DIY Food Truck Hood Systems & Food Truck Ventilation Cleaning Tips
Maintaining your food truck hoods regularly and keeping your food truck hoods safe will help. Furthermore, things can get tricky while using cooking equipment in a vehicle. This article covers various safety recommendations for utilizing food truck equipment.
About Food Truck Hoods
Mobile kitchens have food truck hoods built over the cooking surfaces to help collect and eliminate hazardous smoke and grease effluent.
They can help keep a crowded mobile kitchen significantly cooler by expelling hot air.
Food Truck Hood System Maintenance Tips
There is a need for prudence when running a food truck business because of the high risks posed by mishaps involving chemicals and cooking equipment.
So, if you are a new food truck owner, doing your research on safety is extremely crucial.
Keep reading for our best food truck maintenance advice. They will definitely contribute to the smooth operation of your mobile kitchen ventilation so that you can keep serving your devoted fans all season long.
Verify the Upblast Exhaust Fan
The ventilation system is a wonderful place to start when performing a maintenance inspection on a food truck.
Starting with your upblast exhaust fan is what we advise. The key component of your ventilation system is the uplast exhaust fan. Your entire kitchen will suffer if it isn’t functioning properly.
Look for any grease or oil buildup around your exhaust fan. To catch any fats, oils, or grease that escape via the fan, upblast exhaust fans should incorporate a grease containment system.
Verify that the system is linked correctly and is free of any accumulation.
Install a System for Automatic Fire Suppression
Whether you use gas or electric kitchen appliances, fire outbreaks are always a possibility.
Additionally, several towns have made the installation of an automatic fire suppression system necessary due to the fact that the majority of food truck fires involve cooking equipment.
You should install one even if your municipality doesn’t, just to be cautious!
In the event of a fire, this kind of fire suppression system automatically releases fire-suppressing chemicals.
In case of emergency, you can use the manual switch that is included with them to turn off the electrical or fuel supply to the cooking appliances used in food trucks.
When building your food truck, get professionals to install your fire suppression system for maximum performance and safety.
Examine Your Hood and Air Filters
Checking the filters in your ventilation hood is the next item on this food truck maintenance checklist.
You should also inspect the filters in any pollution control, makeup air, or HVAC systems. Any grease or oil accumulation should be removed from your hood filters.
Baffle grease filters can last for several years if they are regularly cleaned.
Look for any obvious dents, holes, rust, or other corrosion-related damage on your vent hood filters.
It could be time to get a new hood filter if they are beginning to show symptoms of wear and strain. Otherwise, just maintain a regular cleaning routine for your hood and filters.
Purchase Backup Portable Fire Extinguishers
Make sure to purchase class K fire extinguishers in particular. These are made especially to extinguish grease, oil, and fat fires.
Such fires can be challenging to extinguish with a truck fire extinguisher of any other kind since they burn at high temperatures.
However, ABC extinguishers can put out flames caused by electrical, paper, plastic, and wood materials.
Remember that class K fire extinguishers function best when used after your built-in hood suppression system has been activated.
Examine Your Vent Hood
You would be wise to take a quick peek up and inside your ventilation hood after checking your hood filters.
Verify the cleanliness. Interestingly, a professional hood cleaner can assist in ensuring that your food truck doesn’t pose a fire risk. Next, ensure that your system is operating correctly by turning it on.
Do you have a fire suppression system that operates automatically? If not, make sure your kitchen crew has access to the right fire extinguishers.
If a system is in place, check to see if your blow-off caps are in excellent shape and replace them as necessary.
Evaluate your Exhaust Ducts
Look for any cracks, kinks, or holes in your exhaust ducts. Your upblast exhaust fan won’t operate as well if the ductwork in your food truck ventilation system doesn’t have a strong seal throughout.
It will struggle to lift and remove the kitchen’s air.
A heated and smoke-filled kitchen may develop quickly with a malfunctioning exhaust fan. Overheating of the fan motor is another issue that can result from inefficient fans.
Grease leaks from your ductwork due to inadequate sealing might also pose a fire risk.
Keep Staff Training in Mind
If you want to keep your food truck on the streets, staff training is crucial. Employee training will not only assist you in passing health inspections but will also help you avoid workplace hazards like fires.
You must therefore make sure that each member of your staff completes food truck safety training.
You can use the free online courses available to you to instruct your staff on how to properly manage food, equipment, and emergencies.
If you’re not a fan of DIY, however, you can hire a professional for a minimal charge.
Self-Inspections
Take a stroll through your mobile kitchen every two weeks, noting any potential safety issues.
By doing this, you’ll be able to spot any security issues in good time to plan a suitable response before they turn into more serious problems.
This entails doing self-health checks in addition to checking all of your equipment for flaws.
However, for the latter, you’ll require health inspection forms so that you’ll know exactly what to search for.
These are available for download from the website of your local health department, or you can get some from the health inspector.
In Summary
Without food truck hoods, it is impossible to operate a concession trailer. In a small area filled with vapor and smoke, neither chefs nor diners can showcase their skills.
An effective ventilation system is required for this issue to be resolved.
Without a food truck hood system, it is impossible to operate a concession trailer.
