Denver · Heat and calibration
The Infrared Broiler: Use and Care
On a professional gas range the infrared broiler is a burner at the top of the cavity heating a metal screen until the screen itself glows, and that glow is what sears. So when a broiler is reported dead, what we usually find is a screen that never came up — or a cook who asked for bake at the same moment, which this design refuses.
What the screen is doing
Radiant heat travels in straight lines from above, so shelf height matters more here than under an element: the higher the rack, the smaller the patch of grid the rays actually cover. It is also why the published method for these ranges is the broil pan and grid that came with the oven, food centred on it, and the door closed.
Care, which is mostly leaving it alone
Viking is blunt about the broiler itself — no cleaning or adjustment is possible, and its own operation burns off what settles on it. The pan and grid are the part you look after, with detergent and hot water after each use. Electric ovens carry no screen at all and broil with elements in the roof of the cavity instead.
| Feature | Gas infrared | Electric elements |
|---|---|---|
| What makes the heat | A burner heating a metal screen until it glows. | One or two elements in the roof of the cavity, glowing themselves. |
| Running with bake at once | Not possible. The design refuses it, for control and for safety. | Broil and bake are separate settings, chosen one at a time. |
| Levels of broil | Function set to broil or convection broil, dial set to broil. | High, medium and low, the low one for gentle top-browning. |
| Cleaning the heat source | None possible. Its own operation burns off what condenses on it. | Nothing to clean either; elements are left alone. |
Follow-ups
Can I run the broiler and the oven together?
Not on a professional gas range. Viking states plainly that the infrared burner and the bake burners cannot run at the same time, for control and for safety. If yours seems to try, stop and ring Viking Pro Repair Denver on (720) 790-9436.
How should I clean the broiler screen?
You should not. It is built as a self-contained unit, no cleaning or adjustment is possible, and running it burns off whatever condenses on it. Wash the pan and grid instead, and leave anything above them to Viking Pro Repair Denver on (720) 790-9436.
Does my oven have an infrared broiler or an element?
Professional gas ovens use the glowing screen; electric ovens broil with elements across the top instead. If the plate is out of reach, describe what you see when the broiler is on to Viking Pro Repair Denver on (720) 790-9436, and we will say which.