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How Much LPG Gas Will I Use in a Day Running a Catering Van?

by Charlie
(London)

Red coffee and sandwich van with a propane gas cylinder on a UK high street

Red coffee and sandwich van with a propane gas cylinder on a UK high street

Hi David,

I'm in the midst of putting together my business plan for a coffee and sandwich van, I think powering it of a LPG generator would be the most efficient and cost effective source of energy. How much LPG gas do you think I would use in a day taking in mind that my equipment consists of;

Contact grill/ panini press
Group 2 coffee Machine
Fridge
Lights
Laptop
Till
Card Machine
Boiler
Usb speaker system

Look forward to hearing back from you.

Charlie

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Jul 14, 2026
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by: MobCater

Hi Charlie, this is a smart thing to work out at the business plan stage, because power is one of those costs that catches people out once they are actually trading.

The first thing worth flagging is that almost everything on your list runs on electricity rather than gas. Your group 2 coffee machine, the panini press, the fridge, lights, laptop, till, card machine, boiler and speakers are all electrical draws. So an LPG generator would not be feeding those appliances with gas directly, it would be burning propane to make electricity, and that electricity then runs your kit. That matters, because your daily gas use comes down to how hard the generator works and how long it runs, not the number of appliances you own.

The two items that will really pull on it are the group 2 coffee machine and the panini press, plus the boiler if that is electric too. Those are heavy loads, so the generator is working hardest whenever they are on together. As a rough guide, a generator sized for a full coffee and sandwich fit-out like yours can get through a fair amount of propane across a trading day, and it would not be unusual to work through a 47kg cylinder over a few busy days. I would treat any figure as an estimate though, because it swings a lot with load and hours. For comparison, my own gas cooking bill ran at about £10 to £20 a week, but that was propane for cooking only, so a setup powering an entire electrical fit-out will sit higher than that.

The practical step is to add up the wattage of every appliance first. There are free generator wattage calculators online where you enter each item and it tells you the size you need. Once you know the generator size and roughly how many hours you will trade, your LPG supplier or engineer can give you a realistic consumption figure to drop into your plan. Plenty of people also run the small stuff, the till, card machine, laptop, lights and speakers, off a leisure battery to take some strain off the generator.

One thing I would not cut corners on is the gas side. Any LPG on a catering unit has to be installed and certified by a Gas Safe registered engineer who holds the LPG, commercial catering and commercial mobile catering qualifications. It is not a job to take on yourself, and your council will want to see a valid certificate before you trade.

Hope that helps

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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