Fryer apparatus and method for improved heating control of a cooking chamber of the fryer apparatus

A fryer apparatus comprising:

• a cooking chamber configured to hold a cooking medium and configured to receive food product;
• a heater disposed external to the cooking chamber, wherein the heater is configured to heat the cooking medium, the heater including a burner and a heat transfer system configured to disperse heat from the burner along an exterior of the cooking chamber for transfer to the cooking medium;
• a fuel system disposed external to the cooking chamber, wherein the fuel system is configured to deliver an air-fuel mixture to the heater, the fuel system is configured to control the temperature of the heater, and the fuel system is configured to control a temperature of the heater by varying the velocity of an airflow;
• the fuel system further comprising:
• a blower that activates to propel the airflow through a manifold and a distribution conduit to the heater, the blower being operable at varying blower speeds between a minimum rate and a maximum rate, the minimum rate being defined by a lower operation bound of the blower or a lower bound at which combustion in the burner is not reliable;
• and a fuel injector configured to inject fuel into the airflow to create the air-fuel mixture;
• and
• a fryer control that operates the heater and the fuel system, the fryer control operating to deliver a requested heating rate in response to a call for heat energy at the cooking chamber, wherein when the requested heating rate is greater than or equal to the minimum rate, the fryer control controls a temperature of the heater by operating the blower continuously and varying the speed of the blower to a value between the minimum rate and the maximum rate to selectively increase burn rate and heat energy generated at the heater based on the amount of air-fuel mixture flow generated by the speed of the blower.