Stainless Steel Hospital Food Service Cart Build

[hewgag]

 What’s shakin' guys? Hey I have a few quick questions for the seasoned builders here. First off I picked up a cheap double electric hot plate at my local Walgreen's made by Sylvania. Its actually pretty sweet as it is in an all stainless steel housing. I think it will be perfect! Now on too the big questions.

Concerning airflow...Those louvered vents at the top of my box, there are 4 of them (2 on each side). Will this bee too much "exhaust" and should I just plug up 3 of them and leave 1? there is only one 2" hole dead center in the bottom of the box for intake. Which I like actually because that will bring cool air in directly below my element to be heated AND is a handy hole to run my plug for the element to the outside of the box.

Should I place a layer of brick on the bottom of the box to set the element on? Maybe even wrap bricks in foil... overkill?

Insulation.... Would radiant barrier on sheet board insulation be advisable? I can cut to fit and use foil tape to attach it.... overkill?

Here's a shot of the inside bottom:

Here is the top left corner where the aluminum racks mount to those pins:

Another side view with door open:

Bottom left corner:

Rack unmounted:

So yea I could use all the feedback I could get... what would YOU do with this box? I really want to eliminate the trial and error in this build and make something efficient and functional with minimal cost.

Yea yea yea... I know.... everyone does!!

Next: pics of the first few modifications...... =P

Hewgag

 

[hewgag]

Also..... I got 4 stainless steel racks 23"x18" that came from an old sterilization oven from the hospital (really nice and heavy duty), and they are juuuusssssttt slightly too wide at 23". And if I turn them sideways they are juuuusssttt slightly too narrow at 18"... *sigh*..

SO.... I am going to eliminate the rack inserts entirely and opt for some sort of drilled into the side carriage bolt setup.. simply because I had a hell of a time finding racks that would fit in this thing and these 4 racks happened to just drop into my lap..... so I am going to make them work somehow.

I just need to figure out proper height to place these racks.....

Dry run planned for this weekend!!  Pics to follow!

Hewgag

 

[hewgag]

UPDATE

Rack issue solved!!! I simply slid the right rack over next to the left one, fed the all the gratings through both racks in their respective locations, and then slid it back over and mounted it onto its pins. HOLA!

I placed the element into the box, cranked both up full blast and closed it up. Within a few mins it was toasty hot in there. I don't have my thermometers yet so I cant get temp readings yet but that will all change very soon!

Hewgag

 

[smokingohiobutcher]

Hew...

If the racks come out that easy I would for sure figure out a way to insulate it. Maybe some foil covered insulation board??? I think some people have used it.

I wouldnt think that the 4 vents would be too much...besides the way they are setup they will create a nice even draft. The bricks would make a nice heat sink to help your temps recover quickly.  ohhhhh you are from texas!!! you probably dont need to insulate it then. Up here in ohio you almost gotta have a blanky for the warmth.

I plan on going with a pid controller and a finned strip heater for my GAS (gator ade smoker) sometime.

Looks like its gonna be a honey of a smoker!  

Enjoy the build!

 SOB

 

[hewgag]

Yea I am still on the fence with the whole insulation issue... on one hand I think its overkill... on the other I think.."hey I could get a nasty burn if I accidentally touch the shell of the box." I will most likely cut to fit some sheet board insulation and stick a layer of radiant barrier over it...... tape it all in real good with foil tape.

I am pretty bummed out that the stainless steel food grates are such a bitch to get in and out....... meh... story of my life.

Next step...buy some thermometers...

Hewgag

 

[tom37]

Its tough to tell in the pics.

Are the shelfs heavy enough to just take a good pair of bolt cutters and ship each rod off to make it the proper length to make it set down into the actual shelf guide. If you were closer I would let ya bend the long end of the shelf in the bench brake, then you would have a shelf that fit proper with no cutting.

If you don't have cutters, just find a power and light crew and tell em if they help  ya out with the cutting you could bring them some ribs or fatties or such. Watch out tho, you may have all four guys running for the cutters.

 

[hewgag]

Yea Tom the outer "ring" of steel on the grills are 1/4"hardened surgical stainless steel. These came out of one of those hospital sterilizer ovens that cook shit to like 800F so they are wicked strong.

It's really not that big of a deal to be honest. I only need to remove them when it's time to clean 'em... and I have actually come up with an easy method of getting them in and out. It's still a hassle but I got it down now! =)

Hewgag

 

[hewgag]

Ok... small update... the 1500W dual hotplate cranked all the way got the box to a steady 192F and no more...... Will definitely need to insulate.. =(

I've been busy lately and just finally had a chance to test it with a few thermometers... I also closed all but 1 vent. I think 1 will be perfect... we'll see...

Until next time!

Hewgag

 

[harryml]

Hey, Why am I never around when people are giving out the free stainless steel service carts?

 

[hewgag]

Yea Harry... I just about crapped myself when I saw this thing get wheeled into my warehouse from one of the hospitals. AND... they soon after brought in a few retired autoclaves with super heavy-duty surgical stainless steel racks. I nabbed those suckers pronto!!

I'll be getting back to work on this bad boy soon! Proper insulation is next!!

 

[hewgag]

 So with the last few months of pondering and yesterdays maiden voyage hot smoke with Cornish game Hens and Pork Spares, I have decided that this build is no longer "a build". The fact that this thing is pure stainless steel, like... honest to god pure stainless steel, the kind magnets don't even stick too whatsoever, I have decided that the level of mods such as gaskets, door cutting, insulation, heating elements.... blah, blah.... is just not worth it when this cabinet is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT AS IS........ for cold smoking!

I've decided that purchasing an MES 40" digital is more my style for hot smokes. They are pretty much exactly what the home smoker enthusiast needs for just about anything we throw at it. With minimal mods for my new AMZN smoker I should be able to set it and forget it... to some extent..... and not have to tweak, and touch, and fiddle with knobs, and adjust this n' that to keep the temps I need. I HATE THAT! So... it will be a cold smoke box.

Bacon, cheese, spices, nuts, salt...... expect some big time Q-view and my in depth experimental nature with smoke materials in the very near future!

 

[Bearcarver]

 So with the last few months of pondering and yesterdays maiden voyage hot smoke with Cornish game Hens and Pork Spares, I have decided that this build is no longer "a build". The fact that this thing is pure stainless steel, like... honest to god pure stainless steel, the kind magnets don't even stick too whatsoever, I have decided that the level of mods such as gaskets, door cutting, insulation, heating elements.... blah, blah.... is just not worth it when this cabinet is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT AS IS........ for cold smoking!

I've decided that purchasing an MES 40" digital is more my style for hot smokes. They are pretty much exactly what the home smoker enthusiast needs for just about anything we throw at it. With minimal mods for my new AMZN smoker I should be able to set it and forget it... to some extent..... and not have to tweak, and touch, and fiddle with knobs, and adjust this n' that to keep the temps I need. I HATE THAT! So... it will be a cold smoke box.

Bacon, cheese, spices, nuts, salt...... expect some big time Q-view and my in depth experimental nature with smoke materials in the very near future!

Now that sounds like a Great Plan!

Bear

 

[alelover]

Welcome. Nice score on the cart. You will find a ton of info and advice here. You will end up with a beautiful smoker when it's all said and done.

 

[rbranstner]

Thats going to make one heck of a good smoker.