Mobile kitchen build info

chefbuba


Dog, why the 2 90's from the p-trap to the tank? Couldn't you eliminate them?
 
Also, fine tune your drops to the hopper before you glue everything,  run some water down each drain, watch where the water comes out of the pipe, meaning you are only dumping small amounts of water down the pipe, therefore it will want to flow from the low, or bottom of the pipe to the hopper,,,,, looks like your going to have a wet floor as of now..
The clocer to dead center, the better....

Good call on the test water. The pic may look like it might blow all over the floor, but I assure you it's a bad angle... lol. I made sure there is ample space and everything lines up as much as it can to the center of that drain. :-)

I'm probably going to glue it all tomorrow after the run.

The 90's had to be put in b/c I couldn't do a straight run, it would have ran across the edge of the base, so I had to bend it to get it to center under the sinks.  Small trailer = gally kitchen, but that's not really a bad thing b/c everything is within reach.

THE WILD DOG

chefbuba


Dog, why the 2 90's from the p-trap to the tank? Couldn't you eliminate them?

Also, fine tune your drops to the hopper before you glue everything,  run some water down each drain, watch where the water comes out of the pipe, meaning you are only dumping small amounts of water down the pipe, therefore it will want to flow from the low, or bottom of the pipe to the hopper,,,,, looks like your going to have a wet floor as of now..
The clocer to dead center, the better....

Good call on the test water. The pic may look like it might blow all over the floor, but I assure you it's a bad angle... lol. I made sure there is ample space and everything lines up as much as it can to the center of that drain. :-)

I'm probably going to glue it all tomorrow after the run.

The 90's had to be put in b/c I couldn't do a straight run, it would have ran across the edge of the base, so I had to bend it to get it to center under the sinks.  Small trailer = gally kitchen, but that's not really a bad thing b/c everything is within reach. 

Dog....You could eliminate the 90° elbows by rotating the hopper 45° right where it sits and use a 45° elbow into the tank. Just a thought.

I was thinking of either silconing them together, ( only issue with that is if I have to take them out.

Right and when you have to repair something you have a mess on your hands. Or worse yet when you have allowed a bunch of very small particles of food waste go down your drain in your sinks and you have to fight to take out your waste water tank in order to clean it, it becomes a chore and that always happens in the 2nd day of a 3 day event.

No disrespect meant to Ernie but "Plumbers Tape Sucks.

Go to any hardware store and get a 90 degree bracket like you'd use on a shelf (the longer the better) and screw one to the wall for your top tank, and one screwed to the floor for the bottom tank and you should be good to go, in securing your tanks. I have found they really don't shift as much as you'd expect.

Keep in mind everything you put into your rig is going to "Have to be removed for maintenance" at some point, so you need to make a good decision on strength VS  maintenance, during your build. Never wield anything that can be glued. Or in other words don't put it together so that you can't take it apart in the future. 

And I mean YOU, because if you have a friend design and put it together and then in 6 months your in another county, or state, and hes not there with you who are you going to depend on to fix it? I learned this from experience. And along the same lines no two plumbers do things alike.

Jack

I was thinking the brackets would work best. I don't really have to worry bout the waste tank, it's about 39" + the length of the inlet pipe. The only way those babies are coming out is if I remove the support stud from the base and remove the right side panel. Also would have to remove the far right flange from the sink and remove the drain pipe. I don't plan on cementing the flanges anyway, just the pipes. I don't think it will be a problem since I'm using compression fittings on them anyways. I have to redo my supply line runs anyway, I wanted to run 2 individual lines, one for the colds, & one for the hots, branching off of the out post on the water pump. I have a final blueprint of my plumbing now that I have dry fitted everything. I don't see anything wrong with the runs. I'm sure the water will pull for the hots just the same as it would for the colds. I don't know much about how on demand stuff works, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work, but I will post my plumbing runs on here to see if anyone see's any reason why it wouldn't work properly.  I also plan on keeping a tool box with some replacement fittings, small container of glue and tools, just in case I need anything on the fly. I have room underneath the sink to keep it there.

