Breville Thermal Pro Stainless BEF500 Questions & Answers

The heating element is through S shape channels that form 4 rows along the bottom of the pan. They are illustrated on the Breville product page for the slightly revised BEF560. From usage the heat distribution is fairly even when a recommended process of slowly increasing the temperature settings from absolute minimum are followed. external link 

The manual can be found online with cleaning instructions. It lists the pan and lid as dishwasher safe, however I would recommend hand wash only where possible. Dishwasher environments from the combination of very high temperature, steam and more aggressive detergents are quite harsh on any plastics or seals Eg. The feet of the pan. Regularly cleaning with a dishwasher will cause plastics/seals to fail earlier as a result and as they are on the outside they do not need regular intensive dishwasher cleaning in any case. I will generally immediately after cooking fill the pan, when it is still warm, with a layer of cold water and let it sit for 30 mins or more and soak. This is usually enough to be able to then scrub off ~95% of the residue with just plain cold water and a plastic bristled dishwashing scrubbing brush. I will then finish cleaning it with the rest of handwashed items by simply dunking one end of the pan into a sink with the normal amount of dishwashing liquid and wiping off the remaining residue and give the handles and rim a wipe with a normal non-scratch scour sponge pad. There is very little to no force required to scrub the residue off this way if given a pre-soak like this.

Thank you very much for the very comprehensive reply. Much appreciated. I am amazed that I could find one in such great condition and the link you sent me is perfect. I must have been looking at older specs because they did not have that illustration. Perfect! It was $10 very well spent! You obviously love yours...thanks again. P.

Bigwarehouse spares

Hi there, Well done finding one of these at a Garage Sale! You did better than me pricewise. It has a couple of things which are a bit of a problem. It's big and heavy. I have a normal size sink and there's no way it will fit in it. I phoned Breville about the underneath construction wondering why it was so complex. My last frying pan only had an encased element and no problem submerging it. They said there's a motor underneath... very strange, but they also said it was safe to submerge. I noticed some comments saying rust had developed inside/underneath and was leaking out. So no way will I be getting it wet underneath. Because the sides are so high this reduces splattering and I found the outside stays perfectly clean. I pour hot water into mine leaving it on the sink to soak. I make sure I tip the water out on the side which has no plug fitting in case water should go inside. I use dishwashing detergent and water to clean it. I use to go crazy with my last Sunbeam Frying pan scrubbing and polishing off all the marks. But I don't worry about that any more. This is a work horse to me. When I finish washing it, I run my hand over the metal and as long as it's totally smooth I don't scrub it. Stainless steel will stain with some foods, but when cooking the next thing these marks disappear or are replaced by others. As long as it's spotlessly clean and hygienic I can live with the small marks. If you want to get them off Cerapol is good. I use it on my ceramic cook top (great product) I like to cook huge quantities and freeze what I make in meal size containers. So I will spend a few hours and make at least 20 meals. I like my kind of fast food. So the size and shape and the high sides means I can make very big batches of food in one go. My freezer is always full. There are a lot of unhappy customers though because the thermostat is on the dodgy side and cannot go from really low simmer to furnace heat. Mine does though and I hope yours does. Because of product review I knew this could be an issue when I decided to buy it so also bought extended warranty. If you go to the following site you should be able to download a PDF instruction manual. external link  If you have trouble with the thermostat, I bet Breville will have plenty of stock, cause a lot of people need to buy them. Good luck with yours, hope you like it as much as I do. cheers Dianne. p.s. the oblong shape is terrific! I didn't like it at first and wished it was square, until I discovered my utensils don't slide in any more if I leave them in for a second to race off doing sopmething else in the kitchen. Also it's really easy to stir fry coming in from the right. It just needs a bit of getting use to. LOVE THE HEIGHT!!! Di

Hi Mozagirl, We dont submerge our fry pan. Just tip soapy water into pan & turn heat on for a minute or so, this will remove most of the ground in grit 'if not, use a plastic spatula to remove any stubborn grit' then simply tip out then allow to cool & tip some more soapy water in and hand wash. The outside should only require a soapy cloth wipe. They are very simple to maintain, the bottom of the pan shouldnt require any scrubbing as a soapy wipe over after every use is sufficient.

Hi Greg, Wow!! Thanks for asking me, but I am just a housewife..lol..I would have no idea about this. I certainly don't have a problem at all, the only thing I have noticed you have to make sure you push the thermostat in hard.

Just thinking. It is strange though you had this problem with the old one???? and now this one...weird indeed. My husband would probably try using it on another power point first; it could be that, maybe??? before you ring Breville. (Different circuit in the house)

Anyway if that doesn't help The sales people at Breville would be able to help you out.

Greg, sorry I can't be much help. Good luck and let me know how you go. I would be interested to know?

Kind Regards,

Dianne

Hi Greg, Wow!! Thanks for asking me, but I am just a housewife..lol..I would have no idea about this. I certainly don't have a problem at all, the only thing I have noticed you have to make sure you push the thermostat in hard.

Just thinking. It is strange though you had this problem with the old one???? and now this one...weird indeed. My husband would probably try using it on another power point first; it could be that, maybe??? before you ring Breville. (Different circuit in the house)

Anyway if that doesn't help The sales people at Breville would be able to help you out.

Greg, sorry I can't be much help. Good luck and let me know how you go. I would be interested to know?

Kind Regards,

Dianne

( Sorry I think you received this twice!)

I would contact Breville that is dangerous and they would need to take responsibility for it.

We would recommend that you contact our Customer Service Team on 1300 139 798.

They will assist you with your queries

Thanks

The Breville Team

This is normal. These kind of frypans regulate heat simply by switching off and on full power. Its a terrible design for low temperature cooking but great for stirfries and steak.

I have white cloudy markings on mine and I don't know why either. I have used it 3 times cooked rissoles tonight and they stuck end the end to where you plug it in. I have always had no stick ones but read the great reviews on this one. At the moment a bit disappointed hate having marks on it already only use plastic utensils and do the soak before clean.

Hi, I wash mine with a plastic scourer and a little sugar soap and it came up like new... Also may want to season it again after a good clean to make it non-stick.. :-)

Clean it with a little sugar soap and it will come up like new! No need to use a metal scourer, nylon will do the trick.

Metal utensils and metal scourers will damage the surface of this pan. A spray oil may not allow enough lubrication, and so your food may stick. My recommendation is to spray a little thicker than you normally would.

The Thermostat is part of the plug. Because this pan has quite a thick base it retains heat well and therefore minimises the temperature changes within the cycling of the Therostat.

BEF500 swings 10-15°C versus competitor model swings 40-50°C

In addition BEF500 has also a better heat distribution in the frypan compared with the competition.

A light spray of oil will stop any sticking. After the cooking is over, we wipe/pour out any oil and loose bits and then put about 2 cm of water with a bit of detergent. Heat up for about 1 minute and leave for a few minutes. Then wipe out and put into the dishwasher for a normal wash. The important thing is to not use metal scrapers or steel wool which will put scratches in the surface which will then cause sticking. Just let the warm water loosen anything on the bottom. We have looked after our like this and no scratches and no sticking. We think it is the best frying pan we have ever owned and are now looking for a stainless steel wok..