insulation

[jayjay]

Help I posted this before and we have no solution. I have a 3600 sf walk in freezer that we want to add insulation to. Any ideas?

[Rob White]

.

If you add insulation then you need to completely seal
the two sections so moisture does not form and cause
damage.

Why would you want to add insulation?
Is the insulation not thick enough as it is or is it failing?

Rob

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[jayjay]

both. I understand that but how can i do it? I cant shut the unit down

[r.bartlett]

best contact a local insulation specialist not a fridge forum.

[Rob White]

both. I understand that but how can i do it? I cant shut the unit down

Sometimes we have to stand in front of the customer and tell them
the thing is faulty and you need to do something about it.

To do it properly you need for it to be dry and not frozen.

Why can't a portable unit be hired until the other one is repaired?
I know it is 1200 square mtrs, so hiring will be expensive

If you do it on the cheap or attempt to do the job quick it will cause
you more problems in the long run.

I would look at the cause of the insulation breakdown.

Is it old?
Was it installed correctly?
Has the cold room wall physically failed?

If you attempt to patch it, it will only delay the inevitable.

Consider replacing faulty panels with new, if you try sealing a new
skin onto the outside of the old one, you will have to make sure
it is well sealed and has no air gaps. If moisture gets through and
then freezes then it will separate the two section apart.

Consider if it is feasible to section the cold-room off with panels and
then allow those sections to warm up and then do the work.

Do you want to line the inside of the cold-room or the outside?
It might be easier to do the inside, I'm not sure how it is constructed.

Is the ceiling self supporting or is it hanging off bolts from the roof above.


Rob

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[jayjay]

We just dont have the cash to do it correctly. We need a fix that wont cost a ton of money. I;m the landlord and responsible for electric and maintenance. We are burning up compressors because the are undersize for the heat load.
Unit is old at least 30 years.
I cant relocate wants in unit to fix it correctly because I'm sure i will loose tenant.
That about 200 pallets of food to temp store somewhere. Thats gonna be a lot of cash.
Ive had insulation guys look at and the have no solutions
panels are hanging from ceiling.
????

[1mikeefc1]

Sounds like 30 years without spending on it. Time to invest now for the next 30 years otherwise you will be patching it every year from now on.

[Tesla]

Advise the purse string holder to loosen up - you can only bleed so much blood from one stone. This Sounds like my tight landlord who charges me too much for a 130 year old run down apartment. Look at ways to reduce the load without touching the insulation.

[jayjay]

Give me a break. I'm trying to find solutions for my tenant so we can go through the summer with no problems and the headache of a compressor going out on a 100 degree day. Replacing the box is not an option. Tenant is month to month and will not sign a long term lease. But all of this has nothing to do with my question.

[Magoo]

Spray on urethane foam insulation, on exterior, then spary heavy latex paint compound for vapour barrier, won't look too flash, but will improve insulation effectiveness.

[Rob White]

Give me a break. I'm trying to find solutions for my tenant so we can go through the summer with no problems and the headache of a compressor going out on a 100 degree day. Replacing the box is not an option. Tenant is month to month and will not sign a long term lease. But all of this has nothing to do with my question.

You seem to be getting angry because we won't tell you what you want to hear.

I understand your situation and I understand you are trying to make the best out
of a crappy situation but what do you want us to say?

If the insulation guy's can't offer a solution maybe it is because there is no real one.

Magoo's suggestion above is an excellent idea and not one I had thought of so it
is worth considering. One word of caution though there is no cheap fix to this.
To spray foam insulation and then to paint it with a waterproof paint will cost a lot of
money, you said your self the room is 1200 square mtrs that's a lot of foam and a lot
of paint.

Not what you want to hear I know but it is a realistic answer.

Rob

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[jayjay]

Thanks Maggo for the first suggestion. Ive considered foam but I only have 6" between panel and building wall. I found foam panels that I was thinking of installing on the inside of box but I cant find adhesive that will work in 0 degrees F.

Rob- The insulation guys suggested I fill the 6" space with open cell foam.

o well thanks anyway

[Tesla]

jayjay
I will not give you a break after checking out your profile and seeing that you have not bothered to help a single other thread on this forum.

[Magoo]

Jayjay,
spray foam is similar to that builders spray for home insulation in ceiling voids, fill the cavity in layers. If you have panels to fit internally use a mastic type sealant and ali angle brackets floor and ceiling. And nylon mushroom bolts to hold up ceiling panels. Alternatively " no more nails titanium " sticks anything to anything, good product.

[mad fridgie]

The room is F*****, so you want sort the problem short term and on the cheap.

Install a mister system(like the mister you fit in your garden) around the outside of the room, cheap as chips.

it will drop the dry bulb close to wet bulb and reflect some radiant,

[jayjay]

Whatever. I know I don't know what all you professionals know. (well some of you are professionals) Unfortunately I cant help anyone here. On other forums i am able to contribute, because it is my field of expertise. Refrigeration is defiantly not one of them. I have read and learned a lot from this forum. When you have a problem I go to the people I think have the most knowledge on the subject. I thought that was here.
Guess i was wrong. Wont bother you guys again.

[Rob White]

Whatever. I know I don't know what all you professionals know. (well some of you are professionals) Unfortunately I cant help anyone here. On other forums i am able to contribute, because it is my field of expertise. Refrigeration is defiantly not one of them. I have read and learned a lot from this forum. When you have a problem I go to the people I think have the most knowledge on the subject. I thought that was here.
Guess i was wrong. Wont bother you guys again.

There is nothing wrong with asking for help and most people
offer advise (both good and bad) freely.

You seem to be very frustrated because I think you know deep
down that the solution to your problem is not an easy one.

You were hoping we were going to tell you to do so-and-so and
all would be OK. We can only advise to the best of our knowledge
and to the best of our knowledge the cold-room is in need of real
money spending on it.

Again, it might not be the answer you were wanting but it is a realistic one.

Regards

Rob

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[Tesla]

Sorry jayjay I don't want to put you off the forum I just want you to listen to our advise as I am serious about my profession and don't like to repeat myself.

[jdunc2301]

Team tesla...

[FreezerGeezer]

Give me a break. I'm trying to find solutions for my tenant so we can go through the summer with no problems and the headache of a compressor going out on a 100 degree day. Replacing the box is not an option. Tenant is month to month and will not sign a long term lease. But all of this has nothing to do with my question.

All of that has everything to do with your original question. Had you laid it all out, perhaps you'd have got an answer faster. Still not the answer you wanted, but hey, physics is physics. Remember GIGO?
Additionally, a more informative / desctiptive heading for your thread may have got more responses. Personally I've mostly ignored this thread because the title held no interest for me.

And I wonder if your cheaper option for a temporary fix would be to fit a larger condensing unit. (I'm assuming here that your room is on a condensing unit, not plant with remote condenser).
One trick I've seen many a time is to use adiabatic cooling to help the air cooled condenser. Probably not much use to you, unless (as I suspect) your condenser is stuffed as well.