Reach-in Refrigerators & Coolers

Reach-in Refrigerator Basics

Reach-in Refrigerators: Sections, Full Doors, and Half Doors

Reach-in coolers have between one and three sections, with anywhere from 10 to 121 cubic feet of storage for commercial foodservice operations preparing low, medium, or high volumes of food. Typically, units have one full door per section or two half-doors per section, meaning some commercial reach-in refrigerators can have as many as 12 doors depending on the style of the unit.

In addition to full and half sizes, doors available for a commercial reach-in cooler may be glass, solid, or a combination of the two. Reach-in fridges with glass doors allow staff to easily monitor contents, while units with solid doors provide superior insulation.

Pass-thru Reach-in Refrigerators

Reach-in refrigerators that can be loaded from behind are referred to as pass-thru or roll-thru units depending on the exact style and usually feature a higher number of doors; this style allows kitchen staff to load food through the back, so that service staff may then remove items from the front. Unlike pass-thru or roll-thru units, roll-ins only open one way but can be used in coordination with rolling racks to store large amounts of prepared food.

Bottom vs Top-mounted Refrigerator Compressors

No matter the style of reach-in an operation needs, the unit will have a bottom- or top-mounted compressor. Bottom-mounted compressors are located at the base of the cabinet and raise the bottom of the unit, which can provide easier access to some items; however, they tend to accumulate more dust and debris, leading to more frequent maintenance requirements. Reach-in refrigerators with top-mounted compressors draw in air from above workstations to avoid clogging the compressor, which can be beneficial in operations handling large amounts of flour.