A full, unopened refrigerated space holds safe temperature for roughly 4 hours, and a full freezer for around 48 hours. Walk-ins vary with insulation, how loaded they are, and ambient temperature. Keep the door shut, log temperatures every 30 minutes, and treat the clock as a countdown to arrange cold space rather than a guarantee.

Cold-holding for potentially hazardous food is 41°F or below, and frozen storage is 0°F or below. Most prepared food, dairy and deli product sits in the 34–40°F band. The 41°F figure comes from the FDA Food Code, which Michigan, Ohio and Indiana all base their rules on.

41°F to 135°F. Bacteria multiply fastest in that range. Food held above 41°F for more than four cumulative hours generally has to be discarded — cumulative meaning the clock carries across separate incidents for the same product.

No. Our trailers plug into a standard 110–125V three-prong outlet with a 25' cord included. They need a dedicated 15A circuit. A generator only comes into it if your whole site has lost power, in which case it needs to be sized for the load.

A refrigeration compressor draws a brief surge each time it starts, well above its running draw. On its own breaker that's fine. Shared with a fryer, coffee line or POS gear, the surge is what trips the breaker — often overnight, so you find out in the morning along with a warm load.

About an hour to reach setpoint from ambient. We set the temperature before the unit leaves our yard, so it arrives ready. Loading warm product extends the pull-down time, because the unit has to remove that heat as well.

No — one trailer holds one setpoint, anywhere from 0°F to 50°F. If you need chilled produce and frozen protein stored separately, that's two units. Worth sorting out before delivery rather than after.

Size to what you're storing and how you'll move it, not your total kitchen volume. Most single-location restaurants covering a failed walk-in are fine with the 10' unit. Remodels and cooler replacements suit the 12' on a monthly term. When you're between sizes, go up — running out mid-job costs more than the difference.

Rent when the need is temporary or the timeline is uncertain. A walk-in commonly holds several thousand dollars of inventory, so a three-day rental is usually far less than the product you'd lose waiting on a part. Replacement starts making sense once you're renting three or more times a year for the same failing equipment.

A trailer has ground-level entry, arrives on wheels, and runs on standard building power — you can walk or roll straight in and it can be repositioned. A container generally needs a forklift or crane to place, often requires 3-phase power, and sits above ground level. Trailers suit temporary and emergency use; containers suit long static storage.

Usually yes. You need reasonably level ground, a clear path for the truck to back in and pull out, and room for the tongue beyond the trailer body. Send a photo of the space and the approach and we'll confirm clearance before the delivery date rather than discovering a problem on site.

Tomatoes, bananas, potatoes, onions, winter squash, basil and most tropical fruit suffer chill injury below roughly 50°F — mealy texture, dull colour, flat flavour. If you're storing these, set the cooler near the top of its range instead of down at 34°F.

Selling food at a festival, market or fair usually requires a temporary food licence with cold-holding conditions attached. In Michigan that runs through MDARD and local health departments. Many venues separately require a certificate of insurance or placement approval before equipment arrives. Confirm both well before load-in.

Generally yes. Temporary cold storage typically falls under the same monitoring expectation as your permanent equipment. Put a thermometer in the trailer, log it on the same schedule as your walk-in, and keep the records. Your health department can confirm what applies to you.

Timestamped photos of the thermometer reading, the failed equipment and the product on the shelves; a temperature log with times; the repair invoice; and an itemised list of what was discarded with values. Check whether your policy requires an adjuster to inspect before disposal — some do, and throwing product out first can end the claim.

For short periods, with real caution. Dry ice sublimates into carbon dioxide, which displaces oxygen in an enclosed space. Never let staff work inside a sealed walk-in containing it, ventilate the area, and handle it with gloves. It buys hours, not days, and it isn't a substitute for working refrigeration.

Three days. Most emergency and event rentals fall in that range anyway. Seven-day and thirty-day terms cost less per day, and extending an active rental is usually straightforward if the unit isn't already promised to someone else.

Delivery and pickup are quoted based on distance to your address, so they're separate from the base rental rate. A deposit is required. Call with your delivery address and dates and you'll get a written total before committing to anything.

If you call before mid-afternoon and a unit is open, same-day is often possible. Standard bookings are typically next business day. Availability tightens during festival weekends, graduation season and holidays, so book ahead whenever the date is known.

Kingtec and Govi units, running on electric standby — building power rather than a diesel engine. That's what makes them workable in residential areas, downtown service alleys and at evening events where noise and exhaust would be a problem.