What’s In A Freezer? A Discussion on the Parts That Make It Work

25 July 2016

Find a large room with plenty of open floor space because we’re going operate on a restaurant-grade walk-in freezer. Dismantled and laid out in a sprawling range of disparate components, all of the freezer parts will fill a substantial chunk of factory floor real estate, so let’s watch our step.

The Structural Anatomy of Freezers

The modular configuration separates as a series of floor-to-ceiling panels. Additional ceiling and floor panels incorporate apertures for refrigeration units and drainage ports. The floor in this design is typically equipped with a slip-resistant lining, perhaps patterned metal extrusions or a mineral-coated resin. Inside the composite panels, the corrosion-resistant metal skin contains a foam-bonded polyurethane core or an extruded layer of polystyrene, insulants that drive the R-factor up and seal the cold inside.

Active Freezer Parts

What we’ve got so far is a thermally isolated box. Now we need to lower the ambient temperature inside the large chamber. Three system parts work together to manage the internal environment. A sensor evaluates the air temperature and reports back to a digital thermostat. Controlling electronics then trigger a built-in refrigeration unit. Now, this boxy refrigeration unit is equipped with all of the active cooling guts. Condensers and evaporation coils coexist here. They work together to change the chemical state of a refrigerant. Compressors and expansion valves then manipulate the fluid refrigerant. Gaseous expansion takes place, and this exchange of energy causes the air to cool. The result is a cold vapour flowing through the confines of the cooling cabinet. All that’s required now is a bank of fans to distribute this cold vapour, to push it into the insulated chamber.

Shape-Changing Cooling Units

In spreading out all of the freezer parts, we’ve got insulating panels and a refrigeration cabinet. There’s also a door with a strong rubberized seal, an entryway that uses a strong mechanical arm to ensure employee access doesn’t jeopardise the frozen content. One common variable in this configuration is the cooling unit. It’s mounted within the chamber, on top of the freezer, or even on the side. Some designs even use a remote configuration and place the dense package of mechanical parts outside the building, thus maximizing thermal ejection.

Electrical systems orchestrate mechanical parts. Modular assets come together as mechanical fasteners permit, leaving only the need to support this tightly integrated mass of working parts by incorporating a drainage channel, a pipe that discharges melting ice during a defrost cycle.

Mark Connelly
C&M Coolroom Services
E-mail: markconnelly@cmcoolrooms.com.au
Mobile: 0412 536 315

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