Refrigeration Hardware

Let’s talk about a piece of refrigeration hardware that gets replaced a lot – the D60 latch. Let’s go ahead and post a picture so you can see what this looks like (see display on right).

What we’re looking at is the mechanism that goes on a walk-in cooler/freezer. It should be noted that when we say that this type of refrigeration hardware gets replaced a lot, the reference is to the category of hardware – NOT this particular latch. In other words, a D60 will last a long time, but in general, a latch on a commercial refrigerator is going to get used a lot. So naturally, it’s something that will get replaced more often.

You have the choice of getting a D60 commercial refrigerator door latch with a lock, or without a lock. That can be a handy choice to have considering the fact that there might be instances in which you really want to make sure that nobody has unauthorized access to the contents of whatever happens to be kept in the walk-in freezer, etc.

We’re going to be starting something called the refrigeration hardware product spotlight. Now and then, we’ll take a moment to examine one of the more popular refrigeration hardware components that are see out in the field. Today, we’re going to put the spotlight on the D61 hinge. This is a hinge we’ve mentioned before. It’s made by Dent Hardware, and from what I can see, it’s one of the more popular commercial refrigeration hinges in the marketplace today.

Let’s look at it (see photo on the right):

You might think, wow, that doesn’t really look all that dramatic or special. Yet ironically, this hinge is super popular. Part of the reason it’s so popular is because it’s very well made. Also, you can easily get D61 replacement hinges without really having to search too hard.

I’ll see if I can take a digital photo of one of these hinges out in the field. That would give you a much better sense of what it looks like when it’s attached to a walk-in cooler or freezer, etc.

Well, that about wraps up this installment of the refrigeration hardware product spotlight. If you have a special request for a product review, let me know in the comments. That’s all for now.

Speaking with someone in the refrigeration hardware industry the other day, I learned something interesting. Apparently the summer (warmer) months are when a LOT of walk-in cooler / freezer parts are replaced. Especially when it comes to refrigerator hinges and other related refrigeration hardware that can have an impact on energy costs.

Oops, did I just say “energy costs”? That’s the secret. People don’t want to get stuck paying higher bills, so it essentially forces them to finally unscrew a faulty hinge and take a look and see who made it so it can be replaced.

To the extent you’ve been putting off getting your refrigeration hardware replaced, go ahead and take action now before it gets too hot outside. Oh yeah, one last thing… if you visit any mini-marts or go to a Subway sandwich shop, take a look and see if you spot the big refrigerators that have on site. Take a look at the hinges and at the latches. That’s the kind of refrigeration hardware we’re talking about!

People are constantly wondering if there’s one refrigeration hardware supplier that stands out above the rest. The biggest mistake that is often made is to assume that the “bigger” the company, the better they are at providing customers with first class refrigeration hardware sales and support.

Here’s the reality. When you have a walk-in cooler that has a broken hinge, for example, the first step is to remove the hinge and take a look around to find any identifying marks on it. Let’s say you do this, and you spot a code like D-61. To the naked eye, it looks like some off code that’s incomprehensible. But actually (and we just did a little bit of research about this), it is a self-closing cam lift hinge by Dent Hardware. To order a replacement, you’d go to the Dent online catalog and buy a new one.

So in an example like the one above, you’re really not dealing with a situation where some random refrigeration hardware supplier can really help you by giving you some random replacement hinge. For optimal results, you’ll want to get an exact replacement. Now, to be fair, the example we just used is somewhat skewed. Why? It turns out (again, after further research) that Dent Hardware’s D-61 hinge is something of a standard in the world of refrigeration hardware and a LOT of walk-in coolers have the D-61 hinge.

But anyway… the answer to the question of “refrigeration hardware — who is the best” isn’t really easy to answer. It really depends on the type of equipment you have.

People outside the industry often wonder what refrigeration hardware actually is, and why it matters. In this context, we’re referring to the commercial refrigeration hardware market. The best way to explain this to someone is to tell them to look for a large walk-in refrigerator made by a company like Bally Refrigerated Boxes the next time they visit a diner, restaurant, or some other food related place. You can really see these big refrigerators once you start looking.

So when we talk about refrigeration hardware, we’re talking about all the stuff the goes into helping make the walk-in refrigerator work. Especially the hinges, and the latches. Those are the two pieces of refrigeration hardware that we’re really going to focus on. So why does this hardware matter? It matters because without these things, a walk-in freezer would pretty much be useless!