Barpro Storage

Is oxygen reduction a viable alternative to sprinklers in cold and freezer stores?

Energy Savings, General Interest, Maintenance, Safety, Uncategorized /

Sprinkler systems in cold and freezer stores are problematic and expensive. If a sprinkler head is broken accidentally, ice builds up on the floor before the water can be turned off. Mobile racks cannot be moved until the ice is cleared. Frozen product which has been soaked by sprinklers should not be sold. If a fire occurs close to the cold store floor, it has every chance of being well established before the sprinklers activate. Even if the fire is put out, product is smoke damaged. As prevention is better than cure, the OXIT system from FX-Prevent in Holland decreases the air’s oxygen content from the normal 19.5% at sea level until there is insufficient oxygen for a fire to start.  In most cases employees can continue to work inside the freezer room.  Oxygen sensors keep the air composition constant by feeding in additional nitrogen when required.  Oxit systems for cold stores on the Highveld would have to take the increased altitude into account. So, could oxygen reduction systems be a safe and cost effective alternative to sprinklers?  We look forward to your views. You can read more here: www.fx-prevent.com

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DID YOU KNOW – Storax can withstand earthquakes !

Construction, General Interest, Maintenance, Mobile Racking, Safety, Uncategorized /

In February 2010 an earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale hit Fruiticola Olmué, a fruit processing company in Chile, South America. Fruiticola had a Storax system installed holding over 2 300 pallets and remained unaffected. Following the tragic events, Fruiticola’s owner Max Hassler wrote to the then Managing Director of Storax – Ken Jones. He said: “I write to you in acknowledgement of the quality of the system installed in our plant in Chillan.  We had only very minor damage, a small purchase order is being made, and the system remained operational once we could get to it after the events here in Chile.  We are located less than one hundred kilometres from the epicentre of this very large quake.” Two years after the quake Fruiticola Olmué installed their 2nd Storax mobile system with a hold capacity of 7,850 pallets.  Storax mobiles installed in seismic areas have additional features which increase base stability. For the full story visit: http://warehousenews.co.uk/2012/03/storax-racking-systems-unshakeable/  

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Should water tanks be a compulsory feature at all cold stores and warehouses? – Lutz Refrigeration responds

Construction, Energy Savings, General Interest, Maintenance, Mobile Racking, Uncategorized /

Rain water storage systems to supply evaporative cooling towers here in South Africa We are proud to say that Lutz Refrigeration in collaboration with Barpro will be pioneering the use of rain water harvesting to supply the fridge plant at Southern Cold Storage’s new freezer rental storage facilities in Germiston Johannesburg. The multiplex system will be cooling the 20 000m³ freezer room down to -25°C.  Opting for evaporative cooling with Freon is very much against the grain, but by doing this we managed to keep the capital costs in a standard Freon league while competing neck and neck with Ammonia plants on energy efficiency. Initially we will be installing 20m³ of water storage facilities which will offer two days of standby water capacity and will require a 20mm rainfall to be topped up.  Judging from historical rain falls and a bit of field testing we will probably increase that to around 40m³ once the system is up and running. The freezer store rooms are scheduled for commissioning during November this year, we will follow up with photos and feedback once the system is up and running. For more information contact Kevin Walter by email: kevinw@lutzrefrigeration.co.za

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