Walk-In Refrigerators & Freezers

We have a wide selection of indoor and outdoor walk-in coolers, walk-in refrigerators, and walk-in freezers from the most-trusted brands in commercial refrigeration.

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What Is a Walk-In Cooler?

A commercial walk-in cooler, refrigerator, or freezer is a cooling or freezing machine mostly used in commercial establishments. Walk-in refrigerators or walk-in freezers are akin to big walk-in closets or a walk-in cold room and are used as the main cold storage area of commercial establishments to keep their food, ingredients, and drinks/beverages cold and fresh. One important thing to remember for your own walk-in cooler for your restaurant or bar is that the machine's temperature should ideally remain at least a steady 41 degrees F to keep the contents fresh.

How Do Walk-In Coolers Work?

Most people think that a walk-in cooler/freezer works much like a home refrigerator. However, walk-in coolers and freezers work very differently compared to home refrigerators. One big difference is that, instead of using cold air created by a connected freezer unit (which is usually used for home refrigerators), commercial walk-in coolers generate cold air through fans and a condenser. This is actually closer to what a window-type air-conditioning unit would use, as opposed to a home fridge. As such, the condenser unit of a walk-in commercial freezers and coolers usually cycle on and off to keep the temperature maintained.

A walk-in cooler freezer's thermostat usually determines the temperature of air inside the unit. Thus, when the temperature inside the walk-in fridge goes above the thermostat's level, the condenser unit is turned on to begin a cooling cycle. The fans of the walk-in fridge and freezer then proceed to pull air into the cooler and over the condenser's coils. The coolant in the coils helps pull the heat from the air as it passes. This cooled air is then pumped out via the back of the walk-in refrigerator. While the fans are blowing air over the condenser, the air temperature inside the refrigerated walk in will be lower than the one set by the thermostat. The coolant in the condenser coils is pumped continuously during the cooling cycle. This actually helps make sure that the coolant of the walk-in cooler doesn't heat up a lot before cooling down again.

In most walk-in coolers, there is actually a second cooling cycle that helps prevent the condenser from freezing and icing up. When the thermostat of the walk-in fridge falls too low, the fans will begin operating once again without the coolant cycling. This helps to warm the condenser coils slowly as the coolant is not being cooled and cycled. This defrosting cycle will go on until the temperature once again rises to an acceptable level.

One important component of a walk-in freezer or cooler is how it is insulated or how it keeps cold air inside the unit. For example, the standard commercial walk-in cooler may have two to four inches of polystyrene insulation within the walls in addition to a rubber sealing gasket around the door that helps to ensure that the unit is both well-insulated and airtight. This insulation and sealing helps keep outside temperatures from adversely affecting the air inside the walk-in cooler.

Walk-In Refrigerators and Walk-In Freezers at Rapids Wholesale

Walk-in coolers and walk-in refrigerators are essentially refrigerated storage rooms. They are many times larger than reach-in refrigerators, and are built to store and keep larger items such as whole cases of drinks, large slabs of meat, and crates of produce.