I am trying to put together information on what is needed in a commercial kitchen (specifics) and would like to make sure that I have everything on there I need. If there is a certain model of an item that would work best in a commercial kitchen, I would like to know. Please do not give me vague answers such as "Try this brand". Types of ovens, fridges, freezers, anything you can think of. Thanks.

Sarah

Question answered by Andrew Strauss

Pots and Pans: Quality cookware sized for restaurant volume is a must. Stockpots from 4- to 20-quart capacity is a good place to start along with varying sizes of saute and sauce pans. These will be the workhorses of your kitchen, so buying the best quality will save money in the long run. You will also need 2- and 4-inch hotel pans, baking sheets and loaf pans. Other equipment can include braziers, pasta cookers, steamers, cast-iron cookware and woks. The Prep Area: Having a good prep table, shelving and adequate equipment for preparing food will save time and money. An industrial mixer, immersion blender, food processor, microwave oven and a commercial meat slicer are some of the bigger ticket items needed. Utensils and Small Wares: Other items that you will need for your restaurant equipment include bowls for mixing, cutlery, a food scale, spatulas, whisks, long-handled spoons, juicers, zesters, graters and peelers. Larger prep equipment that you need are bus tubs, cutting boards, salad spinners, commercial can openers and food storage containers. Cold Storage: Like ovens and stove tops, your refrigeration and freezer capacity might be dictated by the projected volume of meals served in your restaurant and the space available. Many commercial restaurants use walk-in refrigerator units, and some can even house walk-in freezers. However, good quality stand-alone units are available and can be used safely and efficiently.

How Much To Build A Commercial Kitchen?

Myself and a friend are doing a project where we have to create a small business. We have decided on a property with an existing kitchen. As a ballpark figure, how much would it cost if we needed to get brand new ovens, dishwashers, sinks, refrigeration systems, microwaves, counter tops, coffee machines, etc? All of the utilities would already be inside so we wouldn't have to demolish any walls or do much rebuilding. Please include breakdown in Canadian pricing.

Question answered by joea

T, due to the scope of work and or nature of your plans. It will be very hard to provide you any actual costs. Keep in mind, the brands, quantities, equipment etc..... With out knowing exactly the factors pertaining to your remodel, one cannot provide you an educated estimate . Worst case, consult an engineer or architect to design you a kitchen. At that point, you can requests quote for the equipment needed for your commercial kitchen. One thing to consider, electrical and plumbing expenses associated with the new equipment.

Is commercial HVAC better then residential?

I have worked residential with my brother before and it just seems like it sucks,your u in the adic when its 500 degrees for hours,is it the same with commercial work?

Jay

Question answered by Greg D

First off when it comes to residential or commercial the pay range is roughly the same. Pay range for Boston area is around $30k - $80k non union and $40k - $130k union. That's from no experience to a 30 year vet. Residential: Pros: - Great place to start the trade. - You usually work locally . - Some customers grow on you. - You typicality work inside mostly in the winter. Cons: - Extremely busy during heat waves and cold waves (90+ hrs a week). - Must deal will all kinds of customers in many different ways. - Work in Very hot attics or wet dirty basements. - You work outside in the summer mostly. - Equipment is sometimes not installed for "Service". Commercial: Pros: - Equipment is usually designed and setup for service. - Almost never deal with customers. - Not as much on-call calls (For HVAC not refrigeration). - Never have people looking over your shoulder. - Other employees are usually very smart. Cons: - In HVAC you are on the roof 90% of the time. - Equipment starts to get very complicated and large - You must have a steep learning curve. - Harder to get hired with little to no experience. - You could be working at locations across the state. Now I personally went from residential to commercial. I switched because I was sick of dealing with residential customers. When they are right over your shoulder looking at your work, constantly judging you, and nit picking the bill, it drains you. Of course working in 100F+ attics and some flooded basements does suck. Now commercial work is not much better for HVAC. 90% of the systems are located on the roofs. This is horrible during the extreme winters, and summers. I entered the refrigeration side of stuff. Good Luck

I live in Oregon. Can you use household appliances in a restaurant?

