Portable food warmers are used to keep the prepared food warm at serving temperature preventing the food from getting cold. They are used in the waitress pick up stations, kitchen work area and customer service points. They are available in different sizes and model. Some models heat the food from above and some models do it from below. And some models come with incandescent lights.

Some food warmers have base that produces heat from the bottom and uses the infrared heating element to produce heat from the above. Some models of portable food warmers are good for use in cars, boats and RVs. They can be plugged in the vehicle’s 12 volts socket and the food is warmed in as soon as three minutes.

The heat patterns set on the food warmer keeps the food from over cooking. The peak temperatures set on the base ensures the safety and quality of the food by not letting the food to overcook. The temperatures are higher on the edges of the holding pans as the risk of heat loss is more in these places.

The Portable food warmers are made of aluminium housing and a tubular metal infrared heating element. They come with variety of accessories like trivets, food holding pans, shatter resistant coated incandescent lights, ribbons, display sign holder and infinite controls. The cord of the food warmer has to be plugged in a standard 120 volts socket. The heating element can be switched on or off by a switch.

The food warmers are easy to install and they should always be left to cool down before moving them to other places. Otherwise, the heat will cause burns to the person handling it. And the base of the unit and the top housing should be held together while moving the unit.

The base of the food warmer is designed with a stand that holds the food in the food holding pans and the temperature of the base is controlled with an automatic thermostat. Food in the food pans can be accessed easily from three sides. To prolong the life of the food warmer, the air space between the countertop and the pan bottom is served as insulation.

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For the safety, the food warmers should be cleaned only with the non-abrasive cleaners because the abrasive cleaners scratch the surface of the holding pans and dirt start accumulating in the scratches thus contaminating the food it holds which is not safe the people. The shatter resistant bulbs prevent the contamination of food in case of accidental breakage of bulbs.