Most output complaints are not machine faults at all — they trace back to dough, gas pressure or a setting that drifted. And several of the faults that genuinely are machine-side come from design decisions a well-built machine simply doesn’t make.
When a chapati machine starts producing poor rotis, the instinct is to assume the machine has developed a fault. In our service experience it usually hasn’t. The same small set of causes accounts for most of what kitchens report, and the majority of them sit upstream of the machine entirely — in the dough, in the gas supply, or in a setting someone adjusted last week.
That is good news, because it means most problems are fixable on the spot rather than waiting on a technician. Work through the symptom you’re seeing, check the causes in the order given — they’re ordered by how often they turn out to be the culprit — and you’ll resolve most of them without stopping production.
Before anything else Turn the gas off at the source and let the machine cool before touching any surface near the baking zone. Nothing in this guide requires opening a panel or working on a hot or live machine — anything that does is a technician’s job, not yours.
Work through the symptom
Rotis aren’t puffing
Most likely: Dough is too dry. Puffing depends on steam forming fast enough inside the roti to separate the layers — under-hydrated dough simply can’t make enough. This is the cause roughly as often as everything else combined.
Also check: Baking temperature too low, so the surface sets before steam builds. Dough not rested long enough. Chapati pressed too thick for the heat setting.
Rarely: Burner partially blocked, giving uneven heat across the plate — you’d normally see patchy browning alongside this.
Thickness varies roti to roti
Most likely: Dough balls are inconsistent in weight. The press flattens whatever it’s given to a set gap, so an uneven ball presses unevenly. Hand-rolled pedas are the usual source.
Also check: Dough stiffness varying between batches, which changes how it responds to the same press pressure. Pressing gap setting drifted.
Fix at source: A dough ball cutting machine removes this variable entirely — every peda comes out the same weight, which is why kitchens running to a specification almost always add one.
Browning is patchy or one-sided
Most likely: Partially blocked burner ports. Flour dust and dough residue collect over time and restrict some ports before others, producing hot and cold zones across the plate.
Also check: Gas pressure dropping during service — common when the cylinder is running low or the line is undersized for the burner load. Browning that starts fine and degrades through service points here.
Rarely: Machine not level, so contact pressure differs across the plate.
Dough sticks to the pressing plates
Most likely: Dough over-hydrated, or too warm. Both make it tacky. Summer kneading with room-temperature water is a frequent trigger.
Also check: Residue build-up on the plates from incomplete cleaning — dough sticks to dough far more readily than to clean steel.
Worth knowing: Sunshine machines are built to run without dry dusting flour at the pressing or baking stage. If someone on your line has started dusting to stop sticking, treat that as a symptom to trace rather than a fix — it masks a hydration problem and leaves residue that causes the next one.
Rotis come out hard or dry
Most likely: Over-baking. Either the temperature is set high or the chapatis are spending too long in the baking zone for their thickness.
Also check: Dough under-hydrated — the same cause as poor puffing, showing up differently. Rotis held uncovered after production; they lose moisture fast in open air.
Worth knowing: If rotis are soft coming off the machine and hard by service, the problem is holding, not baking.
Rotis tear or come out with holes
Most likely: Dough under-developed — not kneaded long enough to build structure, so it can’t stretch without breaking.
Also check: Dough too cold and stiff, straight from refrigeration without tempering. Pressing gap set too thin for the dough you’re using.
Output has dropped below what it used to be
Most likely: Nothing mechanical — the operator changed. Sustained throughput depends heavily on loading rhythm, and a new person takes a few shifts to find it.
Also check: Dough supply not keeping pace, so the machine idles between loads. Gas pressure low, extending bake time per piece.
Measure it: Count output over a timed fifteen minutes rather than estimating. Perceived slowdowns are usually real but much smaller than they feel mid-service.
Gas consumption has gone up
Most likely: Machine being left on between service windows. An idling burner consumes steadily and produces nothing.
Also check: Burner ports partially blocked, forcing a higher setting to reach the same temperature. Ambient conditions — an open kitchen in winter loses heat faster.
Worth knowing: Sunshine machines bake on gas and use electricity only for pressing and motors. That split is deliberate: it keeps fuel cost per roti well below what all-electric heating costs at commercial volume. Our page on running cost explains how to measure your own.
The pattern behind most of these
Read back through the causes and three things recur: dough hydration, gas pressure, and cleaning. That isn’t a coincidence. Those three account for the large majority of output complaints on commercial chapati machines — and all three are kitchen-side rather than machine-side.
Which means a kitchen with a disciplined dough process, a properly sized gas line and a daily cleaning routine sees very few of these at all. Our guides to dough and hydration and the daily operating routine cover both.