My partner and I are planning to open a small restaurant (on a shoestring) - If possible, I'd like to use household kitchen appliances to start, and then start incorporating commercial equipment as we can. Thanks, Sheree

Sheree

Question answered by Judge Julie

I don't know why not, there are no regulations - except perhaps refrigeration which must maintain a certain temperature to retard spoilage. Understand you'll need to have backup appliances in case the overuse creates failures, before you can afford commercial appliances. Shop thrift stores and yard sales for extra coffeepots - waffle makers - mixers - meat grinders - microwaves - etc.

What kind of career can I have with a refrigeration/HVAC degree?

My dad keeps saying he wants me to get into that field because it’s going to keep growing because everybody needs cold food. I’m not sure I want to get into a field just to fix refrigerators though?

A M

Question answered by freudianfate

Median hourly wage-and-salary earnings of heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers were $18.11 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $14.12 and $23.32 an hour. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $11.38, and the top 10 percent earned more than $28.57. Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers were: Hardware, and plumbing and heating equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers $20.53 Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment (except automotive and electronic) repair and maintenance 19.95 Direct selling establishments 19.12 Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors 17.46 Electrical contractors 16.74 Apprentices usually begin at about 50 percent of the wage rate paid to experienced workers. As they gain experience and improve their skills, they receive periodic increases until they reach the wage rate of experienced workers. Heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers enjoy a variety of employer-sponsored benefits. In addition to typical benefits such as health insurance and pension plans, some employers pay for work-related training and provide uniforms, company vans, and tools. About 14 percent of heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers are members of a union. The unions to which the greatest numbers of mechanics and installers belong are the sheet metal workers International Association and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada.

Do you worry about the regulation of the food you eat everyday?

Naturally i pray over my food but how are the regulations as far as our food is concerned? Are you worried? Or do you care. Men don't tend to think about it. But mothers and women do because of the children. Where does our food come from anyway?

Summertime

Question answered by Abraham Lincoln

Be more concerned with eating in restaurants. That is the industry I service, I repair commercial cooking equipment, Ice machines, refrigeration and such. Seeing what things are REALLY like, I have become calloused as to what food could be contaminated with, Ice machines are a breeding ground for bacteria. Dark and wet in there,. Air borne food feeds them, Machines around beer and breads (like subways) produces the biggest batches of slime growing in them. The slime is often colorless, but some strains are black. MOST machines CAN NOT be cleaned properly, due to physical access limitations... Due to their construction. A guy just can't get at all the spots, it is impossible. All I can do is spray a little bleach down there, and some die and fall off. Get a brush in there and clean? BWAHAHAHHAA! Ain't happening. http://www.bing.com/search?q=students+sampled+ice+Salmonella%2C+E.+coli%2C+Shigella%2C+and+the+Norwalk+virus.&go=&qs=n&sk=&form=QBRE I clean them, I rarely use ice from a restaurant. Hot coffee and etc is best. .

How do I make homeade wine?

I don't mean jail hooch, I mean with all the equipment and stuff.

