Truck Stock for Hot Commercial Kitchen Equipment

[fixbear]

If you don’t have them, I would get gauges for gas.

Oh god, Gauges?  Seriously, My first manometer was a 3 ft board about 5 inches wide with a plastic tube fastened to it in a U shape and a ruler in the center.  I also had a bottle of mercury to go with it.  We could use water or mercury depending on the measurement.  I had one that had a double (tape measure) ruler from the center.  So you didn’t have to do the math.  Today the digital ones are a lot easyier to carry and use.  It amazes me that they can make a pressure sensor so sensitive to work as a manometer.

[ectofix]

I was late to the digital manometer party.

I always trusted my Yellow Jacket water manometer for reading gas pressures.  It’s cheap, simple and accurate.

I think it was just about ten years ago when I was on a job & needed to measure & set the draft on a burner blower for a Vulcan steamer (a blower-induced metal mesh burner).  I was trying to figure out how to get it to stop going…BOOM!

I stopped by a local Grainger and bought a Dwyer U-inclined manometer to read pressures below 1″WC.  One requiring that red fluid.

That set didn’t travel very well in my service van.  I was always having to stop back by to buy more of that red fluid.

I didn’t know at the time that if I’d have only spent $40 more (I paid $80 for that archaic Dwyer set), I coulda bought a digital manometer that did the exact same thing with no mess or fuss.

[fixbear]

My first use of one was a roll up magnet top vinal tube with a plastic U tube at the bottom and the back was the scale.  Again, almost 3 ft long with 2 fluids.. USN supplied.  Years later on my own time and money, I made one for a test project.  Yea, I’m a long way out in the woods.  But the digitals sure make it a lot easyier. Trouble is I still don’t trust the calibration over the water column. Never wrong if you know how to read the capillary wicking.  Clean Glass tube is the best and most accurate. But for what we do it isn’t that critical.

[nafets47]

That was the word I was looking for, manometer…. gas gauge, whatever.

Yes get a manometer.

[fixbear]

There are also Bordon tube low pressure gauges, but they are not accurate enough for burner work and they require constant re-calibration with a dead weight tester.

[fixbear]

There is one item I would be lost without.  That’s a 14 inch Klein bag. With Nylon ties, heat shrink tubing, marker tablets, Number and letter strips, Nytie mounts, Cable clamps, and a Panduit tie crimper/cutter.  I also have a Klien zipper pouch for the pens and tablets. How many times have you gone into a cabinet and found the wire markers falling off or unwrapping.  A Bradley heat shrink label-er is also nice if you do a lot of wire repair.  With that I used a lot of non insulated terminals and shrunk them over the terminal hub.  Bit tricky keeping the label to the top when heating.

[baltrhodes]

Hello just scanned through and didn’t see any responses that asked if you checked the valve plate to see if the suction valves are pulling 10 in vac when you back seat the suction rotor lock. The system may be ok but you said this has been going on for some time . Just 1 more question how much refrigeration temperatures have you lots since having this issue. thank you Steven

[ihateyeremy]

I scanned through the replies so if anything I say mirrors another reply, consider that double important! Haha

I do nothing but hotside and these are my must haves.

Wire guage/ oriface drill bits. The whole set.

Surface thermometer. Those fancy lazer ones can’t be trusted.

K type digital thermometer for the ovens

Robertshaw universal b.j. thermostats, one for griddles, one for ovens.

Pitco millivolt combo valve and a conversion kit for the same valve to cover both gases. It’s used in most cheap fryers

Same with the 24v ones. They’re in alot of convection ovens

120v/240v to 24v transformer

Universal cook top pilots with the hats

Universal 3/4 apliance regulator

Dormont 3/4 quick connect 48″ gas hose ki

Universal burner valves in both stem lengths

Thermopile 2 wire

good quality thermocouple from 18 in to 60 (deck ovens)

Handfull of ng and lp orifaces for pilots

Hand full of random electrical switches to get them by for the weekend.

120 and 240 coil 40a contractors

Theres a million other things but those are what I keep near my Van’s door. Leaving out things like pipe dope, tapes, sealants, electrical connectors lubes and most tools. Once you do a bunch you’ll know what to stock. I do alot of pitco, blodget and middleby so I have a ton of stuff for them.