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Portable Power: Choosing The Best Portable Generator For Your Food Truck

18 July 2017

Brittany Washington

The modern food truck is far removed from the shabby, makeshift burger vans of days gone by, and the added complexity and capabilities of modern food trucks requires extra power. To satisfy the increasing demand for sophisticated street food many food trucks carry generators to power their ovens, refrigerators and various pieces of cooking equipment.

However, portable generators are available in a vast variety of types, capacities and configurations, and choosing one well suited to the unique demands of powering a food truck can be challenging. To help you decide, ask yourself the following questions when shopping around for a generator to hire:

How should my generator be powered?

The vast majority of modern portable generators use one of three fuel types to generate electrical power, and these fuels come with their own individual advantages and disadvantages:

Petroleum generators are easy to start, are relatively fuel efficient and can run in both hot and cold weather. Their simple engines are reliable and robust. However, petrol generators are also quite loud and produce noxious exhaust fumes, which will require your generator to be placed a reasonable distance away from public thoroughfares. 

Diesel generators are incredibly efficient and reliable, and have extremely low fuel requirements. However, starting them on cold mornings can be difficult, and the larger, bulkier diesel engine can produce large amounts of noise. Exhaust fumes are also a problem.

Natural gas generators run from canisters of compressed gas, such as propane or butane, and are much quieter than petrol or diesel generators. They also produce less exhaust fumes, although they are still unsuitable for use in enclosed, poorly-ventilated areas. They also tend to be more expensive to run than generators running on liquid fuels.

As such, you should keep various factors in mind when choosing how your generator will be fuelled. Space constraints may force you to use natural gas to avoid choking your customers with diesel fumes, while lengthy serving periods may make the efficiency of petrol or diesel more desirable.

How much power should my generator generate?

Even the most sophisticated and modern generator isn't much use to a food truck operator if it can't produce enough power, and you should take care to calculate your power needs before hiring a generator. Try to hire a generator that provides slightly more power than you will require to account for busy periods and power surges, but avoid going too large as this can increase fuel consumption and noise levels.

Should I hire an inverter generator?

Conventional generators produce power at a constant rate, and subsequently their engines run at a constant speed. However, you can also hire more sophisticated inverter generators, which feature advanced circuitry and adaptable engines capable of running at different rates.

The added versatility of an inverter generator allows your generator to create more or less power as the situation demands. This can dramatically increase your generator's fuel efficiency, especially over long periods, as an inverter generator minimises power wastage during periods of low demand. However, inverter generators tend to be more expensive to hire, so you should ascertain whether the fuel savings you will make are work the extra hiring cost.

For more information, contact a professional in your area like those found at Total Generators.

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