Clio on R290 is the pot of Freezer Gold at the end of the Rainbow!

 

The Town of Rainbow

 

If you head North west from Melbourne and drive for about 5 hours, you’ll come to a little town called Rainbow in Country Victoria. It’s a pretty little town and when you finally get there, you’ll find Ian’s Rainbow IGA Store. The heartbeat of the town providing everyone from the locals to the local Pub with their goods, produce and liquor and according to Ian (the store owner).

“It’s the best looking IGA store in Australia”!

“Do you want to know why?…  The town cenotaph is right at the door of the store and the whole bed is ringed with roses – so I’m the only bloke who can stand at the front of his shop and look at a rose bed”.

But even the beautiful rose bed at the front of Ian’s store could not stop the big black clouds from forming over the Rainbow.

Unfortunately, Ian and his store had coped a few too many knocks recently. One blow after another and then another… The tired old remote store freezer finally packed it in, and it seemed this could be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

 

Rainbow was in trouble…

 

“The freezer went out the day before I went to hospital so probably a week and a half to two weeks at least” without Frozen storage. “The people went without frozen goods; some went out of  town. Most of them would have gone to Horsham which is probably 110-115km away or Hopetoun or Warracknabeal…Whatever way they go (about an hour on average), so a 2-hour turnaround” justto get their frozen goods”.

“Small businesses can’t afford this”

“If you die, the town die’s… that’s the way a lot of country towns work”.

 

Help

 

Ian enlisted the help of his Victorian Area Manager, Scott McCurdy, who Ian says, “really stepped forward when I took crook”.

Scott got right to it and called out to Coolphase for help… He needed a case that was quick to install, had big capacity, was energy efficient to help with the financial blow and a case that was environmentally friendly to compliment the beautiful town of Rainbow.

We had just the thing!

CLIO 2.0:

  • Low Temperature Multideck Freezer with Built-in Unit
  • One of the Largest Displays on the Market
  • Integrated LED lighting
  • 2 and 3 Door Units Available
  • Multiplexable to Create a Continuous Run
  • R290 Green Energy Natural Gas with a GWP of 3
  • High Energy Efficiency
  • Thermal Break Frame and Low Emission Doors
  • Saving the Environment and Your Pocket.
Freezer

 

Clio to the Rescue

 

It seems the new freezer Clio 2.0 offered a lot more to Ian and the people of Rainbow… the black cloud has really disappeared!

Everything has started to turn around. It’s now been a good year all round, I’ve got new freezers and we’re starting to pay our bills. I didn’t know if I’d still be here at the end of the year, and now we’re going to come out of it smelling like roses. We’re hoping for good things”.

At Coolphase, we are especially proud of the Refrigeration cases and service we can provide. We strive to go the extra mile with a large team of people who are exceptionally talented at their craft. We do the whole job with excellence or we don’t do it all!

To boot, we have backed it up with an amazing partner in our Italian Refrigeration case supplier, De Rigo Refrigeration, who wowed us from the get-go… De Rigo Refrigeration cabinets are some of the best produced in the world. They are elegant, stylish and manufactured to an awesomely high standard. De Rigo takes awesome to another level with their ability to provide environmentally friendly and energy efficient cases.

We at Coolphase have been dealing with refrigeration display cabinets for a long, long time, and it takes a lot for us to be impressed. But beyond impressed is what we are with De Rigo Refrigeration, and now when we get the call up to offer a solution, we jump right to it!

Checkout our website at www.coolphase.com.au

 

Final note

 

Rainbow is special to all of us at Coolphase and we thank Ian, Scott and their teams for allowing Coolphase to play a part of their successful comeback!

Coolphase Electrical Services, our commercial refrigeration electrical team is practical, professional and perfect!

This week we celebrated the individuality of one of the most important parts of Coolphase, our commercial refrigeration electrical team. Finally Coolphase Electrical Services, has officially formed its own identity. Ultimately by being practical, professional and committed to craftsmanship, our electrical team now stands proudly on its own three phases.

Our electrical company is lead by Wayne Watson. Wayne’s reputation is synonymous with greatness within the refrigeration electrical industry. Therefore his knowledge and experience has given him a great platform to build an excellent electrical group. Consequently it’s group full of enthusiastic young tradesmen. Our whole electrical team embodies Wayne’s spirit and by taking pride in their work. And they embrace every new challenge with a “we can do anything” attitude.

