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How Do I Power a Burger Van When My Appliances Draw More Than My Generator?

by aaron
(melksham)

White mobile burger van with its serving hatch open at a UK outdoor event

White mobile burger van with its serving hatch open at a UK outdoor event

morning all,
i bought a burger van last month and been working on the inside daily to get it up and running before December but i have a massive issue i cant think of how to sort. i have far to much power inside the van to be able to run from a house hold plug or my generator.

i have a honda genny 8kw but here is a list of my appliances with kw
fryers 5000
water heater 3000
fridge/freezers 1000
lights 500
water motor/pump 1000
bain marie 1200
urn 1650
and that wont include anything else plugged into socket, phone charger, radio, card reader etc.

my griddle is lpg so thats ok, but what could my options be? i have a grey and blue 3 pin plug coming from the fuse box to connect, but it will just blow my house socket and imagine do the same to my generator? im to worried to even try in case it does damage to either my house or the new generator.

i cant see a way forward with out having to spend alot of money converting several things to lpg?

any help is much appreciated.

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Jul 24, 2026
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by: MobCater

You've actually done the hard part already, Aaron, which is adding your loads up honestly. That list tells the whole story.

Your electric appliances come to well over 13kW once you total the fryers, water heater, fridges, bain marie, urn, pump and lights, and that's before the phone charger, radio and card reader go on. An 8kW generator simply can't shift that, and a household 13 amp socket tops out at around 3kW, so plugging the van into the house would trip it in seconds, or worse. Please don't try it. A full commercial catering load on a domestic socket is a real fire risk, not just an inconvenience.

The good news is the fix is the one you're already sensing, and it's how nearly every burger van on the road is set up. The heavy heat makers run on gas, and the electric side is left for the light stuff. Your griddle is already on LPG, so you're halfway there. If you move the fryers and the water heater over to gas as well, your electrical demand drops to somewhere around 5kW, which your 8kW Honda will run comfortably with a bit of headroom for the fridges, lights, pump, urn and card machine. Take the bain marie onto gas too and you've room to spare.

I know it feels like money you didn't plan to spend, but it really isn't wasted. Gas does the cooking in this trade because it heats faster, costs less through a busy service, and doesn't hammer your generator. You'll get that back quickly. One tip from the book: type every appliance into a generator wattage calculator online before you buy or convert anything, and never size a genny to run flat out, always leave yourself a good margin.

The one thing I'd be firm on is the gas work. Converting appliances to LPG, and the pipework that goes with it, has to be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer who holds the mobile catering ticket, and I'd get the electrical side signed off by a competent electrician too. I learned the hard way years ago what a missing gas safety cut-off can do, so this is the part where there are no shortcuts.

Best of luck

David

Disclaimer: Gas installation and maintenance must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Never attempt gas work yourself. Check gassaferegister.co.uk for qualified engineers in your area.

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