I would like to know if I had a mobile kitchen could I power it from solar panels mounted atop the vehicle (truck).(to power electric kitchen equipment, i.e. stove, deep fryer.), instead of propane…could I possibly connect the solar panels to a battery to save my generated electricity? If solar panels would not be enough power could a small windmill suffice…?
The best way to find out is to determine the wattage of each piece of equipment you want to use and how many hours you want to use those pieces of equipment. Finally, calculate the total number of Watt-Hours you need at minimum. Then you need to research solar panels or mobile wind mills (they need to be pretty huge to get a decent amount of energy I think, so solar power is probably the way to go). You will need to figure out the efficiency of the solar panels, the size of the array, how you will turn it or if you will turn it at all (to face the sun to get the maximum energy input, or maybe to use mirrors so you don't have to turn it. Once you find a good configuration for your mobile kitchen, you need to calculate if the Watt-Hours you will generate on an average day (with average weather) is enough to power the equipment whose energy requirements you previously calculated. Then you have to keep in mind that some days will have no sun, and you may not be working on some days, but you can still capture sunlight. For each case, a large battery array will be required. If you had a guage on that array, you could also hook it up to the a small generator in case you need immediate power. It's an eco-friendly process, but the initial cost is high and it requires a lot of research and planning. This is why most people do not do it--not because they don't want free energy from the sun, but because it's not easy to start collecting that energy in an efficient way. Sorry I couldn't give you more specific numbers, but a solar panel sales agency should be able to estimate whether or not you could do it (they'd probably set it all up for you too). ^_^
Nice enough idea you have there, but practical reality is waiting to bring you back to your senses. The appliances you want to operate take a lot of power. You would need an awful lot of solar cells or a very cumbersome windmill to provide sufficient energy for them. You will find that for a mobile kitchen, an ordinary generator running on gasoline or diesel will be much less expensive to buy and maintain, less trouble to haul around, and much easier to replace if necessary. Considering that propane will probably prove less expensive yet, go with that for as many appliances as possible.
