My Glass Display Doors Are Popping Open!

Why it happens:

Our walk in coolers are structurally solid and fully gasketed. When properly installed they will form an air-tight unit. When any of the doors are closed suddenly, an air-hammer effect can be created inside the walk in cooler. There will be a positive pressure formed, and this pressure will be released at the point of least resistance. This point is generally the glass display doors, since they are held in place by only the magnetic strips within the gaskets. If the closing tension of the doors is too light, they may stay open, wasting energy.

What you can do:

This is a relatively easy problem to fix. The bottom hinge mechanism of the Anthony glass display doors is called a Torquemaster. The screw on the face of this mechanism allows you to easily adjust the closing force of the walk in cooler doors. Adjust the screw counter-clockwise to increase the tension. Do not adjust to the point of the door slamming—this can cause problems down the road with the doors.

There is also a screw on the edge of the mechanism. This screw allows you to adjust the square of the walk in cooler door within the frame.

If adjustment of the front screw has no effect, and the walk in cooler door swings loosely with no tension at all, then the torque rod may be broken within the door. This is an easy part to replace; call our service department (800-521-0398 or 586-254-0610) to order the correct rod.

How to Properly Seal Walk in Cooler Doors

SLIDING GLASS DOOR MODELS:

All walk in coolers must be level for sliding glass doors to seal properly. If the floor is not level, there may be gaps at the top or bottom of the door seal against the cabinet sidewall. There may also be gaps on the overlap seal from door to door. In addition, the doors will be unable to glide freely and bind instead. Leveling is not a service performed by delivery personnel. Walk in coolers are manufactured to rest on a sturdy, smooth, and level floor. The longer the cabinet, the more it may be affected.

LEVELING YOUR WALK IN COOLER:

If a smooth and level floor is not available, the walk in cooler will have to be shimmed to compensate for any floor irregularities. First, get a collection of wood squares of assorted thickness. You will also need a 4' carpenter’s level and a tape measure.

1. Using the level, determine the slope of the floor. This will tell you which end is the highest. You will want to raise the rest of the walk in cooler until it is level with this end.

2. Next, hold your level flush against the face of the display against the highest end. This will tell you if the walk in cooler is leaning either forward or back.

3. Now you can start to insert shims under the cabinet supports to raise the walk in cooler into position. All four corners of the cabinet may need to be shimmed, as well as the center, both front and back. It will be helpful if two people level. One person can tip the display, while the second person can insert the shims.

4. You will be finished when your carpenter’s level can be placed anywhere against any of the horizontal or vertical surfaces and read perfectly plumb. A final test can then be made. Measure the doorframe assembly from the lower left corner to the upper right corner, and compare this measurement to the opposite corner-to-corner measurement. They should be exactly the same. If they are off, the walk in cooler is still not level. The bottom rail of the doorframe should also be perfectly straight with no sag or bow.

FINAL ADJUSTMENTS TO WALK IN COOLER DOORS:

Leveling your walk in cooler will generally solve ninety percent of seal problems. In rare cases, individual adjustment to the doors themselves may be necessary. If your walk in cooler is now perfectly square, and one of your doors is now out of square in the frame, the following procedure can usually be performed.

1. Remove the door from the display by lifting it up and swinging the bottom of the door out free from the bottom rail.

2. Once the door is removed, you can shim the individual door rollers with washers to square the door within the frame.

A Few Updates!

SRC has made a few updates to our main website! We added a completely new gallery with several different albums, including walk in coolers/freezers, reach in coolers, and walk in cooler doors. We always love receiving pictures from our customers of their newly installed walk in and reach in coolers, so please, don't hesitate to email us! You can see a list of our email addresses here.

In addition, we've updated our references & testimonials. :)

We will be adding another new album to our gallery soon, so keep a look out! What the album will contain is a surprise!

Caulking Information: How to Make Your Cooler Airtight

Walk in Cooler Panels

Normally wall and ceiling panels will lock together tight and not require caulking—the only exception is when it is difficult to get the box completely level and square. In that case, caulk any walk in cooler panels that are not entirely tight to prevent air infiltration.

The only panel seams you need to caulk will be at the floor and ceiling perimeter joints. Apply a generous bead with the silicone we have provided, and using a caulking tool or even your finger, smooth the bead out so that good adhesion is made to both surfaces. Clean up can be performed with mineral spirits. Leave the doors of your cabinet open until the silicone cures and the vinegar-like smell diminishes.

Display Doors

If your walk in cooler includes display doors, run a bead of silicone around the entire inside perimeter of the frame after installation. If the gap is too large for silicone, stuff fiberglass insulation or backer rod to fill the joint instead. The same applies for glass viewing windows. Make sure they are well sealed prior to the window trim being secured.

Refrigeration

All refrigeration or electrical lines penetrating the walls or ceiling need to be sealed. In addition, the inside of all electrical conduits must be sealed prior to entering the walk in cooler. This will help avoid future electrical problems by preventing moisture from collecting inside the conduit. Not all electricians are familiar with this possibility, so it never hurts to remind your contractor.

If You See Moisture…

When your walk in cooler is in operation, if you see any water droplets running down the wall panels or water pooling onto the floor, it indicates warm air is entering the walk in cooler causing moisture and condensation to form. Determine the source of the air leak and seal properly.

What About Larger Gaps?

If you needed to shim your walk in cooler during installation to compensate for an uneven floor, you may be faced with gaps larger than silicone caulk alone can seal.

Minimal expansion spray foam can be purchased at any hardware store or building center. It is sold under various brand names in convenient aerosol dispensing cans. You may need several cans depending on the size of your walk in cooler. The directions on the can will give you an idea of the product coverage.

First, install whatever type of finish trim you had planned for the outside of the walk in cooler. There are many possibilities (for example: vinyl cove base, tile, or wood molding). Having this in place will prevent the spray foam from expanding all over the outside flooring.

Now you can apply the foam underneath the wall panels from the inside of the walk in cooler. If you are unfamiliar working with this product, test spray a small amount into an empty box, and get a feel for how much it expands. This will give you an idea of how much to apply. Apply masking tape over the inside perimeter of the floor if you wish to protect the surface. After the product has finished expanding and has cured, it can be trimmed flush with the wall panel with a sharp knife. You will be left with an air tight seal, and can now finish it off with whatever base trim you choose.

Pictures/Examples

It's always great when customers send SRC pictures of their new walk in coolers (before, during, and after installation!)... But from those pictures, I actually couldn't find one specifically of the caulking process. Instead, through Google, I found a good example of caulking here. If you scroll a bit farther than halfway down the page, you'll see a heading called "Plywood and Seams Finished." Ken writes, "Finished layering the inside with plywood, and then caulked all the seams. Decided to use basic painters caulking, since I had a lot of it on hand." There are several good, up-close pictures posted!

Anthony's Energy Calculator

SRC Refrigeration does a lot of business with Anthony, one of the world's leading manufacturers of refrigerator and freezer doors, lighting systems, and display equipment. While browsing Anthony's home page today, I noticed there was a link to an "Energy Calculator" near  the bottom.

When you click on it, you'll find you can calculate a comparison between different walk in cooler door models—not only for annual operating cost, but for annual energy usage... and your energy savings! It's quite a nifty tool if you're in the market for buying a walk in cooler or freezer door (especially if you have a tight budget!). By using their comparison tool, you'll have a better idea which model is right for you—and can get the best value for your money. Check it out!

ANTHONY'S ENERGY CALCULATOR