There are certain situations when you need a mobile kitchen.  They come in a wide variety of sizes, from small, compact units to huge setups that can feed thousands of people.  Here are some of the situations that require the use of a mobile kitchen:

• Company and special events
• Food trucks and vendors
• Disaster relief:  Workers and volunteers need to be fed
• Renovations:  For when you can’t shut down your kitchen while you renovate
• Fairs and festivals
• Military camps
• Trade shows
• Temporary health care units and hospitals

Mobile Kitchens for Sale

While many people rent a mobile kitchen, there are many situations when you should buy one.  The most common reason why people buy one is because they want to use it for business.  A mobile kitchen rental is fine, but if you are going to use it more than a few times, it easily makes sense to buy one.  People all over the world have successful businesses that are run out of mobile kitchens.  If you don’t have a lot of starting capital, it is fairly easy to find a used mobile kitchen for sale.  People sell them every day, all over the world, which means that you don’t have to pay top dollar for used mobile kitchens, and can start your business with less money.

Mobile Kitchen Rentals

If you just need a mobile kitchen for one situation, you should definitely rent one.  Mobile kitchen rentals are available worldwide, and they vary from small-scale operations that rent vending trucks to large scale businesses that can customize and deliver an on-site mobile kitchen that is literally big enough to feed an army.

Mobile Kitchen Rental Costs

It is a given that the rental costs are going to vary depending on your needs, the location, and the company you choose.  Here are a few guidelines to think about:  It costs a lot to deliver and return a mobile kitchen to its location, so the prices for one day or a few days are going to be expensive.  All rental companies should give steep discounts for weekly or monthly rentals.  It is often the same price to rent a unit for a month as it is for only a few days.  Small kitchen trucks can be rented for as little as $150 per day, depending on the condition, size and intended use of the truck.  Large kitchen trailers cost $2,000 or more per day, but monthly rentals start at around $6,000 and go up from there, depending on the size and features.

Types of Mobile Kitchens

There are two basic types of mobile kitchens.  The first kind is the mobile kitchen truck.  This type of unit is an all-in-one cooking machine.  You can just drive it to wherever it is needed, and then park it and get to work.  Mobile kitchen trucks are good for smaller operations and food vendors.  The sides of the trucks generally open and awnings can be erected as well.  They are run by generators that power the stoves, grills, bar fridge, and other appliances.  These trucks can be custom made by a number of manufacturers, and are the easiest to find used.

The second type is the mobile kitchen trailer.  When you need to feed a lot of people at the same time, a truck usually just isn’t going to cut it.  Mobile kitchen trailers are the solution to large scale cooking in locations that don’t have permanent facilities.  There are different types of kitchen trailers, each specializing in a different area.  Here are some of the most common mobile kitchen trailers that are available.

• All-in-one mobile trailers:  Have everything you need in one unit to cook basic meals
• Bakery production trailers
• Food preparation trailers
• Dishwashing units
• Refrigeration and freezer trailers:  You can get them separately or together.

These mobile kitchen trailers are also called modular kitchens because you can mix and match them to fulfill your needs.  You can get any number of different mobile kitchen units and put them together to meet your demands.

Tags: Mobile Kitchens, Outdoor Kitchens by Jeffrey
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A friend recently asked me to help her find a pink microwave.  I thought that it would be an easy task, but I was wrong.  The problem is that most appliance manufacturers don’t stray very far from the safe colors like black, white, and silver.  These three colors are what 99% of consumers buy, so it didn’t surprise me very much when I had a tough time finding one in the color pink.  After a little searching, I did come up with a couple of options though, and here they are.  The only problem is that if you won’t settle for anything other than a pink microwave oven, you pretty much have to take whatever is offered.  You won’t have much choice as far as size and power goes. In fact, you have exactly two choices.

The first of the pink microwaves is from a company called Cooks.  As far as microwaves go, it is definitely on the small side at .6 cubic feet.  Most normal sized ovens are around 1 cubic foot.  As far as features go, it is pretty much your basic microwave oven with the standard electronic display and what not.  An added bonus is that if you are looking for a yellow microwave or something like that, they make the same model in different colors.  Have your pick of yellow, tangerine, white, pink, black, or red.  The only place that I’ve seen it actually for sale is at JC Penney, and it doesn’t look like they are going to sell it for much longer.