Also I'm looking for 90degree suitcase latches for my counter tops. I know they exist, I just can't seem to find them. I saved a browswer link for them, but when i blew out my pc, i lost it :-(  LOL

As I am nearing my gas line runs. I'm curious about regulators. I'll be running no more than 100,000 Btu's an hour  ( I would think)  How many regulators would I need ? I'm thinking about putting one on the outside with the tanks, and one where the manifold will be that branches off in 3 different area's. ( well 2 of them will just run straight up ) the third one will run the length of the trailer to the water heater. I plan on stopping about 3-5 feet before the water heater and just use a regular propane hose from there and glasp it down to the studs or wall partition that i put up if I decide NOT to paint :-)

Serious help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to everyone who's helped get this far.

I'm no pro propane or gas guy, but I think one regulator is all you'll need. Or if you need more one per appliance would be the answer. But to be sure call a local propane gas supplier and ask them. They will want the length of your gas line run, the inside diameter of the pipe and the BTUs of each appliance. I have one regulator at the tank, on my trailer.

Jack

Dog,   Just looking at the specs on my rig, 290,000 BTU draw from all appliances, have 1 750,000 BTU 2 stage regulator. Approx 27' of 3/4" pipe, includes flex lines. 2 #100 tanks.

You think it's best to use flex lines instead of the standard LP connection &  3/4 iron ?  I'll have a total of about 20 feet.

Are you talking flex for the whole run?, I would only use rigid pipe to the base with a shut off valve , run flex from there to the appliance. Might be code too.

Do they make 6 feet flex pipe ?  I was planning on using the 3/4 " black iron. I will have to look at the rigid pipe...  They sell that at Lowes ? lol

DRAIN TEST: 100% pass, it all made it in with a tad adjustment to the second to last drain spout on the right. had to angle it more. Now to rip it apart and do the supply lines, and set it in place.

THE WILD DOG


Do they make 6 feet flex pipe ?  I was planning on using the 3/4 " black iron. I will have to look at the rigid pipe...  They sell that at Lowes ? lol

By rigid I meant non flexible. Use the black pipe or galvanized, what ever is allowed.
 
Flex lines come in different lengths.

I think I'm going to to try & attempt to build my own exhaust hood. I've been doing some research and it seems that all the hoods are built out of 304 stainless. I can get 304 stainless backsplash in the same gauge for about $50 a sheet.

Now I'm just really thinking outloud on this one. I can get a 12 volt shutter fan that can produce 1750CFM. Anyone have any suggestions on bending or any other suggestions ?

THE WILD DOG


Do they make 6 feet flex pipe ?  I was planning on using the 3/4 " black iron. I will have to look at the rigid pipe...  They sell that at Lowes ? lol

Keep in mind that flex pipe is easily 10x more expensive than using black iron.  I have about 14 feet of black iron going from the outside of my trailer, up through the Ansul system, and then a couple of 90degrees - then I use a shut off at the terminal of the iron pipe and run a flex pipe from the shut off up to the appliance.

Oh, and I also use flex pipe going from the LPG regulator to the black pipe inlet.

I think off the top of my head, a 3/4" flex pipe (the yellow coated ones) about 2' long was about $40.

About one of your other questions - I use a 2 stage LPG regulator commonly found in RV's.  I draw about 150,000btu and it's good for up to 160,000 - cost about $25.

THE WILD DOG

Also I'm looking for 90degree suitcase latches for my counter tops. I know they exist, I just can't seem to find them. I saved a browswer link for them, but when i blew out my pc, i lost it :-(  LOL
 

Austin Hardware will have pretty much any hardware that you are looking for... including the trailer hardware that you see on those commercial cargo trailers.  You will probably pay for it though.  They are not the cheapest but they do have everything.  They even had the turnbuckle latches for my 1974 Apache pop-up that NO ONE had ever seen. 

Lorna, made a good point and I'd like to add a thought. If you don't know what something is called but know what you need it to do, or what you need done go to a good hardware site, and browse until you find what you need.

Then you have a base price and the exact name of the item, so from there you can do a search and find a better price, free shipping, an auction, or what ever.