Lisa

Question answered by Unholy Imbiber

Start with good grapes and you can make wine at home using a method similar to the professionals. The best grapes to use for winemaking are known as vinifera grapes. These include popular varieties like cabernet, chardonnay and merlot. These grapes grow best in cooler climates. To make wine, first grow grapes until they are ripe. Ripeness can be judged using the Brix scale, which rates a grape's sweetness. You can also wait for the grape's moment of physiological ripeness by taking into account how ripe its seeds and skin are based on color or other attributes. After picking the grapes, remove and discard the stems and crush the grapes to release the must. For making white wines, press the juice off the skins. In the second step of how to make wine, it is best to allow the juice to rest under refrigeration to prevent fermentation. This maceration period helps extract the maximum quantity of flavor compounds from the skins. After the resting period, induce fermentation by introducing a yeast culture. Never allow wild yeast to ferment the wine naturally as this can ruin the fermentation. Put the wine in a food grade container and keep it in a cool ventilated location. The container must have a way for the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast to escape. Home winemakers often use carboys for this purpose. Commercial winemakers use stainless steel containers. While fermentation is active in a red wine, the seeds and skins will rise to the top of the container. This cap needs to be kept wet with fermenting juice for maximum extraction. To accomplish this, punch down the cap at regular intervals. For red wines, separate the juice from the skins, seeds and fruit pulp. This may be done at various points, usually at the end of tank fermentation. Either during alcoholic fermentation or while the wine is in storage, you can induce malolactic fermentation. Many reds and some whites undergo this process to convert sharper malic acid to softer lactic acid. The specific gravity of the fermenting must is periodically measured to determine when fermentation is complete. When tank fermentation is complete, draw off the wine from the settled yeast cells and sediment which is called the lees. Most winemakers add sulfur dioxide at this point to prevent both oxidation and any further fermentation. Most solids suspended in the wine will settle out on their own with time. However, this could take months and does not always result in a clear wine. Commercial wineries sometimes use fining agents such as bentonite, which is a type of clay, or egg whites to remove these suspended solids. Filtration is also used to remove solids from wine and to remove all yeast and some bacteria cells. The finished wine is then transferred to storage tanks or oak barrels. It can be stored for three months to several years before bottling. Bottle the wine. Continue its aging in the bottle if appropriate. The wine's flavor will continue to change and usually improve as it ages unless it has been sterile filtered @ 0.2 micron. *Anything that will touch the wine must be clean and sanitized. Sanitizing can be done by using a solution of two ounces of metabisulfate to one gallon of water or other commercially available sanitizer. If you skip this step, the wine will spoil.

Is the Refrigeration and Air conditioning mechanic career seasonal?

I live in Canada, and I heard that its slow during winter months but not sure anyone know for sure

Fishboy

Question answered by Nikita M

At first glance it would seem that the refrigeration and air conditioning industry must be a seasonal industry. There is more residential business in the summer months than in the winter, but there is another side to the industry-portable commercial and industrial air conditioning. Portable commercial air conditioning services, like Mobile Air, www.mobileair.com, provide year round services to multiple industries, from factories with heat-sensitive equipment and safety concerns for employees to computer based businesses with server rooms and data centers that have to stay cool. In the end, if you work for a small refrigeration and air conditioning company that focuses on home units it will probably be more of a seasonal business than if you have a career at a company like Mobile Air that provides industrial and commercial units.

Is centralized air conditioner in office increase the air pressure inside the building?

Centralized AC has compressor and blower fans.. Does the compressing action increase the pressure inside the bulding?

Srinivasan Chakravarthy

Question answered by The Correct Answer is

A refrigeration or AC compressor has nothing to do with pressurizing a building, the fan does though. In a commercial office building the HVAC system will have a make up air system. This may be a unit by itself or it may be incorporated as OSA (outside air) dampers on the HVAC AC equipment. The idea is to over pressurize the building with air that is filtered from the HVAC equipment so that air can't leak in through cracks, crevices, etc in the building structure. It's an air quality issue that is mandated per building codes. You may not see this on older commercial buildings due to being 'grandfathered' or built before the codes were in place, but all newer construction must comply with the building codes. In older buildings when HVAC systems are upgraded/replaced the code takes effect and a contractor would have to install equipment that would meet code requirements.

Can i use 407A Refrigerant to replace 407C Refrigerant without damaging the compressor?

Have 5 ton A/C system that uses 407C. Shippment of wrong refrigerant came in 407A very similar....Can I use the 407A in place of the 407C without damaging the system.

Bobby

Question answered by Boe

NO! Not with out modify the system. If it called for 407C then thats what you need to put back into it. Yes, they are similar but have do not have the same pressure ratings. R-407A is a R-22 retrofit for medium and low temperature refrigeration systems. It is not intended for air-conditioning applications, nor recommended for use in systems with flooded evaporators. R-407C Applications include residential and commercial air conditioning systems, non-flooded evaporator chillers, and some commercial refrigeration systems. Since R-407C has similar properties to R-22, it is possible (with modifications) to use it in the same equipment designed for R-22 today. Also, I find it odd that the 5 ton system uses that refrigerant however, I dont know the application. It has to have POE oil in the compressor or 407C wont work period.