Stop Fighting Your Oven’s Hot Spots
If you’ve ever dealt with multi-layer ovens, you know the headache. Heat rises. Air swirls. And somehow, the top rack is scorching while the bottom rack is barely lukewarm. It’s frustrating, and it ruins a lot of good product. We decided to stop fighting the air and started using IR heating lamps—basically the same kind you see over a buffet line. Instead of one big heat source trying to do all the heavy lifting, we put independent IR tubes on every single level. Here is why that actually works. Most ovens rely on convection, which is just heating up the air and hoping it gets everywhere. IR is different. It’s radiant heat, meaning the energy jumps straight from the lamp to your product. We pair each layer with its own PID controller and thermocouple. This gives you total control. If you notice the top rack is running 10°C too hot because of the heat climbing from below, you don’t have to guess. You just dial back the power to those specific tubes. Simple. The gear we use We usually go with quartz halogen tubes. The best part? They’re fast. Really fast. You don’t have to sit around waiting for the entire oven cavity to “soak” and reach temperature. The lamps hit their target in seconds. We also use standard R7s or SK15 sockets. Why? Because tubes eventually burn out. When one goes, you just pop it out and slide a new one in. No drama. One quick tip: watch your wattage. Higher wattage means more heat, but it also puts a lot more stress on your electrical panel. Just make sure your wiring can handle that initial surge when everything kicks on at once. The catch (and how to fix it) Now, radiant heat is directional. It points straight down. This means you can end up with a “hot spot” right under the lamp if you aren’t careful. If the tubes are too close, you’ll burn the surface of your product before the middle is even warm. It’s a balancing act. You have to get the spacing just right to make sure you’re getting that rapid heat without scorching the top. Once you find that sweet spot, everything comes out uniform.