It takes a lot of time but it really works

Jack

DR, I do that all the time with google images. I search the pics to find what I need. I have no clue of the proper names for half the stuff I needed. LOL I know now though.  I just realized that I am pretty much done my build. I was going over everything that needed to be done, I was shocked. Once the gas lines go in, that's pretty much it. I'm going to pull the bases out and spray bomb everything once it dries up out here. Been raining for 2 days now.

LORNA I'm gonnna check out that site now.

AZ, I'm not sure what a terminal is. My shut off valve the way I have it scoped out in my mind, is that it's going to enter the trailer from the floor ( thanks to the DR on that one ) come across about 18" of base, 90 up a stud, shut off valve will protrude from panel on the left. then T off going to the water heater ( 6 foot run ) and then back towards the front of the trailer, 90 again towards the floor and then Uturn to face upwards from the floor and that's where I will have my " manifold " connection for the  cooker & griddle hook ups.  I plan to use  a 2" pipe attached to  a T & a 90 with 1" pipes sticking up for the connections.  If you can envision it. LOL  I'll go to Lowe's and build it and take a pic to show you later today for better understanding.

With the appropriate gas hook ups I intend to use this as my LP manifold for 2 LP hook ups.  Does anyone see any issues from this ? It's 3/4" Iron. I couldn't find the nipples or other pieces to hook up to show & I got tired of waiting for guy to come around.

The Wild Dog wrote "Gas line will enter the trailer from the floor come across about 18" of base, 90 up a stud, shut off valve will protrude from panel on the left. then T off going to the water heater ( 6 foot run ) and then back towards the front of the trailer, 90 again towards the floor and then Uturn to face upwards from the floor and that's where I will have my " manifold " connection for the  cooker & griddle hook ups.  I plan to use  a 2" pipe attached to  a T & a 90 with......."

Wow I'm lost but I once saw a 3 Stooges movie when they had the gas coming out the faucets and the water coming out of the gas stove burner.
106 THE PLUMBER'S FRIEND
Plumbers Moe, Larry & Curly Joe are hired to fix a leaky spicket while the owner is away. Cutting off the water doesn't mean to cut off the pipes, and a leak soon escalates into a flood.
Live Action Segment:   ELECTRICIANS

LOL I know your smarter than that. Just kidding. 

But really I'm not sure I understand and I do think pictures or line drawings like you posted in the past would help if it's not a pain.

But my first thought was why not use a "T" from your line runing under the trailer to each appliance. You'd "T"  from your main line going from the gas source to  your water heater and where that line goes through the floor a shutoff valve then a flex line to the water heater.

Then go down the line (under the trailer) and another hole through the floor again a shut off valve and flex pipe to your manifold?

But it may be that I just don't understand what the situation is or your plan.

I whipped this up real quick.  I'm not sure if I feel safe with running the gas lines under the trailer, for road hazzard safety.  Any thoughts ?

Run them under the trailer. What is a road hazard? If you see something in the road your going to slow down, move over or stop. The old tire road hazard thing for safety, deals with the 50s and 60s. How often do you run over something and it punctures all your tires or even a tire? I'd guess just about never. Let alone a gas line.

It just doesn't happen that often any more.

It goes back to something I posted earlier in this thread: We all have a set of safety standards that our local health department, fire department, zoning department, plumbing department, and god only knows what ever other local  entity that may have some sense of power over how you build or operate your business.  They write the rules, and you need to be with in those boundaries or rules in order to operate your business. Don't over think the rules just do what they require.

That said I'm far from the get along go along type but if your local health department requires, A,B,C,D, then why would you go to E,F,and G? It's not required so why spend the time money and personal effort to over write the rules?

I can tell you why, because your a good guy and want to do the right thing, and that is good but don't try to out think the pros you'll only cause yourself problems, and grief.

Speaking of over thinking your almost done and soon the ultimate worry will come: I built it"Oh hell will they show up, will I be able to handle it, is my food that good, what happens if?  Those worries are on the way.

Good Luck my Friend

I would not run a gas line under the trailer.

