The Exciting World of Hinges and Latches for Walk-ins

There are many different styles of hinges and latches.

Both the hinges and latches have a number on the back.  In addition, they may say “flush” or have the offset size, e.g. 1 1/8, 1 ½, etc.  It is important to have that number on the back to ensure you get the proper replacement. Additionally, having the serial number of your walk-in (often located in the door jamb on the hinge side) can be a huge help if you’re ordering the replacement part from the walk-in manufacturer.

Let’s talk hinges!

Walk in cooler or freezer hinges are either flush or offset.  The easiest way to determine which style you have is to place your hand on the outside wall of the walk-in and slide it towards the door.  If the door stops your hand from moving across the door then you have an offset door.  If your hand slides across the door it is flush.

Determine the offset measure by measuring from the wall surface to the door surface.  The offset measure combined with the number on the back will ensure you receive the correct hinge.

Also, some walk-in hinges are reversible.  If you receive a hinge and it is the reverse of what you need, you can reverse the new hinge.

Read the rest of this entry »

10 Tips for Restaurants on Saving Money, Energy & the Earth

Are you investing your energy resources wisely? The following tips provide ideas for maintaining an energy efficient operation.

Track energy consumption

Tracking your monthly electricity, water, sewer, trash and natural gas consumption is a first step toward managing your impact and monitoring the effectiveness of efficiency improvements. If you’re an independent operator or local chain, get audits from local utilities and municipalities. Many organizations provide free energy, water and waste audits in addition to advice, technical and sometimes financial assistance for upgrades and program development. Take advantage of these free professional services.

Allow for air circulation around refrigerators and freezers

Refrigerators remove heat from inside the box and eject that heat through the coils on the top or bottom of the unit. When you are cleaning around these units, do not push your reach-ins into tight spaces where the heat will build up, forcing the unit to work harder and use more energy.

Defrost food regularly

Develop a frozen food pull schedule to avoid the practice of defrosting food under running hot water. If a two-gallon-per-minute faucet is used forthis purpose one hour every day for a year, the cost may exceed $800. Read the rest of this entry »

New! Brew Cave Takes Beer Storage to New Level

U.S. Cooler unveils its new “Brew Cave” high efficiency cooler package to small commercial and residential customers. With the new unit’s lower price, higher efficiency, and several color choices, the new commercial grade walk-in will be of great interest to small bar/club and residential users. Unlike the usual beer cave found in Convenience Stores, U.S. Cooler has made the new “Brew Cave” to fit in a small space and still offer tons of storage for beer, soda or any cold beverage at a very competitive price. This convenient high efficiency package includes everything necessary for a walk-in beverage cooler; refrigeration, shelving and draft beer dispensing system.

The Brew Cave is now available in one standard model size, 6’10” x 4’10” x 7’6”. The small size lends itself to the ability of fitting in most basements, garages, bars or clubs. The Brew Cave can store over 30 cases of beer and 6 or more kegs, all while keeping them cold and ready to enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »

Mortuary Body Coolers Available

U.S. Cooler provides mortuary coolers built to meet the demands of Funeral Directors, Coroners, Medical Labs and many other temperature controlled environments. These systems come equipped with a heavy duty stationary rack system for ease of loading and unloading. Our high quality, energy efficient mortuary refrigerators are made to meet sanitation requirements and are NSF and UL approved. Our standard sized unit is 8’ x 3’ x 6’ with a floor and is a 3 body model. U.S. Cooler can also build any custom size mortuary cooler to meet your specifications.

Visit our website for more information on our mortuary coolers.

NRA 2010 Introducing the Brew Cave

Visit us at NRA – Booth 1834

U.S. Cooler will be exhibiting at the NRA Show in Chicago, May 22-25.

Since last NRA (National Restaurant Association), U.S. Cooler has been busy working with lean and efficiency engineers designing new walk-ins that reduce waste, inventory, time, and costs. All of these factors together equal savings for dealers and consumers. Providing customers with quality, affordable walk-ins in a convenient amount of time has always been U.S. Cooler’s highest priority.

U.S. Cooler, through their discount dealer program, passes savings on to consumers via the internet. Quick delivery, quality product, and competitive prices have drawn customers from across the nation to buy walk-in coolers and freezers from U.S. Cooler’s internet dealers online. Check out www.fastcooler.com, the internet’s best resource for discount walk-in cooler and freezer dealers.

This year at NRA, U.S. Cooler is displaying the new lean Brew Cave.

The U.S. Cooler Brew Cave offers an abundance of cold storage space for beer, soda or any cold beverage. It can store over 30 cases of beer and 4 or more kegs, all while keeping them cold and ready to drink. The Brew Cave is perfect for restaurants, bars, clubs, hotels, country clubs etc. Everything needed for your Brew Cave is included in one convenient package; refrigeration, shelving and draft beer dispensing system. The Brew Cave can be any standard size and has many add-on features. With shelving that is designed to provide the most cold storage space possible in the footprint of the walk-in, the Brew Cave is sure to provide you with the most efficient storage space available.

