1. What the equipment has to clean
Start with the surfaces, because that single answer drives most of the specification. Commercial cooking ranges cover a wide area in one site: the range tops and splash backs, griddles and grills, the hood interior and filters, ductwork access points, the floor around the line, and the walls within reach of the grease splash zone. Each of these holds residue differently. A range top carries fresh, soft grease that comes off quickly. Hood filters and duct access points hold hard, polymerised grease that has been heated repeatedly and needs sustained heat and dwell time.
Tell the supplier which of these are in scope for your quotation. If the quote covers only the range tops but your real problem is the hood, the wrong machine gets recommended. For heavy kitchen grease, high-temperature central commercial kitchen degreasing machine equipment is the category to ask about, and the surface list is what decides the pressure and steam settings it needs.
2. How the cleaning is scheduled
Daily wipe-down cleaning and a full end-of-week degreasing are different jobs, and they need different machines. Write down how often each surface is cleaned and who does it. A staff member cleaning for twenty minutes at the end of every shift has different needs from a contract crew doing a deep clean overnight once a week.
Then record how long a cleaning window you can actually use. In a working kitchen, the line has to reopen at a fixed time. If the hood and ranges must be cleaned and back in service within ninety minutes, say so in the enquiry, because it determines whether a machine needs a large tank, fast heat-up, or the ability to work continuously without stopping to refill.
3. What the site can supply: power, water, and drainage
This is the section that most often changes the recommendation. For each kitchen or production area, note:
- Available supply voltage, phase, and the socket rating near the cleaning point. Fixed machines for a kitchen line commonly run on a 220 V supply, so confirm what is available before a quote assumes it.
- Whether a water tap is reachable, and what type of fitting it has, since equipment is normally connected to a standard tap-water inlet.
- Where the run-off water goes, and whether grease has to be captured before it reaches the drain.
- Whether the floor around the range can get wet, or whether standing water is a slip hazard that has to be avoided.
Water access is decisive for a fixed installation. A machine with an onboard tank can work where there is no tap within hose reach, but the tank has to be filled and the run-off managed. A machine plumbed to a tap needs the fitting and the drainage. Both answers come from the site, not from the machine, so check them before you ask for a price.
4. Whether the machine moves between areas
One kitchen, or several sites on one route? A machine that stays in one kitchen can be larger and fixed in place. A machine that travels between restaurants, or that has to pass through a doorway, a service lift, or a narrow corridor, is limited by its dimensions and how it is moved. Send the clear width and height of every passage the equipment must travel through, including the doorway into the kitchen itself.
Hand-pushed units suit tight indoor layouts where a wheeled unit cannot turn. If the same equipment also has to serve a vehicle bay or a workshop area, mention it now; a machine specified only for kitchen work may not fit the second job.
5. Cleaning method and chemical policy
State what your site currently uses, and what it is trying to stop using. Many kitchen operators want to reduce caustic degreasers because of the effect on staff skin and eyes, the effort of scrubbing, and the residue that has to be rinsed off surfaces that touch food. High-temperature steam softens polymerised grease with far less water and little or no detergent, which is why PowerDe cleaning equipment is specified for food-service and industrial maintenance work rather than as a general washdown tool.
If your hygiene programme requires a documented disinfection step, say so explicitly, and ask the supplier to state what the machine does and does not claim on that point. Do not accept a vague answer; a cleaning temperature and a validated disinfection result are two different things.
6. Numbers to request in the quotation itself
Once you have sent the information above, the quote should be specific enough to compare against a second quote. Ask for these values in writing, and reject any quotation that leaves them blank:
| Item to confirm | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Heating power and supply voltage | Determines heat-up time, recovery during work, and whether your supply is adequate. |
| Steam temperature and working pressure | Sets how fast hardened grease releases, and how much scrubbing is still needed. |
| Tank capacity and tank material | Stands for how long the machine runs before refilling, and how it handles hard water. |
| Overall dimensions, weight, and method of movement | Must match the doorways, lifts, and floors described in item 4. |
| Dry-steam and wet-steam modes, and how they are switched | Dry steam suits surfaces that must not stay wet; wet steam carries more heat into heavy deposit. |
| Nozzles, hoses, and included accessories | A missing hood or crevice tool turns a working machine into an incomplete one. |
| Protection features and what they guard against | Fixed installations in wet rooms need documented electrical and dry-run protection. |
| Warranty terms, spare parts, and service response | A machine that is down during service hours costs you a cleaned line. |
For reference, a fixed unit in this class such as the Fixed Steam Cleaning Machine PowerDe HW02 lists 6 kW heating power on a 220 V supply, 160° steam temperature, 0.8 MPa vapour pressure, an 80 L SUS304 tank, and overall dimensions of 1,200 × 800 × 1,200 mm including handles. Use those figures as a benchmark when you read the rest of the quotations, and check each one against your own power, water, and access notes from items 3 and 4.
7. Site conditions and safety constraints
Finally, describe the environment the operator works in. Kitchens are hot, wet, and crowded with electrical equipment. Tell the supplier whether cleaning happens while other equipment is still running, whether gas appliances are nearby, and whether the electrical panel and socket positions are exposed to spray. Also state who will operate the machine and whether they have been trained on high-temperature steam.
For a central kitchen or a multi-site operator, add one more line to the enquiry: whether the layout or the equipment mix is expected to change within the contract period. Sizing a machine around a kitchen that will be rebuilt next year wastes the purchase.
Send the full picture in one enquiry
Collecting this information takes one walk around the kitchen with a notebook: what needs cleaning, how often, how long you have, what the site can supply, and what the machine has to pass through to get there. A supplier who receives all of it returns a specification you can compare. A supplier who receives none of it returns a price for a machine that may not fit your site.
Shenzhen PowerDe Automation Precision Equipment Co., Ltd. builds steam cleaning equipment in Shenzhen and works on customised configurations and engineering services for cleaning and automation projects. If you want a quotation reviewed against the information above, contact the team at sales@powerde.net or +86 13023198376 with your surface list, cleaning schedule, power and water details, and access route.