If you are willing to consider another color, I recommend getting This Red Microwave from Amazon.com.  It is made by Magic Chef, which is owned by the Whirlpool/Maytag corporation, definitely the leaders in home appliances.  It also gets great reviews from people who have bought it.  At least you can get plenty of other pink kitchen accessories and appliances.  Here are some of the ones that you CAN find:

Your second choice is the pink Hinari microwave.  Although the brand name sounds exotic, it is actually a British company that has been around for 20 years or so.  Like the Cooks pink microwave, this is another tiny oven.  It is pretty much the same size as the one mentioned above, at 17 liters (just over .6 cubic feet).  For some reason they seem to think that people wanting microwaves in this color like tiny appliances!  This one at least comes with a few more features than the cooks model, but it might be pretty tough to locate anywhere outside the UK.  You can find it at this store, but they won’t deliver outside the UK.
As you can see, getting your hands on a hot pink microwave is easier said than done.  If you want a toy one, that is a different story.  This one here lights up and makes beeping noises like a real oven, but it won’t actually heat anything up.  While a pink toy microwave might do the trick for a little princess, it won’t really help in a real kitchen.

Tags: Appliances, Microwaves by Jeffrey
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Look on any kitchen counter-top in the western world and you are almost sure to see a microwave.  Everybody has them these days, but some people use them more than others.  There are a few factors that you need to think about before choosing a microwave oven.  You need to consider how often you will use it, how much space you have, and what you will use it for.
If you have a normal-sized or large kitchen, you can pretty much get any size microwave oven that you want.  Some people don’t have that luxury however.  There are many people who live in tiny apartments that don’t have much counter space at all.  Getting one of those mega-microwaves will take up too much space, and they are forced to use smaller appliances such as a bar fridge and a little microwave.   Fortunately, there are smaller versions, or mini microwaves that are available for these circumstances.  Small microwaves can do pretty much the same thing as their larger counterparts, but they can’t hold as much.
A normal sized microwave is usually larger than 1 cubic foot, so a mini unit is smaller than that.   There are quite a few mini microwave ovens that are around .7 cubic feet (a little more than 2/3 cubic feet).   The smallest one that I have seen is the Sharp Half Pint Mini Microwave.  This little guy is only half a cubic foot, and is just over 14 inches wide and deep.   You might be wondering if this is too small to fit anything in there, but it can actually fit a normal sized plate inside it.  That is plenty large enough for things like frozen dinners.  If space is really limited, this might be a good choice, since it will let you heat up whatever you can fit in there.
If you are the type of person that uses the microwave a lot, it might be wise to consider getting one just a little larger than the Sharp mini microwave mentioned above.  The reason is because the larger units are usually more powerful as well (although this is not always true).  The more powerful a microwave is, the faster it will heat up the food.  Another reason for choosing a slightly larger oven is that you will be able to fit larger items in it.  Microwave pizzas are notorious for not fitting into small microwaves.
Finally, if having a truly compact kitchen is of utmost importance, you can get what is called a mini fridge microwave combo.  A few different companies make units like these.  Haier, Avanti, and Edgestar all produce them.  You might be wondering why you couldn’t just get a mini fridge and put a tiny microwave on top of it.  The truth is that you can.  I guess what makes these combinations special is that they are stuck together.  If you want to use it in a location that rocks and rolls, such as inside a truck, boat, or RV, this might be a good idea.

If you are looking for a colorful model, a good choice is the Magic Chef Microwave, which comes in red.  It is pretty strong, yet smaller than most other microwaves.  Some people also search (mostly without much luck) for a little pink microwave.  Only one place carries them in the USA, and that is JC Penney.  You might have an easier time finding one if you are in the UK though, since a company also makes them there.