Our services include, but are not limited to: Refrigeration Electrical Installations, Refrigeration Electrical Breakdown Services and HVAC (air conditioning) Electrical Installations.

As with everything Coolphase, apprentices are at our core. As a result we employ apprentices across every year level. So, this not only ensures our depth of talent going forward, but also provides stability for the refrigeration electrical industry. As can be seen, we are proud of our young people, we are proud of their commitment and mounting achievements.

Coolphase Electrical Services has been a long time in the making. There’s been hard times and exciting times, but now it’s time to shine. We want to continue our growth and share our world of talent with you.

Our first real Metcash Expo experience was full of excitement and surprises. We made friends, sampled great products and proved to ourselves that we belonged. So, the countless hours of planning and the meticulous budgeting has paid off.

And sure enough this next part may be a little cliché, but it needs to be said… “No one ever really knows what goes on behind the scenes. From the turmoil of making the initial financial commitment to the last crucial piece of artwork. It all takes dedication, inspiration and a will to be the best. We are fortunate at Coolphase to have that perfect team. The symmetric balance of conflict, creativity and expertise to get the job done right.

Amazing Partners

However, this all wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our fantastic partners, De Rigo RefrigerationBeijer Ref and Embraco

De Rigo Refrigeration our product partner has been instrumental in providing us with financial support. And most importantly cabinets that Australia can love and rely on. Andrea Lacedelli the De Rigo export manager has never waivered with his faith. He believes in our ability to represent the De Rigo Refrigeration brand. Andrea also spent every minute with us on the stand, which we truly appreciate, thanks Andrea.

The partnership with Beijer Ref and Embraco was born from our desire to display a full natural refrigerant solution.  Representing our continued commitment to our community and environment. An idea that we presented to Beijer Ref who embraced the concept with both hands and presented us with an introduction to our new friends at Embraco! A “Plug and Cool” unit was supplied for our Unicel cold room and bam, the final natural piece of the puzzle was in place!

To all of the people that worked tireless hours, to our friends that came to visit, to our partners that risked financial commitment, (to anyone that we have forgotten) and to Metcash for providing us with the opportunity, we thank you and look forward to being even bigger and better next year!

We usually make it pretty clear that we are proud of our people and the work that they do. This year to coincide with World Refrigeration Day, we are holding our first annual Coolphase Values Awards – “The W’s”. We’ll have a chilled celebration, throw in a few AWESOME miniaturised trophies and recognise the people that best represent who we are.  

“The W’s, what the hell are W’s” you say… Yep, our crazy sense of humor is at it again… Being unique in all things that we do, our awards just couldn’t be boring. And this month the photo on the wall award goes to blah, blah, blah… ha-ha, no way! So, the W’s are Wadey, Woody and Warney, all three symbolise our core values of Up-Front, Humble and Craftsman. 

 

The Wadey

The Marvel anti-hero Wade Wilson AKA Dead Pool, is an in your face guy that is brutally honest and extremely up-front. Although we don’t shoot things, we do love honesty and an up-front approach. So, our first W trophy (after countless ebay searches) is a bobble head Dead Pool figurine. 

 

The Woody

After his early days as a jealous and arrogant “I’m Andy’s one and only” toy, Woody transformed into one of the most humble toys in the world. Woody always helps his friends and goes above and beyond to do what’s rightWe’ve had many occasions where our guys have gone out of their way to help people in need. 

 

The Warney

It is without question that Shane Warne is the greatest leg spin bowler that the world has ever seen. His bowling was an art form, he was a true craftsman, far superior to other bowlers that were mere skilled technicians. Our best tradesman are proud to be called craftsmen, they always take pride in what you can’t see. Although the motive for this award is greatfinding a Warney doll was impossible, time to get creative! One of Warney’s greatest off-field achievements, without a doubt was Liz Hurleyand after a trip to Zing Pop Culture, we walked away with a Vanessa Kensington Pop vinyl figure. 

 

As peer voting winds up this morning on “World Refrigeration Day”, we are proud to say that nearly all of our employees have received votes. It’s great that we all share and live our values and are proud of them! 

One of our brilliant young technicians Aaron Wulff recently started up his first Co2 rack. We asked him a few questions about his experience. 

