What Are Reefer Vans Used For?

 

What's a Reefer Truck?

 

"Reefer" is slang for refrigerated. The truck is your standard semi-cab. However, the reefer really is just the trailer. A "reefer truck," then, is a semi pulling a refrigerated trailer, designed to haul perishable goods. These trailers differ from cooling vans, which are just insulated and vented. What makes a reefer trailer different? Reefers include an active cooling system. Thus, you can transport frozen as well as refrigerated freight.

A reefer could also be temperature adjusted to haul heated goods as well. However, this is much less common.

You can find reefers using a couple of different cooling methods. You may see both diesel-powered generators and cryogenic cooling systems. Let's take a closer look at exactly how trailer cooling works.

 

How Reefer Units Work

 

Reefer units operate on a closed system. Removing heat and maintaining a steady temperature is what a refrigerated trailer system is all about. They operate by collecting and pumping heat throughout the system. Now I'll address the core components in making this work.

 

Components of Reefer Units and the Cooling Cycle

• The Compressor: There's a small engine within the reefer unit that drives the compressor. The compressor draws in gaseous refrigerant and, as you'd expect, compresses it. The pressure from this liquefies the gas. This then gives off heat to the body of the compressor and the air itself. From here, the temperature is still fairly warm, and the refrigerant goes through to the condenser.
• The Condenser: The condenser receives the liquid from the compressor. Then a heat exchange process begins. The warmth of the liquid flows to the walls of the tubing, then outside to the attached fins. The fins provide more surface area with which to cool outside air that comes in through the condenser fan. The process is very similar to how a radiator cools an engine.
• The Evaporator: The evaporator is inside the trailer. At this point, the refrigerant has given up most of its heat to the condenser and become a cool liquid. Then it goes into the evaporator through a metering valve. This valve controls the amount of cooling. Inside the evaporator, the now cool liquid refrigerant expands, turning back into a gas. It absorbs a great deal of heat from the surrounding finned coils during this process. The air from inside the trailer then blows over the evaporator. The air then goes back into the compressor, and the cycle begins all over again.

 

Parts of a Reefer Trailer

 

Reefer trailers naturally have more parts than standard shipping trailers. Here are the various pieces:

• Reefer unit (described above)
• Insulated box
• Air chute
• Air ride suspension
• Tire inflation systems

Most reefer trailers are 53 feet long, though they are available in other sizes as well.

 

What are reefer vans used for?

 

First, Delivery of fresh food, to ensure the fresh food. The main function of the refrigerated truck is to keep the fresh food, the truck is dedicated to transport food, keep the internal health standards, and can play a role in inhibiting the growth of bacteria. Such as to transport of chilled food, seafood, vegetables and so can achieve better results. In addition, some refrigerated trucks also have a temperature control function, so that according to the specific requirements of food to adjust the temperature, to achieve the best fresh effect.

Second, Delivery of special drugs to ensure the efficacy of drugs. Some drugs need to be at a lower temperature to ensure efficacy, such as sedatives of drugs, they have very strict requirements for the storage temperature. In the transport of these drugs need to use a special cold chain truck to store and transport. The truck should be preceded by a rigorous disinfected before it can go to the delivery drug. If the transport road is relatively far, you also need to adjust the temperature properly to ensure the safe transport of drugs.

Third, Delivery of cold drinks, to ensure that it does not melt. Distribution of cold drinks for the needs of this refrigerated trucks is more extensive, Especially in the summer if the need for large quantities of transport, then the demand for refrigerated trucks is very large. Generally from the cold drink factory directly loaded, and then transported to the various cold storage of subordinate distributors. Of course, the vehicles needs to go through disinfection, but the delivery of cold drinks for the volume of vehicles have greater requirements, the need for large refrigerated trucks to complete the task of transport.

 

Benefits of Refrigerated Vans

 

While refrigerated vans have always been used by caterers for food transport these temperature-controlled vans offer versatility for a variety of other businesses and products that require specific climates to prevent contamination or spoilage, ranging from pharmaceutical supplies and nutritional supplements to food, perfumes and cosmetics.

 

Protect Your Goods Yourself

When you have your own refrigerated van, it allows you to take control of the delivery and care of your products rather than hiring freight companies. This puts you in charge of knowing how products are handled, ensuring the protection from spoilage of produce, contamination of products or wilting of flowers, etc., whatever your business may be.

 

Flexibility of Time

In lieu of hiring a company for goods transport, a refrigerated van of your own allows you the flexibility of time to work with your schedule or that of your staff. Not only is this an advantage for you, but it enables you to provide better customer service to clients by accommodating their schedule.

 

Consistent Temperature is the Law

Due to FDA regulations on so many consumer products, safe transportation and consistent temperature is a must for staying in compliance. The refrigerated van gives the driver full control of the thermostat and it also has an overnight standby mode for maintaining climate control over long distances.

 

Versatility for Delivery Services

The refrigerated van offers versatility for multiple industries. With the ability to manually control the temperature in these vehicles, your business can deliver a variety of products and still meet FDA regulations.