I ran the road for twenty years, coast to coast and much of Canada. Trust me, there are plenty of things laying out there on the road that could do some serious damage to an undercarriage. And I would say a good number of times I never saw them coming, so no slowing down or quick maneuvering, you just go over it and hope your fuel line on the truck or air lines on the trailer don't get ripped off. 

Hit a road gator, tire casing, just right at highway speed and watch the sparks fly. You can't swerve to good when pulling a trailer, seen many attempts with not so good results, and I am not talking about semi trailers. I would run the lines inside the trailer if possible.

Just my .02

Mike

If you put a gas line inside a trailer it's just another place to collect grease and grime, and an area that is hard to reach and clean. There is no area that is more difficult to clean than the area behind a conduit or gas line. Those are the areas that the health departments look for to spank you when you get inspected

And if under your truck is safe enough for your fuel line  or air lines on the trailer, it's safe enough for a black iron gas line, which is much stronger than a fuel line, or a trailer air hose.

One other thought how many times a year do you hear of someone getting a muffler ripped off their car? On occasion it may happen but not often.

I ran a black iron  propane line under my trailer and have never had a problem, however becuase I ran a 16 foot straight run from one corner to the opposite corner, I wielded a 2 inch angle iron runner under the trailer in 3 foot sections, so that most but not all of the gas line is virtually covered. I did this not for protection but for support. It was easier to tack the angle in 4 or 5 places than do a bunch of brackets to attach the gas line.

My gas line runs under the trailer....Also catering trucks for 6 years with 2, 50gal propane tanks under...... Never blew up!

Just mt .02...

And, this is not my industry, and I have allot to learn.

But I know what it is like to have the bejesus ripped out from under a tractor and trailer, not fun and not in the least bit cheap to fix. Been there and done that.

Mike

Our RV has all the LP lines running under the floor (from factory).  Well tied down black iron pipe is "code" for RVs.  You can use GASTITE brand hoses to connect from pipe to appliance.  Be very careful on your flex hoses.  We bought a metal LP gas flex hose for water heaters that did not hold up to the vibration of traveling down the road.  Since we shut our LP off while under way, we found the leak when we turned the LP back on. 



While this is from the NFPA 1192 Standard on Recreational Vehicles, it probably applies to most if not all trailers including food trailers. (Section 2-4 Fuel Gas Piping Systems)

2-4.2 (a) Gas pipe shall be steel or wrought-iron pipe complying with ASTM A53 Specifications for Pipe, Steel, Black and Hot-Dipped, Zinc-Coated Welded and Seamless. Threaded copper or brass pipe in iron pipe sizes shall be permitted to be used.

2-4.8 Routing and Protection of Tubing. Tubing shall not be run inside walls, floors, partitions, or roof except that 1/4 inch O.D. tubing shall be permitted to be concealed provided it is enclosed with a metallic covering of thickness equivalent to the thickness equivalent to the thickness of the tubing enclosed. Where tubing passes through walls, floors, partitions, roofs, or similar installations, such tubing shall be protected by the use of weather-resistant grommets that shall fit snugly both the tubing and the hole through which the tubing passes. tubing shall be routed to be protected from physical damage, sharp edges, and moving parts.

See, learn something new everyday! Thanks for the info.

Mike

And now I have a question regarding fire safety and Ansul systems. Who is permitted to install these systems? I am looking at $2200 for such a system installed for a 4' exhaust hood. I can pick up a like new unit on CraigsList, with a 6' hood for $625? Is there some mystery here for some nipple, fire bottle, switch box and nozzles? What gives? Is this something I could do with the right tools and pass muster on inspection? or do I need an authorized installer? What do you think? The wife says let em do it for the money, because she is worried regarding insurance. Help me out.

Mike

Just out of curiosity, can't I just connect a regular propane hose to the gas pipe ? Does it have to be flex ?  I would think that the rubber would be more flexible than metal.

Also I am going to purchase the pipes tomorrow... I'm excited now since that is the real last step of the build.