Were you nervous?

Definitely! Co2 under the right/wrong conditions can cause a lot of damage, I triple checked my safety setpoints but there’s multiple “what if” scenarios in the back of my mind, the racks come with every ball valve open but some need to be closed for normal operation – figuring out which valves to shut without closing the wrong one. Tight deadline between start up and hand over. But, I was confident enough with my own experience, knowledge and on/off site training with other commissioners/manufacturers.

 

How did you feel once that first compressor started?

Relieved and proud. Relieved the rack was up, running and was stable for the limited load it had. Proud of myself and my work. Looking back to where I started my trade doing domestic split installs and light commercial HVAC servicing and where I am at now commissioning supermarket refrigeration.

 

Did you feel you had received adequate training to complete the task?

Yes, Coolphase has organised training days for all technicians. I have been to Sydney twice for Co2 training with both Danfoss and Bitzer, worked alongside other commissioners on new and refit jobs and doing Woolworths after hours breakdown service (fault finding on Co2 racks). It’s also comforting to know help is only ever a phone call away.

We are certainly proud of Aaron! Coming to Coolphase with predominately an air conditioning background, Aaron was quick to embrace the world of commercial refrigeration. That willingness to learn and accept has seen Aaron move through the ranks to now be one of our trusted commissioners. We look forward to watching Aaron’s development for many years to come!

Transcrital CO2 refrigeration systems are here and we can’t wait to play our part!

 

Perceptions, ideas and beliefs, it’s amazing what a change in mindset can achieve.

 

While on a recent “work trip” to Europe my mind was set alight with the brilliant acceptance of change and the boom of transcritical refrigeration. The European Union has played its hand straight-up in combating the effects of global warming. Wind and solar farms distort the landscape and the endeavor to remove F-gases is ongoing and systematic. There is a distinct aura of responsibility and willingness in Europe to find a better, greener way.

Our short trip involved a visit to Chillventa the expo for energy efficiency, heat pumps and refrigeration, where we witnessed first-hand a drive to create sustainable solutions for the future. Every second stand involved natural refrigerants, CO2 transcritical racks, propane systems and one guy was even trying to sell systems that contained good old H2O (water) as a refrigerant.

 

Change was everywhere, and change was commonplace.

 

Several factory visits later and our initial perceptions were confirmed, innovation and belief. And the most amazing thing was, people weren’t scared of transcritical CO2 systems. The demand for the natural solution is huge, manufacturers can’t keep up.

Continued after image: sheccoBase (2018), ongoing research for World Guide to CO2 Transcritical Refrigeration, to be published in 2019 (more information at info@sheccobase.com)

Mindset Change.

 

We have a knack in Australia to make things more complicated than they really are.  We fear the word and system “transcritical”. But, don’t be afraid. People have installed it all over the world. Not so long ago we led the world in refrigeration. In fact we were the first to patent the vapour compression cycle! Therefore, we need to catch up and get back to being innovative and responsible.

Whether you are a conspiracy theorist or hardcore environmentalist, the change in the earth’s surface temperature is evident. 0.85oC higher than late in the 19th century, man-made or a cycle of the sun? In conclusion, as an industry we can help just a little by using natural refrigerants. So, what are we waiting for?

COLD BEER

The perfect Friday arvo, after work drink.

“Beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea.”
But beer hasn’t always been served cold…

I went along to Queensland Museum’s Ancient Egyptian ‘After Dark’ night a few months back. Anyone who knows me knows I am borderline obsessed with Ancient Egypt… I may or may not have the tattoo to prove it. I thought I knew a fair bit about Ancient Egypt…  I realised that night, I did not. Of all the different exhibits and talks held that night, the one that really stood out for me was on a topic I hold dear to my heart. Two of my favourite things rolled into one… Ancient Egypt and beer.

The night started with specially crafted beer by Bacchus Brewing Co. based on what would have been brewed those thousands of years ago:

Khufu’s Old Giza Saison beer; Beer made with the addition of grapes and dates.
Mummy Dukkah Wit beer; Wheat beer made with dukkah spicers and juniper berries.
Sekhmet’s Rage pomegranate sour; Blood red in colour this is a soured ale made with pomegranate and hibiscus flowers.

