Cold Room Temperature Guide

Cold Room Temperature Guide

Cold rooms require a little bit of attention to ensure that the cold room temperature is steady, consistent, and at the right degree. If you’re noting a decline in temperature, then you might have a problem you’re not addressing.

We’re going to break down six things you need to look out for in the event the temperature in your cold room is dropping and how to maintain a great cold room temperature.
Why do Cold Room Temperatures Slowly Drop?

Here are the six reasons why your cold room might be experiencing gradual temperature declines;

• Inadequate Heat Insulation and Sealing
  When your cold room experiences a less than ideal insulation performance, it is likely due to poor quality insulation on either the pipes or cold room walls. They’re likely not thick enough or just cheap insulation pipes. Either way, they’re causing a problem.

A problem like this could have existed since the design or construction phase of the cold room. For example, in the design phase, the wrong thickness was chosen for the insulation panels. Or, in the construction phase, they were constructed using defective or low-quality materials.

Another possibility is the heat insulations materials were damaged during construction. This would have left the moisture resistance unable to function correctly, and that would allow the insulation panels to either become either;

● Damp
● Deformed
● Eroded

When there is a reduction in the heat insulations capacity, cooling loss increases which causes the cold room to slow down or grind to a near halt.

When poor sealing performance exists, more hot air penetrates the cold room from the leaks the poor sealing has let remain exposed. When the sealing is inadequate, frequently opening the cold room doesn’t help as it fights to retain what little cold air it once had in circulation. Thus, it struggles to make up the deficit. Additionally, it becomes increasingly difficult to distribute the limited cool air with more stock in the cold room. This means not everything, if anything at all, is being adequately cooled.

• Reduction in Heat Ex-Changer due Frost and Dust
  When your evaporator’s heat exchanger isn’t performing at the necessary capacity, then you’ll see temperatures drop gradually in your cold room. The reason behind this is that thick frost, or an excess of dust, inhabits the surface of the evaporator.

The surface temperature of evaporators is commonly below 0 degrees Celcius. In contrast, in environments, temperatures experience high humidity. As a result, the moisture found in the air causes frost on the surface of the evaporator, which, in turn, affects the heat exchanger. To avoid this, you simply need to defrost regularly and ensure dust is not causing an issue in the evaporator.

• Reduction in Heat Ex-Changer due Air or Refrigerator Oil
  When excess refrigerant oil exists on the inner surface of the heat exchanger tubes in the evaporator, the coefficient decreases. The same happens when there is excess air in the heat exchanger tubes. The evaporator area where the heat exchanger lies experiences a decline as the heat exchangers are reduced. This all results in a temperature drop in your cold room.

The fix to this issue requires consistent maintenance to reduce and remove excess oil from the inner surface of heat exchanger tubes and exhaust the air in your cold rooms’ evaporator. This will improve the evaporator’s heat transfer efficiency.

• Throttle Valves: Blocked or Poorly Adjusted
  When the opening degree of the throttle valve is in excess, it can cause a host of problems. For starters, the refrigerant flow rate is too large, and there’s an increase in evaporation pressure and evaporation temperature. This all leads to temperatures dropping.

On the other hand, when the opening degree of the throttle valve is too low or possibly blocked, it causes refrigerant rates to be considerably lower. This reduced refrigerant rate leads to a reduction in cooling capacity, which creates a temperature decline.

• Low or Ineficcent Compressor
  Long-term use of a cold room can see the compressor succumb to wear and tear. It usually happens in the cylinder liner and piston ring, but no part of the compressor is ever indeed excluded. As a result, the clearance will increase, while the sealing and the air transmission coefficient will decrease in performance.

When the cooling capacity doesn’t match the heat load of a cold room, you’ll find the temperature drops. If you observe the suction and discharge pressure of the compressor, you’ll be able to judge its capacity.

• Lack of Refrigererant
  There are two primary reasons for the lack of refrigerant;

1. The refrigerant charges less.
2. Excess refrigerant leakage.

In the event the second reason is the likely culprit, you’ll need to find the leak, inspect the pipelines as well as the valve connections. Once you’ve managed to find and examine the leak, you’ll need to repair the affected parts. Finally, refill the refrigerant with the required amount, and you should be able to see a difference rather quickly.
Maintaining Safe Refrigerator Temperatures?
If you’re experiencing the necessary temperatures of between 0ºC and 4ºC for your cold room and -12ºC and below for your freezer, here are some ways to maintain safe cold room temperatures.

● Utilize thermometers that go below 0ºC to keep an eye on any possible temperature changes.
● Be sure to keep the thermometer centralized and the door closed.
● When reading the temperature, don’t remove the thermometer as it can change when introduced to an alternative environment and temperature.
● Make sure the thermometer is non-mercury as if broken, a mercury thermometer can contaminate food.
● Don’t overload your cold room as it endangers the cool air circulation.
● Attempt to lessen the number of times, or the length of time, that a fridge door is kept open.

You should have a good understanding of why your cold room temperature is dropping and how to maintain a stable and consistent temperature overall. If you need further information or help to understand your cold room or perhaps just want the guidance of a specialist, head on over to our website and get in touch today!