the closest provider in your area please visit the Service Program section of this website or contact Duke Manufacturing at 1-800-735-3853.
