20ft Used Refrigerated Container

excl. VAT · incl. VAT: €5,175.31

Why a 20ft used refrigerated container makes sense as a static cold room

A 20ft used refrigerated container begins life as a marine reefer, carrying chilled or frozen cargo under a fixed setpoint, and it very often has a long second career standing still. Once a unit leaves liner service it is still an insulated box with its own refrigeration machinery bolted into the front wall, which is exactly what a cold room is. Growers, butchers, caterers, brewers, florists, laboratories and event companies all buy retired reefers for that reason. The shell does not mind whether it sits at sea or on a yard.

The attraction is that you are buying a finished, self contained, weatherproof cold store instead of building one. A site built cold room needs a slab, a frame, panels, a door, a condensing unit, pipework and a commissioning visit. A reefer arrives with all of that already integrated and already tested together, it can be craned into position quickly, and it can be lifted and moved again if the site changes. The trade off is that you inherit whatever condition the machinery and the insulation are in, so inspection matters more than headline price.

How the shell is built

Reefer construction is consistent across the family. The outer skin is steel and carries the structural loads through the corner castings, so the unit still stacks and still lifts on standard handling equipment. Behind that skin is a thick layer of polyurethane foam, injected into the cavity so that it fills every void and bonds to both faces. The inner lining is stainless steel or food grade aluminium, chosen because it tolerates repeated wash down without corroding and does not taint the product stored against it. The panel is structural and insulating at the same time.

The floor is the part first time buyers overlook. A dry box has a marine plywood deck. A reefer has aluminium T bar extrusions running the length of the unit, and the top flanges of those T sections form the surface you walk and stack on. The gaps between them are not a manufacturing quirk, they are the supply air duct. Cold air leaves the evaporator, runs forward underneath the cargo through those channels, rises through the load and returns along the ceiling. Block the channels with a solid mat, a pallet laid flat on its face or stock pushed hard against the front bulkhead, and the air short circuits. The machinery then runs longer, the far end of the box drifts warm and the electricity bill climbs, none of which is the fault of the compressor.

Recorded dimensions

These are the figures recorded for this unit. Use them for layout planning rather than a generic reefer table found elsewhere, because insulation thickness varies between builds and the internal figures move with it.

Two of those numbers drive the layout. The interior floor space of 12.48 m² sets how many pallet positions you can hold, and the door opening of 229.00 cm wide by 226.40 cm high sets what can physically get in and out. That aperture takes a pallet truck and a loaded pallet without tilting the load, which matters far more in daily use than raw volume does. The internal volume of 28.00 m³ is the figure to hand to a refrigeration engineer if you want advice on pull down behaviour for a particular product. The difference between the recorded max gross weight and the recorded net weight is the nominal payload allowance, which is rarely the binding constraint in static use because floor area runs out first.

Judging the refrigeration machinery

The machinery sits in the front wall as one integral assembly: compressor, condenser, evaporator, fans, expansion device, controller and, on most units, a fresh air vent that can be opened when respiring produce such as fruit or vegetables is stored. It runs on a three phase supply. That single fact rules out many small retail and domestic sites, so establish what supply you have before going further, because bringing three phase into a building is usually the largest single cost in the whole project.

The standard functional test for reefer machinery is the pre trip inspection, normally shortened to PTI. A PTI drives the unit through its control sequence, confirms that it pulls down to setpoint, exercises the defrost cycle, checks sensor readings and records fault codes. A used unit offered with a recent PTI result is a very different proposition to one offered as seen. Ask whether a PTI has been carried out, when it was done, and whether the report can be supplied with the container.

What to ask about a used unit before you commit

• Has the unit had a recent pre trip inspection, and can the result be supplied?
• Which make and model is the machinery, and is service support and are spare parts still available for it?
• Which refrigerant is in the system, and is the charge holding?
• How many running hours are recorded by the controller?
• Does the controller still communicate, and can temperature logs be downloaded from it?
• Is the insulation dry? Wet foam is the one defect that cannot be repaired economically.
• What condition are the T bar floor sections in, and are any bent, lifted or blocked?
• Are the door gaskets soft and continuous, and do the doors close and lock cleanly on every point?
• What did the unit last carry? Fish, onions and some chemicals leave odour in the lining.
• What plug, cable and isolator, if any, come with it?

Insulation deserves the emphasis it gets in that list. Polyurethane foam works because of the gas trapped in its closed cells. If water has entered through a damaged panel, a poorly sealed repair or a corroded floor edge, the foam becomes heavy and conducts heat instead of resisting it. The symptom is a unit that runs almost continuously and still drifts off setpoint, often with sweating or a frost patch appearing on the outer skin in the same spot every time. There is no cheap remedy, which is why this belongs at the top of the checklist rather than the bottom.