Tags: Appliances, Microwaves by Jeffrey
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Many people wonder if it would be smarter to just get a refrigerator that has a glass door. That way, you could stare into it and choose what you want without having to stand there with the door open for a long time letting the cold air escape. While getting a glass fridge may seem like a splendid idea, in reality it doesn’t turn out so well for home use. They do have their place though, so let’s take a look at where they come in handy.
The truth is that appliance manufacturers just don’t make a glass door fridge intended for home use. There are plenty of them available, but they are the kind that you see in convenience stores and restaurants. If you have a food business, glass fridges are pretty much a necessity. They are so useful because they allow both employees and customers locate exactly what they want quickly. Could you imagine store clerks opening three different fridges to find what they are looking for?
Glass door fridges come in all shapes and sizes. Some have a single door, and others have double doors that open out. Depending on your needs, there are refrigerators that will serve specific purposes. Since this type of fridge is mostly used to display beverages or food for customers, many of them actually are equipped with two doors – one on the front and one on the back. Having a rear door allows the refrigerator to be stocked easily from the back as items are sold. This is important because it ensures proper stock rotation – the older items are in the front and get sold first. Prices of these refrigerators vary widely, depending on size, style, and manufacturer. The cheapest ones start at just over $1,000, and they climb to $6,000 or more for extra large, durable units.
There is one type of glass front fridge that is intended for use in the home, however. There are compact refrigerators that are meant for use in home bars. Although you can easily use a normal bar fridge, a glass door can add some style. The drawback is that you will have to pay a bit more for this type of fridge than a normal compact model. Expect to pay somewhere in the range of $500 for a glass door bar fridge made by a reputable company like Summit.
If you aren’t looking to spend that kind of money, here is a tip: there is one type of compact glass fridge priced between $100 -$200. If you are going to use it for chilling bottles of wine primarily, you can get what’s called a wine fridge. They almost always have glass doors on them, and have very accurate temperature sensors that keep the wine chilled just right. One thing to keep in mind is that these fridges are meant for wine bottles, so fitting beer bottles or cans in them may be trickier.

Tags: Appliances, Refrigerators by Jeffrey
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A lot of consideration has gone into the bottles that hold our water recently.  While few people gave it much thought in the past, once studies emerged that showed plastic bottles can leach dangerous chemicals into the water people started paying attention.  These days stainless steel water bottles are common, but what about those big bottles that some people use at home?  That 5 gallon water bottle used for drinking water can be potentially harmful to your health.

Which Type of 5 Gallon Water Bottles are best?

There are two ways that people get water:  Either they have it delivered to their home or they fill up their own bottles at a water dispensing machine.  The vast majority of large water bottles are made of a hard plastic called polycarbonate.  If you turn the water bottle over, it should have a number printed on the bottom.  This number relates to the type of plastic the container is made from.  As for 5 gallon plastic bottles, most of them are #7, and they do indeed contain Bisphenol A, or BPA for short.
If you have your water delivered to your home or office, you probably have this type of bottle.  Nearly all water delivery companies use them because the bottles are lightweight and don’t break easily.   The downside is that a 5 gallon reusable polycarbonate water bottle contains BPA, which has been shown to cause health problems in animals.  The substance is not being used for baby bottles anymore, but unfortunately most 5 gallon water bottles still have it.
If you have water delivered to your home or office, the best thing to do is call the company and ask them about the bottles they use.  Let them know that you are concerned and see if they offer any other types of bottles.  Due to the BPA scare, many single-use water bottles are now BPA free, and there are a few companies manufacturing BPA free 5 gallon water bottles but they are pretty hard to find.
Although many people in the bottled water business are quick to downplay any risks involved with the use of their products, you really never know.  Take those colorful Nalgene water bottles for instance.  Millions of people used them for decades and those bottles had BPA in them.  It wasn’t until last year that they finally came out with a BPA free water bottle.
If you are looking for something that is guaranteed not to leech any toxic substances into your water, then you should get a glass 5 gallon water bottle.  Yes, they are much heavier than plastic, and they will break if you drop them, but they are safer.  Some water delivery companies offer glass bottles, so if the one you are currently using doesn’t, it might be a good time to switch.
If you want to fill up your own glass water bottles, here are some tips:

• Glass can be very slippery when it is wet, so it is a good idea to use a towel to dry the bottle off before lifting it.
• Make sure that you get a size that you can easily manage.   Lifting a full glass bottle onto a 5 gallon water bottle dispenser is no easy task.  If you aren’t strong enough to accomplish this, you can use 3 gallon bottles instead.
• If you don’t want to do much lifting, you can get yourself a 5 gallon bottle drinking water pump, which fits onto the top of the bottle and lets you easily pump the water out.  You can also get a stand that the bottle sits on, and easily tilts to pour.

As you can see, getting a large glass bottle is preferable to using plastic ones, but they are heavier and harder to manage.  One last thing to consider is whether or not you actually need to drink bottled water.   Most developed countries have excellent water standards these days, and you can get a great filter that will produce water that meets or exceeds bottled water.  Offices mainly use bottled water because it looks good, but an alternative is a great looking water dispenser that just filters tap water.  Over the long term, this type usually works out to be cheaper, and it is better for the environment than having plastic bottles delivered all the time.

Tags: Kitchen Accessories, Uncategorized, Water by Jeffrey
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