# Fryer oil log: filter, top off, test and change, with a cost check and the rules on teens and hot oil (free template)

*Guides · Mays Team · May 28, 2026*

![Mays cover card: Fryer oil log: filter, top off, test and change, with a cost check and the rules on teens and hot oil (free template) — Change it on a rule, not a guess, and keep teens off hot oil](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/blog__fryer-oil-log-template__cover.402a053c03.png)

Fryer oil is one of the few ingredients you pay for and then use for days. Change it too late and the fries come out dark, greasy and tasting of yesterday's fish. Change it too early and you pour money down the grease bin. Most kitchens decide by eye, and each cook's eye is different.

A log fixes that: the same daily routine, the same test, a clear rule for when to change, and a record that shows what the oil really costs you. This post gives you the routine, the log, a cost check, and the rules that do apply to fryers, such as which teens may use one.

*General information, not legal advice. Follow your fryer's and your oil supplier's instructions; they come first. Grease disposal rules are local, so check with your city or sewer authority.*

## The daily routine

| When | What | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Opening | Check the oil level against the fill line; check the set temperature with a probe thermometer | A low level overheats the oil; a dial that's off burns it |
| During service | Skim crumbs and bits between batches; shake off excess ice and water before frying | Burnt bits darken the oil; water makes it spatter |
| Slow period or close | Filter per the maker's instructions, once the oil is at the temperature they allow | Filtering removes the sediment that shortens the oil's life |
| After filtering | Top off with fresh oil to the fill line | Fresh oil slows the breakdown |
| Close | Turn it off, cover it once cool | Keeps out dust and moisture |

Write the routine on the station's [closing checklist](https://www.mays.app/blog/opening-closing-checklists-staff-follow) and on the [line check](https://www.mays.app/blog/kitchen-line-check-template), so it doesn't depend on who's closing.

## When to change it

There's no federal rule that says how often. Pick a test and a rule, and use them every day:

| Sign | What it looks like |
| --- | --- |
| **Color** | Pour a sample into a small clear jar and hold it next to a jar of fresh oil and your "change" reference photo |
| **Smoke** | Smokes at your normal frying temperature |
| **Foam** | Foam that stays and spreads instead of settling |
| **Smell and taste** | Fish or onion taste in the fries; a sharp or rancid smell |
| **Test strip or meter** | Below the maker's "discard" reading |

**The rule, written down:** "Change the oil when the strip (or meter) reads ___, or when any two other signs show, whichever comes first." Post it at the fryer. A cook who isn't sure asks the manager before service, not after.

What you fry matters as much as how long: breaded and battered items, fish, and salty or wet foods break oil down faster than plain fries. If you can, keep one fryer for fries and one for breaded and fish items.

## The oil log

One line per fryer per day.

| Date | Fryer | Set temp / probe reading | Filtered? | Topped off (qty) | Test result (strip, meter or color 1–5) | Changed? (qty) | Fried today (fries / breaded / fish) | Initials |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | Left | 350 / 348 | Yes / No |  |  | Yes / No |  |  |
|  | Right | 350 / 352 | Yes / No |  |  | Yes / No |  |  |

Read it once a week. If one fryer needs a change every three days and the other lasts six, look at what goes into it and whether it's being filtered.

## The weekly cost check

All figures below are **hypothetical**; use your own invoice prices.

| Line | Hypothetical example |
| --- | --- |
| Fryer capacity | 35 lb |
| Price per 35-lb jug | $42.00 |
| Full changes this week | 2 |
| Top-offs this week | 15 lb |
| Oil used | (2 × 35) + 15 = 85 lb |
| Oil cost this week | 85 ÷ 35 × $42.00 = **$102.00** |

Then try one change: filter every day instead of every other day, or move fish to its own fryer, and compare four weeks before and after. Put the result in your [food cost and menu pricing](https://www.mays.app/blog/food-cost-plate-costing-menu-pricing) numbers, because oil is part of the cost of every fried item.

## Used oil: storage and pickup

- **Let it cool** before you drain or carry it. Hot oil is a burn waiting to happen, and for 14- and 15-year-olds it's against federal law (below).
- **Store it** in the renderer's covered bin or a closed container, away from the back door's walkway, with the lid shut.
- **Never down the drain** or the mop sink. Your city may have its own rules for grease traps and used oil.
- **Keep the pickup receipts** with your [vendor order guide](https://www.mays.app/blog/vendor-order-guide-template) contacts, in case the city asks.

## Teens and fryers: the federal rules

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act's child labor rules, 14- and 15-year-olds may cook only in limited ways. Cooking is allowed *"with deep fryers that are equipped with and utilize a device which automatically lowers the baskets into the hot oil or grease and automatically raises the baskets from the hot oil or grease"*, and the same paragraph says it *"does not authorize cooking with equipment such as rotisseries, broilers, pressurized equipment including fryolators"* ([29 CFR 570.34(c)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.34)).

