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.

Game Locker Coolers for Hunters & Processors

We are quickly approaching that time of year again…hunting season. Many hunters know that after their tags are filled, the game must be cooled and held at a certain temperature to maintain its freshness. Due to the size of the game, it is necessary to have a larger cold storage unit to hold the meat before and after processing.

Game Lockers (also known as meat lockers, game coolers, deer boxes, or deer coolers) are a perfect solution to preserving and storing meat after the hunt. Game Lockers come in two sizes: 6’ x 6’ x 8’ and 6’ x 8’ x 8’. These meat coolers are sold as a package including refrigeration and overhead rail system with hooks. Both models have available space for shelving to help organize your inventory in the cooler. They are now available to purchase online from our dealer sites.

Now is the time to start looking into Game Lockers for this upcoming hunting season. Visit this page for more detailed information regarding Game Lockers.

Own a restaurant? Tips to save time, energy, and money.

1. Make Your Menu More Efficient.

Are your menu items being prepped and cooked as efficiently as possible? Items that need to be thawed for daily food service can be defrosted in a refrigerator overnight instead of under running water reducing energy usage and conserving water. Review your menu to see if there are common ingredients or items that can all come from one source. Minimizing the number of individual deliveries you receive weekly will add to your conservation practices and reduce your delivery expenses as well as receiving time when you can be going in and out of cold storage using additional energy to bring it back to safe temperatures.

2. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs.

Subway recently switched all their light bulbs to energy efficient bulbs in all of their 2000 US franchise locations. Switching to an energy efficient light bulb can save up to $22 per bulb per year. This can add up to quite a savings over time. Also keep lights off when you don’t need them. If you don’t start serving lunch until 11 o’clock there is no reason to turn the dining room lights on until then.

Areas such as walk-in coolers or your dry store room don’t need to be illuminated all day long. Turning off lights as you leave typically unused areas is a great way to save money on your energy bill. Electrical timers can be used in these areas especially if they are commonly forgotten and left on overnight.

Higher efficiency bulbs can be used in areas that require constant lighting. Replace incandescent lights in your walk in cooler with fluorescent lights which are cooler and consume less energy. Replacing bulbs with higher efficient options will show a lower cost in your monthly bill.

3. Pre-cut and freeze many of the common vegetables you use in your restaurant or cafe.

Onions: Buy in bulk and on sale. Peel and slice or dice. Freeze one layer thick on a cookie sheet. When frozen transfer to plastic jars with screw on lids. Immediately put back in the freezer. Don’t forget to label the jars! When you need some onions in a cooked dish just shake out what you need. If they clump together shake really hard to loosen. Some of the ways we use frozen onions: sautéed or grilled on hamburgers, in omelets, in any dish that the customer asks for “extra onions” that will be cooked or at least heated. Bell peppers, Mushrooms

4. Train your staff.

Teach your staff to sort recyclables, turn off lights, and let you know if there is a leaky faucet in the wait station. Ask them to bring in their own take-home containers instead of using the restaurant take-outs.

Busy kitchen staff may often forget to do the simplest of energy efficient steps. Leaving oven doors open releases vast amounts of heat. Each time you open an oven door the temperature can drop by as much as 25o F.; watch the clock and use a timer instead. Don’t leave the convection oven or steamer door open too long or it will just continue to release heat, burning unnecessary energy to retain the proper cooking temperature.

The walk-in cooler is another door that needs to be shut at all times or cooling becomes a continuous energy pit. If doors such as the walk-in cooler are consistently left open, place spring hinges on the doors and it will automatically close, eliminating the opportunity for staff to forget to shut the door.

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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

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Walk-in Freezer/Cooler Application Pages

U.S. Cooler is always looking to expand into new markets. We have posted new pages on our website for the various applications U.S. Cooler designs walk-ins for.

If you can dream it, U.S. Cooler can build it.

They are as follows:

Bars Pubs Nightclub – Keg and Beer Coolers

Convenience Store Reach-in Display Coolers / Beer Caves

Cold Storage Warehouses

Floral Storage and Display Walk-ins

Grocery and Supermarket Walk-ins

Game Lockers for Hunters

Funeral Home Body Storage Coolers

Restaurant Coolers & Freezers