I trimmed out everything today and couldn't figure out a way to screw the countertops down from underneath so I just removed the FRP and screwed it down from the top :-)

At the front of my trailer I ran hose to my propane heater from the black iron pipe. In the back, (didn't do both at the same time) I ran my BI line through the floor and put a flex line on my char broiler and just this year ran a hose to another propane heater. But that's Illinois, and we get one fire department inspection and that's it.

If you don't think the fire department is going to cry foul go for it. But I'd check local regs if you can find them online.

Jack

see that's the thing here in Baltimore County. We don't have to have any fire inspections or anything like that. Just an HD inspection, pass and they set us loose. I'm not scrimping on the hoses, I just thought it would be easier to use short hoses since they were flexible.

 Should I be concerned about my fittings coming loose with all the driving and travel conditions ? or is that something I shouldn't be concerned about ?

Just out of curiosity, can't I just connect a regular propane hose to the gas pipe ?

Yes but finding the fittings can be difficult.

localnet


And now I have a question regarding fire safety and Ansul systems. Who is permitted to install these systems? I am looking at $2200 for such a system installed for a 4' exhaust hood. I can pick up a like new unit on CraigsList, with a 6' hood for $625? Is there some mystery here for some nipple, fire bottle, switch box and nozzles? What gives? Is this something I could do with the right tools and pass muster on inspection? or do I need an authorized installer? What do you think? The wife says let em do it for the money, because she is worried regarding insurance. Help me out.

Mike

It just like the FAQ said you need to speak to your local inspector or inspectors to find out what will work in your area. If you need to have a system installed chances are you'll need a licensed guy to do the job. But that' doesn't mean take the first bid. Most people around here install the hood themselves and get a Ansul System expert to do the rest so they don't get red tagged by the fire department.

Edit to add: I bought all used parts for my Ansul system, a very clean used hood, and took it all to an Ansul Dealer and said how much to install this? He charged me $500.00. But the rate depends on how many nozzles you need and that is based on the type of equipment you have in your kitchen or under the hood. Start looking for a resturant going out of business auction in your area. You just have to look the system over and see when it was last inspected and is it a wet or dry system and which is required in your area. But I think everyone has to have a wet system now.

To keep from discharging the system (you don't want to do that) be careful but just take the cover off the box and remove the small canister, that fires the CO2. If you buy a used system be prepared to clean it several times in order to get it ready to install.

I'm headed to Lowes now to buy the pipe, I'm gonna ask them bout the fittings, Will keep ya posted.... OH BOY HERE WE GO !!!!!

Look at this although the price is way high. And shown in the picture is a gas valve although the seller said it's not included. Geez But it is what most fire departments require an auto shutoff gas valve, a pull station and the suppression system.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-I...on?hash=item3357a0e7ce

I take it you are asking about the flexible rubber type hoses.  You can use those but you will need to inspect them at least once a year.  Some break down quickly, others don't.  You can also have custom ones built by your local propane gas dealer.  They don't cost much and the hoses that Bearman Propane in Chattanooga used was much better material than the "store" bought one I had on our pop-up.  And they still looked new 8 years later when we sold the pop-up.

Well, The guy at Lowes that I normally run into told me, I should use 3/4 inch iron, and that I would need a gas flex line that has an adapter with the tube that goes down to 1/2 inch ( which apparently I need b/c of the flex line, and they don't sell them seperately. )  Which runs about $30, and I need 2 for now. One for the cooker & water heater.

He also told me that I would want to coat the pipes in rustoleum before installing them so that they don't rust up, ( apparently iron rusts real quick) 

So it's 3:42 am and I just got done coating a 6ft pipe, a 2ft pipe, 3ft pipe, and an ass load of fittings and 1-2-3" pipes. And I'm covered in paint and it isn't coming off !!!!  LOL

Good Job although it would take a long time for black iron pipe to leak from rust it will suffer surface rust quickly. But your black iron pipe will be easier to keep clean with a coat of good paint. Again good job.

Dr of BBQ


Look at this although the price is way high. And shown in the picture is a gas valve although the seller said it's not included. Geez But it is what most fire departments require an auto shutoff gas valve, a pull station and the suppression system.

From the looks of it, that is the system I am looking at. I called a buddy of mine that used to build out commercial kitchens, he told me let the pros do it, mainly for the insurance issues. Then the wife chimed in again, just let them do the install... 