I then went along to a talk by Senior Archaeologist Dr Serena Love, ‘Brew Like an Egyptian.’ I had no idea on the history of beer and was enthralled hearing how Ancient Egyptians brewed beer as a form of sustenance as well as a refreshing, thirst quenching drink; being safer to drink than water. Not only is there a hieroglyph for beer that can be seen throughout ancient texts, archaeologists have uncovered breweries near the pyramids, and there’s even a tale of how beer saved humanity from a blood thirsty goddess! (Just for the record, if Sekhmet’s Rage pomegranate sour is similar to the beer that saved humanity… I get it.) 

Not dissimilar from today, the beers were made from basic ingredients, malted wheat and barley and natural air-borne yeast, dates for sugar (and yeast on the skin) and a whole host of possible fruits and spices for flavour. Beer was considered a diet staple and was even included in the rations of those building the pyramids… mmm a nice hot beer after a hard day’s work… in the desert

 

At the end of the talk someone piped up asking if Egyptians were drinking the beer hot. While Dr Love explained there was no evidence of refrigeration in Ancient Egypt, rather the beer was made and drunk in a very short period of time (probably within a week); the person next to me, under their breath, uttered ‘Nah, they grabbed it out of the ol’ kelvinator.’

But it did get me thinking…

When did beer become a

‘Cold One’

Although there is evidence of ice pits and ice houses being used for refrigeration in Ancient China and Mesopotamia, cold beer throughout history was a luxury, afforded to the wealthy.

The first instances of refrigeration were only available to the richest of the rich. In the pre-industrial world, ice houses used for refrigeration were often an elite structure attached to castles, palaces, monasteries and abbeys. To refrigerate beer (and I guess, food) you needed access to ice; or rather servants to visit nearby shallow water on freezing mornings to cut slabs of ice, carry it back and hope it would last until next winter; along with the land space to build an ice house for storage. That is until,

1854

James Harrison invented and patented a way to keep beer cold, the first instance of commercial refrigeration; a commercial ice-making machine.

James who was also a journalist at the time then went on to patent a vapor-compression refrigeration system in 1855 using ether as the refrigerant. This system was unique in that it used a “compressor to force the refrigeration gas to pass through a condenser, where it cooled down and liquefied. The liquefied gas then circulated through the refrigeration coils and vaporised again, cooling down the surrounding system.” The first company to use this refrigeration system? A brewery! The first commercial refrigeration system was employed in a brewery, then immediately taken up by the brewing industry, closely followed by the meatpacking factories. Priorities sorted.

The principles of his design are still used today in all the things we take for granted: air conditioning, our fridges at home, supermarket refrigeration and the cold rooms at the local bottle-o. So this afternoon when I’ve posted this blog and knocked off for the day, Friday arvo cold beers will be toasting James Harrison, the man to thank for commercial refrigeration and cold beer.

Last week I had the opportunity, along with our service manager and commissioners, to attend Bitzer’s training course on their transcritical CO2 systems and a walk through their production line. The training course ran us through the basics of CO2 – why it’s used as a refrigerant and some of its limitations e.g. warmer ambient temperatures and higher operating pressures.

With the world pushing for natural refrigerants CO2 is arguably one of the better options due to its non-toxic, non- flammable characteristics and very good heat transfer coefficient. CO2 isn’t without its limitations though; high ambient temperatures is one of them. All refrigerants have a decline in efficiency with higher condensing pressures/temperatures however CO2 has one of the largest drops.

It was pretty interesting watching a video of the different phase changes CO2 goes through – between its triple and critical point. A vessel is charged with liquid CO2, the pressure is dropped rapidly and BOOM the liquid CO2 almost instantly turns to a solid (dry ice). The vessel pressure is then raised – you can see the solid dry ice boil off to a gas, then liquid and once pushed past its critical point, CO2 sits in equilibrium, now a supercritical fluid! (expands to fill its container yet has the properties of a fluid).

That being said there are a number of safety devices in place to keep the CO2 between these two points, whether it be a backup cascade system to cool the liquid using another refrigerant or parallel compression where flash gas is pulled from the top of the receiver and recirculated back into the system or mechanical venting of the receiver. All of these methods are trying to drop the receivers pressure/temperature to design conditions.

CO2 can be intimidating due to its characteristics but like most things if you do the training, take your time and know the limits you will be fine.