Stop by U.S. Cooler’s booth 1834 to learn more about our discount internet program and how U.S. Cooler can save you money.

New Website walkincoolerparts.com

Has your walk-in cooler or freezer seen a lot of use and abuse over the years? Door parts on walk-ins are particularly susceptible due to heavy traffic and may become worn or break. In the past we have exclusively provided walk-in parts for our units by calling our parts line 866-261-2797 (8-5PM CST). U.S. Cooler is proud to announce the launch of our new parts website walkincoolerparts.com. The site will allow you to create an account and save items in your cart to be purchased at a later date. It also offers the convenience of 24/7 ordering, free shipping, secure checkout and no minimum purchase amounts.

Currently, our online catalog only offers parts that are standard on U.S. Cooler walk-ins. These include hinges, closers, cam locks, light fixtures, screeding, handles and more. In the coming months, we will begin adding additional items to our catalog encompassing parts that require specific sizing or aren’t found on U.S. Cooler manufactured units.

Walk-in Cooler Parts accepts Visa, Discover, and Mastercard. Appropriate sales taxes will be charged for shipments to Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Texas.

Hard to Open Doors and Pressure Differences in Your Walk-in Box

Improper fixes to hard-to-open doors can cause ice and frost build-up, water dripping on
floors, freezing around door seals and unusual icing patterns in and around the refrigeration equipment.

Nature’s Basics

The physical nature of air causes a cooler or freezer to have a negative pressure compared to the
outside air. This is due to the contraction of the air as the temperature drops. The pressure of the air in a
sealed box will decrease by 0.3 psi for every drop in temperature of 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Note: This negative pressure is not caused by the refrigeration equipment removing air. The evaporator fans just cool the air and push it around the box. They don’t have any exhaust venting or “makeup air” being brought in from the outside (like they do in air conditioning systems).

Check it Yourself

The most dramatic pressure change happens when the door is closed. Warm air that entered a cold
freezer will be cooled within seconds by contact with the ceiling, walls and product. If the average air
temperature quickly drops from 40 to 30 degrees, the pressure drops by 0.3 psi. That’s 43 pounds per square
foot, over 800 pounds of force on a normal size door. The door will be impossible to re-open until the
pressure is equalized.
Note: The bigger the size of the door and the more airtight the box, the more dramatic it will be. Read the rest of this entry »

Proposed Rulemaking for Walk-in Coolers and Freezers

Proposed Rulemaking for Walk-in Coolers and Freezers

Since EISA was passed January 1, 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been working to mandate a standardized energy efficiency test for walk-in coolers and freezers.  The first step was taken with an informal meeting on February 4, 2009 to discuss comments and suggestions from industry professionals on determining a testing procedure. After nearly a year’s worth of research, DOE has published their proposed testing procedure for walk-in coolers and freezers. A follow-up meeting was scheduled to discuss these proposed rulings, but due to winter weather the meeting was cancelled and has not been rescheduled at this time.

In accordance with section 312 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), DOE published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) for the test procedure on walk-in coolers and freezers. The NOPR is the first published document for the test procedure rulemaking process for walk-ins. DOE proposes the procedures explained in the NOPR be used to test walk-in equipment. Once performance standards are accepted, manufacturers will be required to use the accepted test to determine compliance and for all representations regarding the energy use of the product.

DOE proposes to adopt a test procedure that contains two separate testing methods; one for the insulated box and the other for the refrigeration equipment. Each of the two components, the insulated box and the refrigeration system, will be tested separately. The manufacturer will be responsible for testing their product respectively and must provide compliance with all testing standards.  Read the rest of this entry »

New! Copeland Scroll Outdoor Condensing Unit

Copeland now carries outdoor condensing units for the food service industry. There new light weight, slim shaped units are available in medium and low temperatures ranging from 2 – 6 horsepower.

Copeland Scroll Outdoor Condensing Units are perfectly suited for walk-in cooler and freezer applications. All units integrate the many benefits of the Copeland Scroll compressor technology, fan speed control and Copeland Performance Alert™ diagnostic controls, and are available in 208/230 single-phase and 208/230 three-phase voltage applications.

Scroll compressors offer the highest energy efficiency levels to lower energy bills. With integrated controls that optimize fan motor speed to maximize the heat transfer through over-sized condenser coils, additional energy savings are achieved. The average energy savings for end-users is $350 per year for a 3HP medium temperature unit, however this number could be greater depending on the application.

Read the rest of this entry »

Walk-in Freezers Used to Heat Water?

At U.S. Cooler, we strive to bring more value to our customers.  One of the ways we accomplish that is by keeping informed on opportunities to improve your bottom line.

Did you know your walk-in coolers and freezers are potentially capable of doing double-duty?  It’s a well kept secret you may wish to consider.  Depending upon your existing (or hopefully new, from U.S. Cooler) equipment, you may be able to save thousands of dollars annually by capturing the heat rejected from air-cooled condensing units and using it to pre-heat hot water. Read the rest of this entry »