Just wondering if anyone on here has a mobile espresso set-up for events such as weddings, vendor-type markets, etc. It’s a bit of a ‘pet project’ right now as I’m looking at some design options but a little stumped when it comes to reliable, quiet power with no emissions and suitable for indoor use. Probably looking at a 2-group machine, 2 grinders, a small fridge or icebox, a couple of line-pressure water pumps, and possibly a hot water tower or hot-water on demand tap. I understand that lots of people would like to keep this type of information proprietary, but I thought I’d pose the question here to see if I can get some ideas to explore a little more. I’m thinking of some type of inverter that can be sized appropriately that would power a panel with various sized breakers sized to the eventual equipment and their specific electrical requirements.
Oh yeah, it also has to be something that can be ‘broken-down’ for relative ease of transport…
I think I can figure out the plumbing by using 20L bottles and a couple of FlowJet (or similar…) pumps and a drain line to a large bucket.
This one is a great question!!! I ran coffee carts etc for years in Australia and it’s a nightmare. But I have the answer nowadays!
I now am Coffee Director for a company in NY called Bluestone Lane. We have as a side project a massive events component in a city that is riddled with transport and power issues.
How we resolved it is Linea Minis. Standard home outlet power is all that’s needed - we pair two side by side (to create a two group) and simple take 1 Gallon filtered waters to the event, top the internal reservoir every 20/30 shots and even simply dump milk scum into the empty water bottles for ease of waste.
I’ve done events where there were 700 espresso drinks made using the two minis and they don’t miss a beat!
The trick I found to have TWO on one circuit is to power one up, once it heats peak temp, switch the other on. It’s a fine line playing when double machine game but works out.
Furthermore a single mini works well for volume too - especially if you serve and prepare to completion each persons order as opposed to taking a bunch of orders then smashing the machine. Thiss gives it plenty of recovery time - basically if you allow 1.30 for each drink you won’t see the mini lose power
Some of the Yamaha mains generator sets,sold as petrol powererd, are so quiet you cannot hear them from one meter away. There are conversion kits to fuel them with LPG (propane), eliminating the air contaminant factor fro buring the petrol. Friend of mine has one, I think about 4 KW output continuous, inside his van for carpet cleaning equipment that uses a LOT of current. They don’t weigh much (not even 25 kilos) and are fairly small, I think his is about a third of a cubic metre. (9 cubic feet). The small cylinders commonly fitted to outdoor barbeque units in the States will run that generator for days. I think they cost somewhere in the area of USD $1000
You are on the right track with the FlowJet units… I do a fair number of events, soometimes multiple days together, (I use the Curtis D500 units) and bring along a number of the 30 litre sanitary water beakers and refill them as needed. I’d highly recommend carrying a complete spare kit, just in case one of the components packs it in. It only takes a few oments to fetch up and replace a failed component. The sets aren’t overly dear to begin with. Great cheap insurance.
I think this is where I’m heading with a couple of 120V single group machines. I also discovered that Fetco makes a ‘plug + play’ hot water dispenser in both a 2 and 5 gal. option.
again, appreciate your insight + experience. thanks!