I think I will just let them handle it, should be ordering the trailer this week. And then on to the real important stuff, location, location, location... Along with getting the licensing process started. So far so good, clearing hurtles on a daily basis. Now in good with my neighboring local zoning chief, he gave me the OK to work his township and I have the OK in my township. 

Mike

yeah, some things should be left to the pro's... especially a fire suppressent system. everything else is a confidence call i guess.

Thanks DR. I'll try and get some pics of the pipe rough in today and the serving window as well. I forgot what thread I was talking about my window... lol

I'm looking  under the trailer today and  the frame is pretty much right down to the bottom of the trailer.  I'm going to hang a pipe and see how it looks. I don't know if I am comfortable with it hanging lower than the bottom of the trailer.

 Wow what a beautiful day to be on my back all day LOL. Main gas lines are in, hands are permanently stained black,  For the most part they are in, I have to connect the T-fitting for the run from the tanks, but here are two pictures. Had to make a larger hole for the front run, Any suggestions on what to use to plug or insulate it ? I was going to use the spray foam after sliding a piece of 3/4 inch wood zapped up with some screws just to play it safe.








It is a dry run, I plan on leaving it that way until the equipment comes and then I will tighten everything down and test it.

It looks good.

The foam will fill your hole but if you do ENOUGH searches on line you'll find a proper plug. The choice is yours the foam is good stuff, but a pain in the ass to clean up and I find it hard to control. It always seems to go everywhere but where I really want it.

And then of course you use a little bit and the can is wasted because the line is clogged. But it's fast, easy, and relative inexpensive.

When I just reread your post as I understand it are you going to drill a smaller hole in a 3/4 inch piece of plywood and lay it on your floor and foam from the bottom? If so that will work. You don't even have to take the fittings apart just drill the hole with a hole saw and and then use any saw to cut the hole in half so you can slide it over the excess area. But try and find something (grease, saran rap) anything that the foam won't stick to and cover the bottom of the plywood, then when you remove the plywood block, the foam will dry and not stick to or smear as you remove the plywood.

Geeze even I find that sentence hard to understand.

Jack

Wild Dog....Check at Lowe's for a piece of foam insulation made for 3/4" pipe. Cut it to length flush with the bottom of the interior floor , slide it over the pipe before you screw down the gas valve and finish covering the hole with a piece of plywood as you suggested.  Looking good so far.

Foam insulation

floor drain, drains thru the bottom of the trailer to a shut off valve under the fender. I will post that pic as I go. Started gluing the hopper together.

Dog...Is the small pipe your waste tank drain?  If so, that sucker will clog up real quick if your doing anything other than hand washing. The smallest bits of food will plug that thing in a heart beat. When I'm stationary, my 3" waste is choked down to a 3/4" hose to my 160 gal outside holding... That thing gets clogged up a couple of times a week.... No big deal for me to unclog though... You have 2 90's in that thing....Just thinking out loud here...

This has been the best topic posted on roadfood in a long time. This should help alot of people.

chefbuba


Dog...Is the small pipe your waste tank drain?  If so, that sucker will clog up real quick if your doing anything other than hand washing. The smallest bits of food will plug that thing in a heart beat. When I'm stationary, my 3" waste is choked down to a 3/4" hose to my 160 gal outside holding... That thing gets clogged up a couple of times a week.... No big deal for me to unclog though... You have 2 90's in that thing....Just thinking out loud here...

What are your thoughts if I put screens in my drain ?  I was thinking of doing that to begin with.  The reason for the 90's is because the gas pipe is directly under the first 90 .  The drain plug on the left side of the tanks line right up with the gas inlet for the water tank. I don't have much room back in there. I still have to put in my 12 volt battery for my water pump.

She's gonna be all full up by the end of the week. Once I get the battery I'm going to start gluing everything in place, Still have to find a " U " brace for the hopper to keep it in place. ( for the most part it's not budging but because I'm going to be in transit, I'm playing it safe ) Still waiting on getting the flex pipe.