Where the machine’s design decides the outcome
The remaining faults — the genuinely machine-side ones — are mostly consequences of how a machine was built rather than how it is used. This is where machines in this category differ most, and it is worth knowing what to look for, whether you own one already or are still choosing.
| Recurring problem | What causes it in many machines | How Sunshine machines are built |
|---|---|---|
| Burner blockage, patchy browning, creeping gas use | Enclosed cavities where flour and dough collect out of reach, so residue builds up unseen and restricts burner ports over months | No hidden enclosures anywhere in the design — every surface flour can reach is a surface a person can reach, so the daily clean actually removes it |
| Sticking that staff fix by dusting flour | Designs that need dry flour at the pressing stage, which then builds up as residue and changes the roti | Built to run with no dry dusting flour at pressing or baking — sticking is a dough signal, not a daily workaround |
| Corrosion on contact surfaces | Food-grade steel on visible panels only, with cheaper material underneath | Food-grade stainless steel throughout, which is what lets these machines run for years in a wet, hot, floury environment |
| Hygiene findings at inspection | Hand contact through the process and spaces that cannot be cleaned or inspected | Minimal hand contact by design, and nothing in the machine that an inspector can reach but your cleaner can’t |
| High running cost per roti | All-electric heating, which is expensive per unit of heat at commercial volume | Gas burners for baking, electricity for pressing and motors — the split that keeps fuel cost per roti low |
| Downtime waiting on a part | Proprietary components, no local stock, a manufacturer who is hard to reach | Conventional serviceable components, spare parts held in India, and technicians across our service network |
None of this makes a machine immune to problems — nothing is, and dough and gas supply remain yours to control. What it does mean is that the failure modes which quietly degrade a machine over its first few years are designed out rather than managed around. Over two decades of building these, that is most of what we have learned and put back into the product.
Change one thing at a time
The common mistake when diagnosing is to adjust dough, temperature and pressing gap together, find the rotis are still wrong, and have no idea which change helped. Alter one variable, run twenty rotis, assess, then move on. It feels slower and resolves things considerably faster.
When it genuinely is the machine
Stop and call a technician rather than continuing to run if you see any of the following:
- Any smell of gas, at any time, however faint
- A flame that is yellow or lifting away from the burner rather than steady and blue
- Unusual noise from the motor or drive — grinding, knocking, or a change in pitch
- The conveyor or rotary mechanism stalling, slipping or moving unevenly
- Visible damage to a plate, belt or guard
- Anything electrical: tripping, heating at a connection, intermittent operation
None of these are things to work around. The machines are built to run for years in commercial service, and a genuine fault that gets attention early is almost always a small repair.
What to have ready when you call us
It speeds diagnosis considerably if you can tell us the model, roughly when the problem started, and whether anything changed around then — a new flour supplier, a new operator, a cylinder change, a deep clean. A short video of the machine running and a photo of a problem roti are worth more than a long description.
Most of what comes through our service line is resolved on the call itself. For the rest, knowing the symptom in advance means the technician arrives with the right part rather than making two visits. That is the part of owning a machine that rarely appears in a brochure and matters most on the day something stops.
Related reading: our maintenance guide covers the routine that prevents most of this, and which chapati machine does what explains where each stage sits in the line.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my rotis not puffing in the machine?
Under-hydrated dough is the cause far more often than anything else — puffing needs enough moisture to generate steam inside the roti. After that, check that the baking temperature isn’t set too low and that the dough has rested. A partially blocked burner can also cause it, but you’d usually see patchy browning alongside.
Why is the thickness of my chapatis inconsistent?
Almost always because the dough balls going in vary in weight or stiffness. The press works to a set gap, so what you feed it determines what comes out. Hand-rolled pedas are the usual source, which is why kitchens working to a specification add a dough ball cutting machine.
Why is dough sticking to the pressing plates?
Usually dough that is over-hydrated or too warm, which is common when kneading with room-temperature water in summer. Residue from incomplete cleaning is the other frequent cause. Sunshine machines are built to run without dry dusting flour, so if staff have started dusting to stop sticking, treat it as a symptom to trace rather than a solution.
Can machine design prevent these problems?
Some of them, yes. Enclosed cavities let flour collect out of reach, which blocks burner ports and causes patchy browning and rising gas use over months. Sunshine machines are built without hidden enclosures, in food-grade stainless steel throughout, and with no dry flour needed at the pressing stage — so those particular failure modes are designed out rather than managed around.
When should I stop using the machine and call a technician?
Immediately for any gas smell, a yellow or lifting flame, unusual motor noise, a stalling or slipping mechanism, visible damage, or anything electrical such as tripping or intermittent operation. These are not conditions to work around, and caught early they are almost always small repairs.
Something not right with your machine?
Tell us the model and what you’re seeing — rotis, not error codes. Most issues we diagnose over a call or a short video, and send a technician only when it genuinely needs one.
Contact: +91-9818172990 | +91-0120-4337946 | info@sunshineindustries.co.in