Polyurethane: One More Option For Your Walk-in

It’s Your Choice.

U.S. Cooler is one of the few manufacturers who can now offer both extruded polystyrene and foamed-in-place polyurethane insulation for walk-in coolers and freezers. As any good business does, we are always seeking new ways to serve our customers better and stay competitive in the marketplace. One of these ways is to provide additional services to our customers and dealers. Recently, we have added foamed-in-place polyurethane to our product offering. Previously, U.S. Cooler only offered extruded polystyrene insulation.

U.S. Cooler’s new polyurethane panels are foamed-in-place filled with class 1 polyurethane foam made from CFC and HFC free materials. By utilizing state of the art horizontal presses and technology, panels lie flat during the foaming process which reduces voids in the insulation. The panels’ structural tongue and groove, cam-locking system provides an air-tight seal between the panels restricting air infiltration into the insulation core.

U.S. Cooler’s polyurethane walk-in products are made with the same exceptional quality and performance construction that has proven successful in the industry.  By adding a new product line to our manufacturing capabilities our product excellence has not changed.  U.S. Cooler still provides the same premium, high-quality products and customer service we have been offering for over 25 years. Every walk-in is pre-assembled in our manufacturing facility before shipment to ensure precise quality control and ease of assembly in the field. All our panels come with our standard 10 year warranty.

Polystyrene Walk-in Brochure

Polyurethane Walk-in Brochure

NAFEM 2011: It is Your Choice

U.S. Cooler views NAFEM as the most important show in our industry, allowing us to introduce new products and display existing products. This year at NAFEM some of our new concepts will be showcased as well as our new product launch.
NAFEM will be our first opportunity to introduce the new foamed-in-place product line. We are now leaving it up to you to decide which insulation you prefer in your walk-ins. U.S. Cooler now offers both extruded polystyrene and foamed-in-place polyurethane. Our polyurethane walk-ins offer the same high-quality features and services you have been receiving from U.S. Cooler for over 25 years.
U.S. Cooler has an exciting display again this year. Come visit us at NAFEM booth #843 in Orlando, FL, February 10-12, 2011.

Do Walk-in Cooler & Freezer Walls Wear Out?

Hi there,

Do walk-in cooler walls wear out over time?

I build restaurants and we are renovating a restaurant we built 17 years ago.  A supplier is recommending we replace the walk-in box, because they “break down”. I find that hard to believe. Could you please give me your opinion?

Thanks,

- Len Chaston

Len,

On the surface, your walk-in box probably has a few scratches, dents and slightly worn metal but overall it appears serviceable and is likely structurally sound. However, the insulation inside the panel can take a much more severe beating over the years than the exterior. The insulation has to deal with huge temperature differentials between the inside and outside of your box. Depending on the material used to insulate your box it could have absorbed a good deal of moisture, which degrades the thermal resistance of your insulation. Your old walk-in was also not built to meet modern efficiency and safety requirements and it could even contain a large amount of wood (which is a poor and water permeable insulator). If you have a walk-in freezer, one indication of trouble is ice buildup on the inside of the box. This is a sign that water vapor has been able to infiltrate the insulation.

At 17 years old, the cost of running the walk-in for several years as well as the added load and wear on your refrigeration unit will far overshadow the cost of purchasing a new walk-in unit. If you do decide to opt for a new walk-in, I want you to take a look at the inside of the panels when your old unit is disassembled. A panel that is now leaking all over the floor was no longer doing the job it was intended to.

Ice buildup in a walk-in panel

If you have a question you’d like answered please visit the Ask an Expert section of our blog. Note: Not all responses will be published.

False Information about Extruded Polystyrene

Recently, there has been a document circulating in the industry that has a lot of misinformation concerning the use of extruded polystyrene insulation and its compliance with the Energy Independence Security Act of 2007.

We normally ignore incorrect information that is generated with the sole purpose of discrediting a competitor but the severity of this document begs to be clarified.

The document can be found by clicking the pdf icon.