I'm seeing some issues already with the 3/4 black iron pipe that leads to the propane. I need to find a nipple that I can attach to that to hook my hose up to. I'm hitting a propane shop next week for a solution. I'm hoping the duel stage regulator will clear it up. I'm thinking that I may have to downgrade the tank pipe down to 1/2 and then find a 1/2" to 3/4 flange or fitting.

Not sure if it will help you at this juncture, but I had a 2" union "plastic welded" into the bottom of my waste tank.  Same type of tank as yours: HDPE. I then cut the hole in the bottom of my trailer, attached a 90 degree elbow to shoot it out to the side, then attached a Valterra Bladex valve to it.  It works like a champ, and with the 2" whole being directly in the bottom of the tank - it drains very quickly.

The union is a screw type - so if needed, I can unscrew the pipes and stick a hose up there and rinse the whole thing out.

AZdog


The union is a screw type - so if needed, I can unscrew the pipes and stick a hose up there and rinse the whole thing out.

Guys you should have a shut off right at the tank. No matter how careful you are in what goes down your sink drain, the Chef is correct your going to get the drain line clogged. So put a "T" straight out of your tank the points up.It should be tall enough that what ever volume of waste water remains in your tank will equal out with the pressure in the "T". Then put a standard garden hose PVC threaded fitting and finally a screw cap on the top of the "T". After that you should have a valve that can open or close your entire waste water line.

Then if you get a clog just inside the tank (where I get them) you can shut off the valve and unscrew the cap on the "T" and run water from a hose to unclog the tank.

Or if your clogged futher down stream leave the valve open and again use the preasure from a standard water hose to force out the debris.

Jack

wish I could draw this out for you to make it simpler to understand.

I'm trying to understand this... I'm a little foggy this morning, and on my first cup of coffee... Bottom line is that waste settles to the bottom of the tank, kind of a sludge.. that's what your going to have a problem with clogging that small drain line. And where your at when its cold out.. grease will form in big clumps....then your really screwed.

NOW you tell me ....  LOL I already drilled my hole....  I'm gonna have to sit here and think now... and it's too early to think. It's only a 1/2 inch pipe...   Back is achey today, Might just finish spraying the inside woods today & pick up my battery & call it an early day.

Just got off the phone with my HD, she said I had to mouse proof the holes and to use this kind of plate for the inside. 


  My inspection is free, but the permit is only $100.  The prev rep a few months ago wanted to charge me $150 plan review, & $275 for the permit. 

She also gave me place to go to check out for a decent priced sheet metal fabricator to build me a hood    

I am going to pass this along to TMD as well & hopes it saves him some $$$

Chef,
Let me try and lay this out again:

Come out of your tank with what ever size line you want. Lets say 2 inch.

Then 3 inches out or so place a 2" T pointing straight up with a reducer in the up side so you can run a 1 inch stack equal to the height of your waste water tank. At that height add a PVC fitting to reduce the PVC to the size that you can attach a garden hose to.

Then 2 inches out of your T you need a 2 inch shut off valve.

Then run the 2 inch line another 2 or 3 inches and another T ending with a hose fitting.

What your building is a way to blow out the exit line of your tank, and a way to shut off the tank in case you get the line stopped up between your tank and your waste water exit. You can isolate the tank or the entire line.

If your tank is getting full of sludge go back in this thread and read the post about water softener and bleach to prohibit that, I think Lorna posted it. I have not tried it but it made sense.
http://www.newrver.com/publish/holdingtank.shtml

I cut a hole in my waste water tank so I can use my hangup shop vac to suck junk out of my tank

The top is the under pan of my trailer. The pin that you see is part of the removable tongue. The hole is cut, and I have it attached to a union that was plastic welded into the tank.  The left side is the side of my trailer, which terminates at the Bladex valve.

The waste tank only has this one elbow in it.  If anything clogs that, and lords knows how anything ever would, because all the sinks have built in mesh drain strainers, I would just unscrew the Bladex valve and run a hose up it. It is also how I can spray down the inside of the tank to remove grime etc.  The length of the horizontal pipe is about 10".

The plastic welding cost about $50 but included the union.