Power supply and running cost

Running cost on a 20ft used refrigerated container is driven by five things: the setpoint you choose, the ambient temperature around the unit, the condition of the insulation, how often and how long the doors are opened, and how much warm product you push in at once. Frozen duty costs more than chilled duty. A unit standing in full afternoon sun costs more than the same unit under a canopy. None of those relationships change with the make of machinery, so most of the saving available to you lies in siting and in daily discipline.

Ask for the machinery nameplate data and give it to a qualified electrician before you commit. They will size the supply cable, the protective device and the isolator, and confirm whether the existing board can carry the starting current. Fitting a dedicated meter on that supply is inexpensive and tells you exactly what the box costs to run, which is useful both for costing your product and for spotting a developing fault, because rising consumption at a stable setpoint is usually the first sign that something is going wrong.

Siting, drainage and daily use

Stand the unit on firm, level ground with the load taken at the corner castings rather than along the middle of the base rails. Concrete, heavy paving slabs or sleepers under the corners all work. Level matters for two reasons: the doors seal properly, and the evaporator condensate drains the way the designer intended. That condensate has to go somewhere, so plan a drip point and keep it clear of a walkway where it will freeze in winter.

Clearing the odour of the previous cargo

Before the first load goes in, wash the interior, rinse it and confirm that the floor channels and the drains are clear. If odour remains from what the unit last carried, run it empty at working setpoint with the fresh air vent open and clean it again.

Reefer or dry box

It is worth being honest about what insulation costs you in space. The recorded figures for a 20ft dry box are 13.84 m² of floor and 33.16 m³ of volume, against 12.48 m² and 28.00 m³ here. The difference is foam and machinery, and it is the price of temperature control. If you do not need temperature control, a dry box gives you more room for less money. If you do need it, no amount of dry box space is a substitute.

There is one further point in favour of buying used. Even when the machinery eventually reaches the end of its economic life, the insulated shell remains useful, and plenty of units finish their days as ambient stores for goods that must stay dry and stable, or are refitted with a modern condensing unit. That residual value is part of what makes a 20ft used refrigerated container a reasonable purchase rather than a gamble.

What a quotation should state

• Machinery make, model and whether a recent PTI result is included
• Refrigerant type and confirmation that the system holds its charge
• Electrical supply requirement and what plug or cable is supplied
• A condition description covering shell, lining, T bar floor and doors
• Whether the unit is sold tested and working or strictly as seen
• Delivery method, offload arrangement and the access the vehicle needs

Get those six points written down and most of the uncertainty in buying a second hand cold store disappears. What remains is the straightforward job of matching the recorded internal dimensions to the stock you actually hold, and making sure the power supply is ready before the unit arrives.

What should I check before buying a 20ft used refrigerated container?

Start with the insulation, because wet polyurethane foam cannot be repaired economically and produces a unit that runs constantly without holding setpoint. Then ask for a recent pre trip inspection result, the machinery make and model, the refrigerant type, the running hours and confirmation that the controller still communicates. Finally look at the T bar floor, the door gaskets and the lining for punctures or lingering odour.

What power supply does the refrigeration machinery need?

Reefer machinery runs on a three phase supply, so a single phase site will need work before the unit can operate. Ask for the nameplate data from the specific machinery offered and give it to a qualified electrician, who will size the cable, the protective device and the isolator and confirm that the board can carry the starting current. Fitting a dedicated meter helps you track consumption.

How much storage space is there inside?

The recorded interior floor space is 12.48 m² and the internal volume is 28.00 m³, with an internal length of 545.00 cm, width of 228.00 cm and height of 215.90 cm. The door opening measures 229.00 cm wide by 226.40 cm high, which is enough for a pallet truck with a loaded pallet to pass through without tilting the load.

Why is the floor made of aluminium T bars?

The T bar extrusions form the supply air duct. Cold air leaves the evaporator, travels forward through the channels beneath the cargo, rises through the load and returns along the ceiling to the machinery. Anything that seals those channels, such as a solid floor mat or a pallet laid flat on its deck, breaks the airflow pattern and causes uneven temperatures and higher energy use.

Can the unit still be used if the machinery fails?

Yes, in a reduced role. The shell remains a heavily insulated, weatherproof box with a washable lining, so it can serve as an ambient store for goods that need to stay dry and thermally stable. Some owners instead fit a new condensing unit and evaporator to the existing shell. That residual usefulness is part of the case for buying a second hand reefer.

Does a reefer hold less than a standard dry container?

Yes, and the recorded figures show it clearly. A 20ft dry box records 13.84 m² of floor and 33.16 m³ of volume, against 12.48 m² and 28.00 m³ here. The difference is taken up by insulation thickness and by the machinery in the front wall. That lost space is simply the cost of being able to control temperature.