How do they power espresso carts?

[John F]

I am in the process of starting a mobile truck selling espresso and cupcakes...

Drive it by my place when it's built.

I'll take 4 shots and two cupcakes. 

[Tex]

I am in the process of starting a mobile truck selling espresso and cupcakes...

I bought one of these which I hope was a little overkill.

My La Marzocco Linea AV/2 runs 220v @ 22A.

It's a little bit loud, but is mounted on the road side of the truck.

-Stubbie

Changing your handle to Cupcake?

 

[hannanonn]

You  hi tech guys amazes me as always. Did you ever hear of power inverters or did I missed  it in the threads. In my cart I use 2000w that runs 2 grinders Off a  4 x750 amp/hr,  deep cell optima batteries. They lasts without charge almost 16 hrs of regular operation. (about  150 pulls).  Including grindings for  100 cups yama brewing.  I charge them via 1. My big Dodge quad diesel alternator. Or during parking the cart overnight at my “vestibule” my cart port. I used  200w solar panel.  Of course, I got a generator in standby. Lately, the city of Berkeley installed power pedestals along the street  where the market operates so there is no need for those. I will add pics when the sun is up. 

[Ascholten]

I have helped people wire up coffee carts / hot dog carts before, and yes there is a code on that too... grumble.

Many of them have a SLA battery or two,  100 - 200 Ah and an inverter on them.   Some have a small generator but the battery is cheaper in the long run.  Turn your machine on, grind the coffee and turn it off.   For heat there is a propane tank and whatever heating you need.  At the end of the day they plug it in to charge it back up for the next day.

Hell, get a 100 watt solar panel, and market it as 'green powered' coffee.  I bet folks would pay extra for the novelty.

Aaron

[Stubbie]

I am in the process of starting a mobile truck selling espresso and cupcakes...

I bought one of these which I hope was a little overkill.

My La Marzocco Linea AV/2 runs 220v @ 22A.

It's a little bit loud, but is mounted on the road side of the truck.

-Stubbie

Changing your handle to Cupcake?

 

No, found some one as passionate about cupcakes as I am about coffee

I just got back from Austin, TX and they have food carts EVERYWHERE!  That city has really embraced mobile food...Kansas City, not so much.   It for sure gave me some ideas on how to operate that I didn't have before the trip.

Hannanonn - I thought about inverters, but the advice I got said it wasn't really an option with the amount of power I was going to be pulling.  You're running your grinders, I am running an entire shop, including A/C for the hot months off that genset.  Nice that they are putting power pedestals up for you to plug in to - I will have a power plug for shore power as well if I can ever find somewhere that has it other than my shop...

-Stubbie

[hannanonn]

.....sell your power gobbler machine stubbie, try to get an Astoria lever with the gas option.
Or:  add a gas kit with a pressure controller (for gas)  :)to the one you got, in that case you will have to either  add a switch for  power element shut off but leaves the other functioning  (pump etc).  Generator is an option but a 34k  gen.  cost? Constant maint work (don’t we have enough blending)? . Cost of fuel.  The Noise factor, pollution, etc.  I used the gen. setup before, even with a very quiet Yamaha at the end of the day all I got left was the up and down sounds of that monster abating the singing of birds.

[Tex]

No, found some one as passionate about cupcakes as I am about coffee

I just got back from Austin, TX and they have food carts EVERYWHERE!  That city has really embraced mobile food...Kansas City, not so much.  It for sure gave me some ideas on how to operate that I didn't have before the trip.

-Stubbie

We have them in Houston too - referred to as "roach coaches". They're frequent targets of meth-heads looking for a source of funding (guess O'bama's stimulus package didn't reach them?).

My fav in the area is the Tamale Man in the Friendswood area - best hand made tamales in the world!

[Stubbie]

Hannan - Yes, looked into a 2 group lever machine powered by gas.  Since I had to buy a genset anyway for everything else in the truck, I bought a big one.  Not sure which one you were looking at, but I didn't spend 34K on mine (whew!)  I also got a diesel which I'm hoping I can run with bio-fuel.

Tex - you have to be one of the folks that run the regs around here on the KS side of the border.  They must equate mobile food trucks with "Roach Coaches" (I am familiar with the term) because they aren't very keen on giving out permits to sell on their streets.  That's why we're focusing our efforts on KCMO and events.

Now that we've derailed John's post sufficiently....

-Stubbie

[Tex]

Hannan - Yes, looked into a 2 group lever machine powered by gas.  Since I had to buy a genset anyway for everything else in the truck, I bought a big one.  Not sure which one you were looking at, but I didn't spend 34K on mine (whew!)  I also got a diesel which I'm hoping I can run with bio-fuel.

Tex - you have to be one of the folks that run the regs around here on the KS side of the border.  They must equate mobile food trucks with "Roach Coaches" (I am familiar with the term) because they aren't very keen on giving out permits to sell on their streets.  That's why we're focusing our efforts on KCMO and events.

Now that we've derailed John's post sufficiently....

-Stubbie

Oh, I worry a lot about hijacking one of John's threads!

[Tex]

Back on topic: If I wanted to setup a mobile espresso stand (cart or truck) I'd definitely opt for a propane heated boiler. Generator exhaust fumes are very offensive to a lot of folks, and some communities simply restrict sizes permitted in certain areas. Reliable 240 vac power sources can be few & far between, and are usually allocated on a 1st come, 1st served basis.

The local farmers market I attend has a 2000 watt limit, enough for a small refrigerator and lights. Sound levels cannot exceed 60 decibels, and they do check! All of the markets I've looked into have a nuisance clause; if enough customers or sellers complain about your exhaust fumes, you'll not be welcomed back.

[hannanonn]

Hannan - Yes, looked into a 2 group lever machine powered by gas.  Since I had to buy a genset anyway for everything else in the truck, I bought a big one.  Not sure which one you were looking at, but I didn't spend 34K on mine (whew!)  I also got a diesel which I'm hoping I can run with bio-fuel.

Tex - you have to be one of the folks that run the regs around here on the KS side of the border.  They must equate mobile food trucks with "Roach Coaches" (I am familiar with the term) because they aren't very keen on giving out permits to sell on their streets.  That's why we're focusing our efforts on KCMO and events.

Now that we've derailed John's post sufficiently....

-Stubbie

Geez,
 I ment 3400 watts not $ but the way the $ is looking at the toilet bowel closer every day you may have to spend that for 3.4 kw gen.

[John F]

Oh, I worry a lot about hijacking one of John's threads!

Good.

I am very sensitive you know..... 

[Ascholten]

Instead of BioDiesel which you have to process, you can do the SVO route or mix it 50/50 with regular diesel or some other blend to cut costs.

Aaron

[Tex]

Oh, I worry a lot about hijacking one of John's threads!

Good.

I am very sensitive you know..... 

Try Vaseline on those sensitive areas, it smooths whatever rubs you the wrong way.

[Gime2much]

Oh, I worry a lot about hijacking one of John's threads!

Good.

I am very sensitive you know.....  

Try Vaseline on those sensitive areas, it smooths whatever rubs you the wrong way.

When the kids were teething we used a product called "Numbsie Gumsie" They cried much less.......