Extruded Polystyrene Panels

First, there are presently two types of foam insulations being used in the manufacture of walk-in coolers and freezers in the United States.  These insulations are Extruded Polystyrene and Foamed –in –Place Polyurethane insulation.  Many companies in North America have the ability to use both types of these insulations.  Both insulations have benefits that can be used to provide a quality walk-in cooler or freezer. Companies that use both types of insulation can apply each of these insulations in parts of a walk-in that they perform best and therefore bring the best designed quality walk-in cooler or freezer to the marketplace.  Some companies do not have the capability and therefore turn to attacking the insulations they do not have the ability to use with misleading information to compensate for this deficiency.   This situation seems to be one of them.  There are six points that need to be addressed. Read the rest of this entry »

Zero Ozone-Depleting FOAMULAR Extruded Polystyrene Insulation

Toledo, Ohio – Owens Corning (NYSE: OC), a global leader in building materials and energy efficiency solutions, today announced it has started manufacturing zero ozone-depleting FOAMULAR^® Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) rigid foam insulation. The new blowing agent technology developed by Owens Corning meets the requirements of the Montreal Protocol which requires the phase-out of the hydrochloro-fluorocarbon (HCFC) 142b, an ozone-depleting compound, by January 1, 2010.

Owens Corning’s new Gresham plant is the first facility in the Western U.S. to meet the requirements of the Montreal Protocol and expands the company’s XPS foam production capabilities. The company also has converted its Rockford, Ill., insulation plant to use the new blowing agent, and all FOAMULAR products will meet the requirements of the conversion deadline.

“High performance homes and buildings are an ever-growing segment of the construction industry, and Read the rest of this entry »

Debunking the Myth of Laminated Panels

Myth: “Laminated” or “Slab” panels are inferior to urethane because they are glued to the skins to hold the panel together. Therefore, these types of panels are not considered as durable and are thought to come loose within a short period of time.

Truth: For over 40 years walk-ins have been manufactured by either gluing insulation to metal skins (laminated) or pouring urethane (foamed-in-place) between two metal skins.  Contrary to most beliefs, both systems provide equal performance in adhesion if applied correctly.  This is important because in walk-ins the structural strength of the unit is dependent on this adhesion performance.  When metal skins are glued or foamed to insulation a composite panel is created.  This created panel performs much like a steel I-beam. I-beams by design are very strong for their weight and are used in building structures that need a lot of strength without the weight, such as skyscrapers. A steel I-beam is two flanges of steel connected and separated by a center steel web.  In a walk-in panel, the two flanges are light gauge metal skins and the web is the foam insulation.  All I-beams lose their strength if the flanges separate from the web. If the I-beams separate, skyscrapers would collapse. This is similar to walk-ins that could fail if the skins separate from the foam insulation. Read the rest of this entry »

Meeting 2009 EISA Walk-in Cooler & Freezer Standards

The federal government’s EISA (Energy Independence & Security Act) standards went into effect Jan. 1st, 2009. This act was intended to improve energy efficiency within the refrigeration industry as well as many other industries. AHRI reports there have been some concerns since there are no enforcement mechanism or standard testing methods built into the act; non-compliant walk-in manufacturers will stand to benefit. These manufacturers will be able to beat compliant competitors on price (due to the lower input costs of their non-regulation walk-ins). Be sure that when buying a walk-in, you check to make sure they are EISA compliant.

The AHRI (Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute) is trying to raise awareness about what this act mandates among distributors, installers, and consumers. They have created a checklist of the standards walk-in coolers & freezers are required to meet that can be found at ACHR The News. Use this checklist to ensure the walk-in unit you are about to purchase meets the EISA standards. Read the rest of this entry »

A Matter of Insulation: Acquisition vs. Lifetime Savings

Your cold storage equipment may be one of the most important choices you make. A significant amount of costs are associated with your walk-in. Before you purchase, make sure you consider the entire lifecycle of the walk-in instead of just the acquisition price.

