Wild Dog;
I know nothing about this, but are they saying you have to have an offset belt driven fan? that would get the motor out of the air flow.
 
Jerry
 

As far as cleaning the fan, once a month is good, just kind of half ass wipe it down. And since I found the grease lightning I now just spray it and let her dry. As far as loading up the grill, she does the job quite well. After a busy day it is nothing to find grease running down the outside rear of the trailer. The CFM’s, I have no idea. I would imagine it is up there as it is meant to cool an automotive radiator. It is pretty powerful, as it really “sucks” the air out of the trailer.
 
Mike

Here is a photo of the fan inside the trailer, I have one filter out of the hood. The exhaust hole is roughly 8×8″ with those flaps like on a dryer vent to keep the bugs out and let the air out. The switch to the left is to turn the fan on and off. The battery is directly below, on the floor, with a small battery charger.

C’mon everybody. This is a serious forum. We need to be professional and make sure we are giving out correct info. Everyone knows it’s ‘Tits on a boar hog’.
 
 

…I’m just curious to know if anyone has added a ventilation hood to their food cart to meet indoor use requirements.

As always, feel free to tell me to go google if I’m asking something that I didn’t see has already been beat up in another thread.

Thanks,
Jamie

Hi Jamie…I can’t picture a vent hood on a hot dog cart…if you’re only doing dogs there shouldn’t be any more than some steam. Your problem will be a propane tank indoors. A no no. You may be able to use those little 1 pounders but not practical at all. You’d need a million of them. Either one of those roller deals…yuk…or something running on electricity. Crock pot? Or just a little hot plate with pots of water??
Good luck. Hope it works out.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. A few may bite your head off for not searching till you’re blue, but most will help.

Wild Dog, I apologize if I’ve jacked your thread!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Local, how often do you need to clean that fan?  Is it very efficient when you load down the Flattop?  Can you send some pics of you hood vent assembly?  Would you happen to know what the CFM rating on the fan is?  You know ……. all the juicy details. 🙂  (NO, I don’t have any Questions!!!)  I think I am going to build a trailer this coming year.  I love my cart but it is too menu limited and weather dependent.

Does anyone ever use their  hot dog cart both indoors and outdoors?  I have what I think is a really great location but there’s not a lot of space outside.  I think in the summer that will be the place to be and I’m hoping I can work with the management to squeeze me in out their in the summer, but for the winter, I think sales would be through the roof if I had my simple cart indoors.  I’d even like to ask to put one on either end of the store – near both exits if they’d let me.  But just wondering – has anyone used just a simple hot dog cart for both indoor and outdoor use?  Is ventilation usually the main issue when thinking about doing that? I know my HD will have the final say, but just wondering if usually ventilation is usually only on mobile units or if I could possibly meet my states NSF ventilation requirement by finding someone who could add it to a cart?  Or would that be impossible to do?  I would just like to keep myself with a simple food stand vs. a larger unit if possible.  so…I’m not asking anyone to know about my states requirements…I’m just curious to know if anyone has added a ventilation hood to their food cart to meet indoor use requirements.
 
As always, feel free to tell me to go google if I’m asking something that I didn’t see has already been beat up in another thread.
 
Thanks,
Jamie

Wild, I have a 36″ hood over my griddle/grill. The exhaust fan is a 12 volt automotive fan like you will find under the hood of your pick up. I believe the one in my trailer is a GM part. It works great and mounts to the back wall with a couple of screws and is powered by a Sears Marine battery that is charged with a small Sears battery charger which are mounted under the counter on the floor. There is an on/off switch mounted on the wall to the left of the hood at eye level. The outside vent is essentially a metal hood like the clothes dryer vent you would find outside of your house. This system should fit your needs perfectly and really keep your costs down.
 
Mike

did you build your cart?  I’ve been contemplating on how to do one with windows that open up like that.  Also,  if you did, where did you get the aluminum siding?  I know most carts are made with the thread plated aluminum, but I like the different colors.
 
thanks

Re:VENTILATION HOOD INSTALLATION QUESTION 4 hrs. ago ()
you can usually pick them up on ebay for about $100. Very hard to find a propane one. I did and paid about $300 for it and it sucks. I actually just took it out of the trailer today. Took forever to get up to temps.
 
Good to know, thanks a lot for the info.  (Can’t even believe I lucked out so much coming across this forum.  What a great resource.)
-Jamie

Wild,
 
The fan is a sealed unit so fire risk in my book is not there. The fan came from my cart builder, Cart Concepts International.
 
I don’t have a photo of the rear of my trailer but I found this…
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1273478&cp=2568443.2568452.2631243.2631512 http://www.acehardware.co…568452.2631243.2631512
The above link is a good representation of the “exhaust hood” on the back outside wall of my trailer. Mine is made of stainless but looks near identical to the white hood at the end of the piping. Mine is roughly 8 or 9 inches wide and about 10 inches tall and riveted to the trailer.
 
It also has these vent flaps found in this picture to let the exhaust out while keeping the bugs out, the hood set over the top of these, mine (vent flaps) are made of stainless. http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4015026&cp=2568443.2568452.2631243.2631512 http://www.acehardware.co…568452.2631243.2631512
 
I hope this helps for now, I will see if I can get some photos of my trailer up tonight.
 
Mike