A catering hire power issue is the number one topic we get some frantic last-minute calls about. It’s event day, you’re about to get into full swing with your prep and then the power goes out.
Understandably, this causes rather a lot of panic! However, it’s entirely avoidable with a simple fix.
Ensuring the catering hire power supply is sufficient for your catering hire equipment
Power. We’ve spoken before about the steps you should take to ensure that there is enough at the venue for all of the catering equipment you’ll be using to avoid a catering hire power issue. A summary of the key points includes:
- Know the total kilowatt (kW) requirement.
- Confirm that the venue can handle that requirement.
- If the required power exceeds the capability of the venue, hire a generator.
- Check that all of the sockets work.
- Bring a small table lamp!
The amount of power you need soon adds up
Imagine you’re hiring the following catering equipment:
1 x Turbo fan convection oven = 3kW
1 x Hot cupboard = 2kW
1 x Commercial Water Boiler = 3kW
1 x 12 cu ft Fridge = 1kW
Total required (if using at the same time) = 9kW. Remember a house ring main is 7.5kW.
Here’s an event power supply guide to help you work out your power requirements. Here’s a useful guide to help you work out your power requirements.
Using all the catering equipment at the same time
Even if you’ve been diligent and checked each piece of your kit, here’s what catches people out: not switching on all of the equipment at the same time.
So, our number one piece of advice to our customers is this. After making sure all the sockets and each individual piece of kit works, switch everything on at the same time (in advance) to ensure the catering hire power supply is sufficient.
Doing this one simple thing will save you immense stress at the 11th hour.
When hiring equipment from Plato, you can be safe in the knowledge that any electrical equipment is PAT tested before it’s hired out. Plato is also a member of the SafeHire Certification Scheme, which means we have proven competence in safety, health, environment, and quality. This ensures you’ll receive the highest possible quality of service and catering equipment hire.