For cleaning and filtering, they may *"remove oil or grease filters, pour oil or grease through filters, and move receptacles containing hot grease or hot oil, but only when the equipment, surfaces, containers and liquids do not exceed a temperature of 100 °F"* (570.34(i)). In practice: no filtering a warm fryer at close, and no carrying the oil.

States often add their own limits. Our state pages on hiring minors (for example, [Florida](https://www.mays.app/blog/florida-employing-minors-restaurant)) list them.

## Shared fryers and allergens

If the same oil fries breaded chicken, fish and fries, the fries aren't free of wheat, egg, fish or whatever else went in before. Mark shared-fryer items on your [allergen matrix](https://www.mays.app/blog/restaurant-allergen-matrix-template), and follow your [allergy ticket procedure](https://www.mays.app/blog/food-allergy-order-ticket-kitchen-alert-procedure) for guests who ask. Changing the oil doesn't make a shared fryer allergen-free.

## Where Mays fits

- **The routine on the checklist.** Add the opening and closing fryer checks to the kitchen's templates: a **Number** answer for the probe reading, **Multiple Choice** for *Filtered / Topped off / Changed*, and a **Photo** of the sample jar. See [Creating a checklist template](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/create-a-checklist-template).
- **The oil log as a form.** An admin builds an *Oil log* form under **Tasks → Types** with **Temperature**, **Number**, **Yes / No** and **Single choice** fields; the answers land in **Task Data**, and **Export CSV** shows how many days each batch of oil lasted. See [Building custom forms](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/custom-form-task-types) and [Task Data](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/task-data-export).
- **An alert on a bad reading.** Under **Insights → Alerts & Reports**, an admin can set a **Task Form Field Threshold** alert on a top-level number field in that form, such as the meter reading. See [Alerts and scheduled reports](https://www.mays.app/help/reports-insights/alerts-and-scheduled-reports).
- **Teens kept off the fryer.** Under **Scheduling → Positions**, tick *Filtering, pouring or carrying hot oil or grease above 100 °F* and *Cooking other than on an electric or gas grill with no open flame, or a fryer that lowers and raises its baskets automatically* for the fry station. At a location with minors' rules on, a minor under the position's age scheduled there gets a warning, and the auto-scheduler won't put them there. See [Scheduling minors](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/scheduling-minors).
- **Oil on the order.** Add your oil as an inventory item with its jug size and vendor price, count it with the weekly count and order it to par. See [Inventory items](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/inventory-items) and [Stock counts](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/stock-counts).

What Mays doesn't do: there's no record per fryer (model, service history, oil changes), and no used-oil pickup log, so keep those in the form and your files.

## A rule, a log and a look each week

Filter every day, test the same way, change on a written rule, and read the log once a week. You'll fry better food, spend less on oil, and nobody under 16 will be carrying it.

[**Start your free trial**](https://go.mays.app/register): 30 days, every module, no card needed. Or [book a walkthrough](https://www.mays.app/book?from=blog-fryer-oil-log-template) and we'll set it up with you.

## Related help articles

- Tasks & checklists: [Creating a checklist template](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/create-a-checklist-template) — Build an opening, closing or cleaning checklist once as a template — groups, tasks and answer types — and Mays turns it into your team's task list in the app.
- Tasks & checklists: [Building custom forms (Task Types)](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/custom-form-task-types) — Build your own task forms, like a cash count, a temperature log or a waste log, under Tasks → Types. Staff fill them in the app, and every answer lands in Task Data, ready to export.
- Tasks & checklists: [Task Data: viewing and exporting form answers](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/task-data-export) — Tasks → Data lists every answer submitted on a custom form, like a cash count or temperature log, one row per submission, and downloads them as a CSV file.
- Reports & insights: [Alerts and scheduled reports](https://www.mays.app/help/reports-insights/alerts-and-scheduled-reports) — Get a notification when labor runs hot, a vendor raises a price or a form reading is out of range, and have a labor, prime cost or vendor spend summary emailed every week or month.
- Scheduling: [Scheduling minors](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/scheduling-minors) — Turn on work rules for minors at a location (part of Labor law compliance), and Mays checks the hours and times of anyone under 18 against federal and state law. You get warnings on the schedule, and the auto-scheduler stays inside the limits. Nothing is ever blocked.
- Inventory: [Inventory items](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/inventory-items) — Items are what you count, order and cost, like a carton of oat milk or a pound of espresso. Each has a count unit, other units such as a case, and vendor prices.
- Inventory: [Running stock counts](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/stock-counts) — A count records what's on your shelves. Submitting it sets each counted item's stock on hand and shows how far it was from what Mays expected.

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/blog/fryer-oil-log-template