This is the Valterra valve on the side of the trailer.  Simple operation, and I can attach a garden hose to it to get some length on draining it if needed.

I forgot to mention today when talking to my HD that she told me that I can go up to any sanitation sewer drain & release my waste water into it. Also that I don't need to get inspected by fire or plumber.

I found this interesting though, If I offer a table and chairs,  I have to have a toilet. Not that I was going to, just thought that was interesting.

"I found this interesting though, If I offer a table and chairs,  I have to have a toilet. Not that I was going to, just thought that was interesting.

Our health department took my chairs for the same reason. That's stupid thinking on their part. Just because you feed someone a sandwich doesn't mean they need to run to the bathroom. Or hopefully not. LOL
Jack

AZdog


The top is the under pan of my trailer. The pin that you see is part of the removable tongue. The hole is cut, and I have it attached to a union that was plastic welded into the tank.  The left side is the side of my trailer, which terminates at the Bladex valve.

The waste tank only has this one elbow in it.  If anything clogs that, and lords knows how anything ever would, because all the sinks have built in mesh drain strainers, I would just unscrew the Bladex valve and run a hose up it. It is also how I can spray down the inside of the tank to remove grime etc.  The length of the horizontal pipe is about 10".

The plastic welding cost about $50 but included the union.





This is the Valterra valve on the side of the trailer.  Simple operation, and I can attach a garden hose to it to get some length on draining it if needed.

You have worked very hard on your project and any good thinking person has to respect that. And if you decide to go a different way than those suggested that's cool. In 3 months from now you need to revive this thread and tell future readers what you'd change and how you'd change it. Time and practice is the ultimate test for your ideas and your build.

Well sinks & counter top trim have been caulked with the proper stuff. Used my noggin on the counter tops, I was petrified that I was going to drill thru them that I removed the c-channel trim on the front of them and lifted the FRP up and shot screws thru the base plywood into the studs below. Viola it worked great. Actually started building my shelf unit as well to house my buns and packs of soda. Still some tweeking on that to do, Kinda mad at myself that I shot a screw thru the wall of it, but should be able to cover it with trim anyways.

I have a pic or two of it, but you'll get a better idea of what I want to do once the shelves are in. I plan on having the back part of the shelf a notch or two lower so that it sits at a downward angle so nothing falls out during transit. The one pic I do have I don't like so I will have to take more pics of it.

Making my final " materials to buy " list which consist of 5 items

1. (1) FRP panel ( cooking counter top)
2. (2) 3/4 angle irons ( 1 for cooking top, 1 for server base 6ft run)
3. (3) 1 can of spray paint
4. (1) 1/2 C-channel ( for server window screen)
5. (1) hardboard ( white) for back of shelves

Should be buying my water heater on Tuesday & the only other thing I have to buy really that is expensive is my cooker. ($330 with shipping )

I  am going to shoot the bottom c-channel into the serving counter and bond the other channel to the top of the serving window for the screen track. It actually works out great. perfect width.

Which brings me to my next question. What is the best thing to use to bond aluminum to aluminum ?

Which brings me to my next question. What is the best thing to use to bond aluminum to aluminum ?

JB-weld worked well for me.

i put in the switch today for the water pump... nothing special to report, water heater comes in Friday, I've started gluing everything, will post pics when done that project tomorrow. 

I actually found a 12volt exhaust fan that kicks out 3000 CFM. Found it on ebay, guy has multi-auctions for them, if anyone is looking for something similar.

http://cgi.ebay.com/12-V-..._0?hash=item2eabdc8a66

Switch.LOL

AZdog


Which brings me to my next question. What is the best thing to use to bond aluminum to aluminum ?

We used 3MVHB double stick tape (the one they use to bond ambulance side panels to the frame) and PL adhesive that we bought at Lowes.  If you use the PL (comes in a cartridge like caulking tubes), read the labels.  There are so many PL adhesives for different things it can be mind boggling.  If yo use SikaFLex, watch the expiration dates.  I had one with a month left on the expiration but I like to have never got it out of the tube.  It's why we tend to use PL... conforms to the same ASTI spec's.