The best advice I could give you regarding your chip pan is to bin it, throw it away & invest in a thermostatically controlled deep fat fryer or use oven chips.
O.K. so you are not going to follow my advice & keep your chip pan. Fair enough but at least read on to gain some valuable information on how use your chip pan safely.
Chip pans are perfectly safe when used correctly. Prevention is everything, do not put your family and house at risk. The main ways chip pan fires occur are:-
1) The oil or fat overheats & catches fire.
2) The oil or fat spills over on to the cooker & catches fire (this occurs when the pan is over filled, wet chips are used or the oil/fat is too hot.
SAFER FRYING ADVICE
Never leave the chip pan unattended. If you have to answer the door or telephone then Turn Off The Heat.
Never fill a chip pan more than a third full of cooking oil or fat. Always dry the chips before putting them in the pan.
Many chip pan fires are caused by people falling asleep after putting the pan on the cooker. This is normally because they have had too much alcohol, taken medication or felt tired/drowsy. I have been in the fire service operationally for 20 years & believe me it is usually trying to fry chips after too much ale that is the main cause, so DON'T DO IT.
IF YOU FEEL THAT YOU CAN DEAL WITH A CHIP PAN FIRE IN IT'S VERY EARLY STAGES THEN YOU MUST FOLLOW THESE GUIDE LINES:-
1) LEAVE THE PAN WHERE IT IS. ATTEMPTING TO MOVE IT WILL RESULT IN INJURY.
2) TURN OFF THE HEAT BUT ONLY IF IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.
3) AGAIN ONLY IF IT SAFE TO DO SO, PLACE A FIRE BLANKET, DAMP TEA CLOTH OR TOWEL OVER THE PAN TO SMOTHER THE FLAMES THEN LEAVE TO COOL FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES & STILL CALL THE FIRE BRIGADE
