One year ago today: June 14, 2017, fake news, pre-1900 style.
Five years ago today: June 14, 2013, sigh, my wheels.
Nine years ago today: June 14, 2009, sigh, Ranger Leslie.
Random years ago today: June 14, 2014, the $15 cookie break.
Your first view of the cart. I’m sure there’ll be more. It is new, but these are not the fancy chrome factory type. They are assembled up at Orlando to a set of specs for a do-it-yourself model. There’s a few extras, like the second propane bottle and the small hand sink beside Agt. R is a Florida requirement. I was right, the unit is not self-contained. Otherwise it is the same as any other cart, except 1/6th the price. If it looks a bit weather-beaten, it is. We are just now hauling it out of the heavily weeded driveway. The rectangular box top center is an on-demand gas water heater. It is now parked over at R’s place where we spent an hour cleaning and dusting. It has been parked outside for years.
Later, I watched the videos and they are both helpful and hype, take your pick. These units are an empirical design and one of the videos details how to build the thing. This video, so far, has been the most helpful, since it shows everything practical about working the burners and what all the separate hoses and fittings are for. You won’t have to wait long for news, as the financing to get this underway is already in place. We may be lucky in that rumor has it in Polk county all that is needed is a vendor’s license. The entire rig is designed to sell only “non-hazardous” food, which apparently makes a huge difference, license-wise.
What is non-hazardous food? It food which is not easily contaminated. Chips, sodas, and hot-dogs are included, as are the condiments ketchup, onions, and mustard. The hot dogs are pre-cooked at the factory and the casing acts as packaging. The ketchup is high-acid, the mustard is made with vinegar, and so on. The literature says stick with these when you start and you’ll make friends with the health inspector. Duly noted.
Siberian bar bunnies.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
I’m writing an independent account of the operation, which details the problems encountered that seem to escape other authors on the subject. Careful you, those accounts are necessarily written by the people who eventually succeeded. They have the “survivorship syndrome”, remember that one? It’s the attitude if I can do it, anyone can. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Most people fail at everything. Right now, I have no idea whether or not I’ve just lost $1,000 on a home-made wagon plus another $477 on a trailer hitch. That means right there my tale from the trailer court has something the others don’t. It’s called reality.
The first thing we did was commence an hour of cleaning and polishing. It had been parked under a carport for a while and there were a bird’s nest or two. It is parked over at Agt. R’s, where we will conduct the field trials. He is assigned the task of learning the complete setup, including recording the lead times for each phase. It will take longer than he thinks, because it always does. Yes, he has the required two years food handling experience (a local bylaw), but my department is logistics. Somebody has to buy, store, rotate, and deliver the condiments in a timely fashion.
My condition, self-imposed, is that I must learn the complete operation by myself. Just in case, and because it is a traditional learning point for me on any business where I do the accounting. I’ve never been the type that sits up in the office dealing only with invoices. I’ve made sure the money is in place, so there will be no delays from that angle. Welcome along for the journey. Be sure to compare this with other blogs, where the daily information is static in the long run. You know what I’m talking about.
ADDENDUM
I continued reading through the manuals, which were extensive. The trailer hitch, the propane bottles, gas lines, hot water heater, pump, faucets, fire extinguisher, and umbrella. I’ve got most of it, but be sure to allow time for this. After reading and watching the construction how-to, I conclude this is a no-frills cart that meets the very minimum requirements. No doubt meant to save money, there are no extras on this puppy except those you provide yourself.
The electrical is all 12 volt, they suggest a motorcycle battery, but the robot club can do way better than that. There are extra solar panels to keep the system operating, including a battery charge regulator not mentioned in the literature, but a necessity for solar power. The communication system is hidden inside the storage compartment along with the cell phone and computer chargers. If WiFi is available the cameras will be real time, if not, the system has an hidden endless loop “dash cam”. I happen to have lots of extras.
Return Home
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
