Restaurant refrigeration is a very important part of any restaurant operation. This is because it protects the customers from foodborne sicknesses that are caused by improper storage while keeping drinks and food at proper serving temperatures.

Because many of the applications and processes in a restaurant kitchen require refrigeration, there are many different types of restaurant refrigeration equipment on the market. Therefore, you should get in contact with commercial refrigeration companies, like CoolSys, to make sure you get the right type of refrigeration equipment for your needs.

By learning about the different types of commercial refrigeration, you can make the best refrigeration decisions for your restaurant. Are you interested in learning more? If you are, then keep on reading and we will walk you through everything you need to know!

1. Reach-in Refrigerators

Reach-in fridges are the most popular answer to storing cooked foods, raw meats, fish, dairy, and other perishable products at proper temperatures. They are also needed for most restaurant operations.

These refrigerators come with compressors that might be bottom- or top-mounted. They can be available in one, two, or three sections. 

It is important to have a reach-in fridge with a storage capacity that meets your production levels. You can force the fridge to overwork itself if you overfill it. This can lead to maintenance problems or food items that are improperly cooled.

However, the reach-in fridge that you choose will mainly depend on what you are cooking and how much space you have.

If you have enough space, you might want to buy a bigger fridge to make sure that you don’t run out of storage space. If you’re pressed for room, then you should think about installing several small reach-in refrigerators. This system can also help prevent a loss of inventory in case one of your refrigerators breaks down in the middle of the night. 

Another factor that you should consider is whether a reach-in fridge with a top- or bottom-mounted compressor is going to work best in the kitchen. If your restaurant’s kitchen usually has hot ambient temperatures, then you will want to go with a bottom-mounted compressor. This is because you will be able to keep the condenser in the coldest part of the kitchen without drawing in dirty vapors from the stoves. 

If your reach-in fridge is far away from the cooking equipment, then a top-mounted condenser will make sure that the system doesn’t collect debris or dirt from the floor, which can clog up the coils. 

2. Walk-In Coolers

A walk-in cooler is basically a freezer or refrigerator that is the size of a small room. this kind of restaurant refrigeration can be used for special purposes, such as storing large amounts of perishable goods or making rooms for storing kegs.  

These are best for bulk storage of perishable goods.

If you need to store more bulk goods than a reach-in fridge can accommodate, then you might want to utilize a walk-in cooler. However, a lot of these kinds of coolers aren’t meant to pull down food temperatures. So you need to use blast chillers or other tools to bring food to safe temperatures before you store them in a walk-in cooler.

When you are buying this kind of commercial refrigeration, you will need to pick between a custom and standard cooler. Standard coolers are prefab units that are built for easy assembly upon arrival.

They tend to be rectangular or square. Their lengths and widths usually measure between five and thirteen feet and heights measure between five and ten feet. Customization options for these kinds of coolers are usually limited.

However, these coolers are also less costly and it is faster to ship them compared to customer coolers. This makes them a great choice for companies that are operating on budgetary constraints.  

If you want to use a walk-in cooler to keep food cold that hasn’t reached proper temperatures yet, then you will probably need a customized cooler that comes with a fridge system that can handle all of the demand. 

A walk-in cooler can be installed either outdoors or indoors. But you should know where you are going to put it before you order one.

The operating requirements for outdoor coolers are going to be different than those for indoor coolers because of the impact that weather can have on a box. This might require extra accessories for optimal operation.

3. Salad, Sandwich, & Pizza Prep Tables

Pizza shops, salad restaurants, and delis need to have refrigerated food prep tables. These offer storage on top of the unite for ingredients that will have to be accessed often with extra cabinet storage. 

These units can come as prep tables for pizzas or prep tables for sandwiches and salads. Each kind of table can be distinguished by the depth of the cutting board that is attached to it.  

After you figure out if you need a pizza or a salad prep table, you’ll need to think about which kind of pan rail will be best for your needs too. 

You also want to make sure that you get your supplies from a reputable source, such as this commercial refrigeration company. 

The Importance of Knowing About the Different Restaurant Refrigeration Types When Setting up Your Commercial Space

Hopefully, after reading the above article, you now have a better idea of what the different restaurant refrigeration types are. This should give you a sense of which kind of refrigeration system you will need for your commercial space.

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