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Notes from running a freezer in a limestone mine: temperature records, refrigeration maintenance, and what underground storage is like day to day. New posts go up about weekly.
The Checklist That Keeps Our Underground Freezer Running: Daily, Weekly and MonthlyThe daily, weekly and monthly checks we run on an ammonia freezer plant underground, and the real problem from our own logs that each one is there to catch.
When the Hydrometer Lies: Checking Brine Strength in a Freezer's Secondary LoopOur brine read one strength in the field, another in the lab, and neither matched the target. Here's what threw the readings off and how I check brine now.
Snowstorm Behind the Racks: Tracking Down an Air Leak in a Freezer CeilingI walked into a freezer room and found what looked like a snowstorm behind the racking. Here's what caused it, how we sealed it, and what I check now.
1:20 Isn't 120: The Defrost Timer Bug Hiding in Our Controls MigrationOur old controllers read a defrost time of 1:20 as 80 minutes. The new system read 120 as 120. Why our defrosts kept overlapping, and how I found it.
The Day From Hell: A Smoking Pump, a Sewer Backup, and Half the Freezer Switched OffOne July 2025 week in an underground freezer: head-pressure alarms, half the units off, a smoking pump motor, and a sewer backup. What I took from it.
Free Cold Storage Temperature Log Template (Printable + CSV)Free printable temperature log for freezers, coolers, and cold rooms, plus CSV and calibration logs and the federal rules for storage-only warehouses.
The Defrost Game: Scheduling 17+ Freezer Units Without Choking the CompressorsHow I stagger defrosts across 17+ freezer units without choking the compressors: what each phase takes, and why the schedule is never finished.
Why Underground Cold Storage Works: 9 Notes from Running a Freezer in a Limestone MineRunning an underground freezer in the Valmeyer bluffs: steady 58 °F rock, frozen columns, storm protection, and where the savings come from.
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