The two main elements that effect energy and cost savings while running a walk-in are the refrigeration and insulation.  To get the optimal results from your refrigeration it must be sized correctly taking in consideration the size of box, if it is a cooler or freezer, and what will be stored inside. (There are many other factors that are considered when sizing refrigeration.) Insulation is the key to energy savings because it is responsible for holding the cool temperature in the box so the refrigeration does not have to work overtime. Insulation quality is measured by R-value; the resistance to heat flow through an object. Since EISA was implemented January 1, 2009, all walk-in manufactures are required to have an R-value of R-25 for coolers and R-32 for freezers. Now that all manufacturers follow the same requirements, the performance of the insulation is what differentiates the walk-in.

The two common types of insulation used are polyurethane and extruded polystyrene.  Each type of insulation brings with it strengths and weaknesses that must be evaluated for each individual application.

U.S. Cooler uses both insulations. Through experience and research, U.S. Cooler believes extruded polystyrene is the best insulation for the walls, ceiling, and floors of coolers and freezers. Polyurethane is better to insulate the doors of their walk-ins. According to a study performed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, they found that over a five year period extruded polystyrene retains 75% of its R-value while polyurethane retains 25%.¹  This is one reason why U.S. Cooler believes extruded polystyrene provides the most value and the best option for walk-in insulation.

Polyurethane & Extruded Polystyrene

Read the rest of this entry »

Get a Small Business Grant to Help Purchase Your Walk-in Cooler or Freezer

Being “green” and “energy efficient” are big advertising buzzwords today.
But besides the benefits to the environment, there are definitely good economical reasons for “going green“. There is a HUGE potential for savings on your next electric bill (you can check out our walk-in energy savings calculator). However, investing in new efficient equipment like walk-in freezers, furnaces, or stoves often present too much of an up front cost (even if they would pay for themselves in energy savings in a few years) so the purchase is delayed as long as possible. Think you can’t afford that new refrigerator or ice machine? Maybe you can with the help of your state government.

In this political environment there are many grants available for small businesses, especially when it comes to making your business more energy efficient. The following is a list of websites where you can find and apply for grants in your state (most are linked to the state’s business website but some are linked to specific energy grants). There is also an online government grant and loan search available. Different grants have different requirements and payouts (for example, some will require you to reduce energy usage by at least 20% and the state will foot 25% of the equipment bill).

Economic Development Websites:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

U.S. Cooler Saves Customers Money with Energy Efficient Walk-ins

Most walk-in coolers and freezers are purchased based upon the initial cost. What many fail to realize is that operational costs can dig deep into consumers’ pockets. U.S. Cooler is giving the Cold Storage Industry an energy efficient option by manufacturing walk-ins with extruded polystyrene insulation.

Extruded polystyrene is the most efficient insulation available on the market. Over time, extruded polystyrene resists moisture while other insulations start absorbing it. One must consider a real life application to understand moisture absorption.

Freezers normally operate at -10° F inside, but may have an exterior temperature of up to 95° F or even more. With the extreme difference in temperatures, the insulation is vulnerable to retaining moisture in the structural voids. When water starts collecting inside walk-in insulation, the R-value drops and moisture inside the insulation starts to freeze.

When moisture is absorbed and R-values start to decrease, refrigeration systems start working harder and longer to make up for the heat transferring into the walk-in. A refrigeration system working overtime means higher energy bills. By using extruded polystyrene, consumers can save that money.

Extruded polystyrene is unique; the insulation is a closed-cell product, meaning the cells of the material are so tightly packed together that moisture has a difficult time penetrating, which is optimal for moisture resistance and keeps the R-value from decreasing.

Using studies performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CREEL), U.S. Cooler demonstrated extruded polystyrene saved consumers over $5,000 in energy costs over the first five years of operation. The savings again are due to extruded polystyrene’s ability to resist moisture and to retain its R-value better than other insulators.

When buying and selling walk-ins, consider more than the initial cost of the walk-in-consider energy costs. Educate yourself about how to save money; to find out more about extruded polystyrene and energy savings, call 800.521.2665 or visit www.uscooler.com.