A walk-in freezer provides a lot of space to keep foods frozen and fresh, but the size of your freezer may not fit with your needs. Unfortunately, you may not realize you need a bigger walk-in freezer until you run into some problems. Avoid bad situations and learn about some key signs to know whether you need to upgrade to a bigger freezer.

You may have just a few or all of the signs, but each one will help point you in the right direction.

1. Inability to Walk In

An obvious sign of an overcrowded walk-in freezer is if you cannot actually walk in. The idea may sound silly, but employees can easily adjust to situations and not realize the freezer was made to fully enter. If you have to turn sideways, extend your reach, or cannot fully enter, then your freezer is overcrowded.

If you have a larger freezer you can actually walk into, then you can organize items easier, access the length of the freezer, and save time from constantly shuffling items around.

2. Freezer Burn

When you have food, you do not want the items to suffer from freezer burn. If items are too overcrowded, you run the risk of package damage. When parts of a package have exposure to air, the freezer burn forms and can completely change the way food tastes.

For example, you may stack meat products on each other and the pressure results in a torn seal. If you work in a restaurant or food service industry, then you do not want to impact the quality of the food. A larger walk-in freezer gives you more room to spread the food out and prevent freezer burn issues.

3. Temperature Increases

As you crowd a freezer with items, you may block off areas meant for air circulation. One of the main areas is the evaporator. An overcrowded freezer may block off the spread of cold air from the evaporator and result in reduced temperatures. You may notice frozen items are slightly softer than usual.

Many businesses use the built-in freezer thermometer to track temperatures. View your recent charts to see changes. Even a slight increase of just a few degrees can have an impact on the items inside the freezer. In some cases, food may spoil if it does not maintain the proper temperature.

A larger freezer allows you to keep the evaporator clear and open so you can maintain consistent temperatures without overworking the core parts of the freezer.

4. Condensation

Along with tracking temperature changes inside a walk-in freezer, you may see a physical sign of condensation. When the temperature increases, food may begin to sweat as ice melts and water forms. The amount of condensation may appear subtle, so only people who go into the freezer every day may notice.

The small droplets may appear on the top of boxes and packages as well as on any shelving components built into the freezer. Overcrowded items can also lead to condensation. If three sides of a product are blocked off by other products, then the item may not freeze properly.

5. Stock Comparisons

Visually, you may not notice whether you need a bigger walk-in freezer or not. Items could constantly shift in and out of the freezer, and you may go through daily changes. One way to be sure of the need for more space is to look at the numbers. You can check over the past year or so to see if you've added a big increase in frozen food purchases.

If the incline of food stock continues to grow, you may want to start the upgrade process before you run into significant problems. Your food intake and sales will be one of the biggest indicators to look for.

For all of your freezer installation and repair needs, contact us at A M Refrigeration Service. We will help you plan out the transition and can provide your business with professional service and care.