1. The kitchen type and how it operates
Start with the operating model, because it determines cleaning windows more than it determines machine power. A hotel kitchen, a hospital central kitchen, a restaurant group with several small outlets and a standalone canteen all clean on different schedules. State clearly:
- Facility type and number of production sites you want covered by one machine
- Daily production hours and whether the kitchen runs one, two or three shifts
- The window when equipment can be taken out of service — after closing, during a maintenance break, or not at all
- Whether cleaning is done by your own staff or by an outsourced contractor
If cleaning must happen without stopping production, a fixed unit plumbed into the site behaves very differently from a mobile one that is moved between floors.
2. What is actually being cleaned
“Grease filters” covers a wide range of parts. Send a list of the items in scope and, where possible, a photo of each one in its fouled condition:
| Item | What the supplier needs to know |
|---|---|
| Extract hoods and grease filters | Material, panel size, how many per hood, whether filters are removed daily or monthly |
| Exhaust ducts | Access points, duct length and whether duct work is in scope or handled by a specialist |
| Cooking line | Griddles, fryers, salamanders, combi ovens — gas or electric, fixed or on castors |
| Surfaces and floor | Wall cladding material, floor finish, drainage gullies, non-slip requirements |
Material matters as much as geometry. Stainless steel tolerates high-temperature steam; painted mild steel and laminated panels do not. A supplier who has not been told what the parts are made of cannot rule out damage.
3. The nature of the grease
Fresh oil film and months-old polymerised grease respond very differently to heat. Describe the soil in concrete terms:
- Cleaning frequency today, and how long grease has been allowed to build up between cleans
- Whether the deposit is soft and oily or hard, dark and varnish-like
- Cooking style: deep frying, wok work, grilling, roasting — heavier frying produces more airborne grease
- Whether chemicals are used today, which ones, and whether you want to reduce or remove them
Hard polymerised deposits usually need steam applied at temperature and pressure, with the operator given dwell time before wiping. Soft surface grease can be handled with a lighter machine and a shorter cycle. This single answer often decides which class of steam cleaning machine fits the job.
4. Utilities available at the cleaning point
Electrical supply is the most common reason a quotation has to be reissued. Provide:
- Voltage and frequency at the point where cleaning happens — single-phase 220 V or three-phase, and the outlet type
- Distance from that point to the nearest supply, and whether cable runs cross a guest or patient area
- Water supply: is tap water available at the cleaning point, and is the site water hard or soft
- Drainage: where the wash water and emulsified grease will go, and whether grease traps must be bypassed
- Ventilation and floor condition, since steam work adds moisture to a room with limited extraction
A fixed unit such as the PowerDe HW02 runs on 220 V with a 6 kW heating element, delivers steam at 160° and 0.8 MPa, and holds an 80 L stainless tank — specifications that only make sense once you have confirmed the supply at your site. Compare them against your own numbers rather than assuming the socket in the corridor will do.
5. Access, storage and movement
Kitchen equipment is rarely in one room. Note doorway widths, lift dimensions, step thresholds, and whether the machine must travel through a dining area. Give the storage location and its dimensions, plus whether the unit can be parked near a water point overnight. A machine that cannot reach the fifth-floor satellite kitchen will simply sit unused, and a site with no place to leave a charged unit needs a different configuration from one that has a service cupboard.
6. Compliance drivers and the records you need
Say what is forcing the cleaning. Fire-related requirements on extract systems, hygiene audits, a franchise inspection, or an internal standard each produce different documentation demands. Tell the supplier:
- Which standard or audit your cleaning must satisfy, and who inspects it
- Whether you must show records of temperature, cycle time, or operator sign-off
- Whether chemical residue limits apply to surfaces that touch food
- Language requirements for manuals and training, and the local voltage standard if the equipment is being imported
7. Budget shape, not just budget size
Give the purchase budget and, separately, the operating cost you can justify: labour hours per clean, detergents, water, and what you currently pay a contractor for degreasing. This is where steam equipment is usually evaluated properly. A unit that shortens a weekend degreasing job changes the labour line, and a machine that works with tap water rather than detergent changes the consumables line. Suppliers price against that total far more accurately than against a bare equipment figure.
8. After-sales terms you should set out in the enquiry
State the delivery address and incoterms you expect, required lead time, spare-parts availability, warranty length, and whether you want on-site commissioning and operator training. For imported equipment, also ask which consumables and wear parts you must keep on site. If a customised configuration is possible, say so in the first message — Shenzhen PowerDe Automation Precision Equipment develops customised cleaning configurations alongside its standard machines, and specifying an unusual tank size, voltage, or fixture early avoids a second design cycle.
A short enquiry template
Send the following in one message and you should receive a usable quotation rather than another round of questions:
- Site type, number of kitchens, shifts, and the cleaning window available
- Item list with materials and photos of the fouled parts
- Cleaning frequency, deposit condition, and current chemicals
- Voltage, water access, drainage point, and cable-run distances
- Doorway, lift and storage dimensions
- Applicable standard and required records
- Equipment budget, current cleaning labour and contractor cost
- Destination, incoterms, lead time, warranty and training expectations
A supplier who receives these eight items can specify a machine, an accessory set and a training plan in one reply. A supplier who receives none of them will quote the nearest standard model and leave you to discover the mismatch during the first clean. If your kitchen has a fixed cleaning point and heavy accumulated grease, start the conversation from the HW02 steam cleaning machine page with your site data attached, and ask for the specification to be checked against the utilities you have confirmed.
