A walk-in freezer that stops working puts stock, orders and food-safety compliance at risk within hours. Whether the cause is a failed compressor, a power cut or a refrigerant leak, the response is the same: protect what is in the chamber, document everything, and get temporary refrigerated capacity moving in parallel. This page covers what to do after a walk-in freezer breakdown — the immediate steps that buy you time, the records your insurer will want, and how emergency cold storage hire works in the UK, including what suppliers will ask before they can quote.
The first hour: keep the cold where it is
Keep the doors shut. An insulated chamber full of frozen goods holds its temperature on thermal mass alone, and a well-stocked chamber warms far more slowly than a half-empty one. Every door opening costs cold you cannot easily replace, so resist the urge to keep checking by eye — use a probe thermometer through a briefly opened door, or the external display if you have one.
Call your refrigeration engineer before assuming the worst. A surprising share of “dead” freezers come down to a tripped breaker, an iced-up evaporator or a blocked condenser. An engineer visit may solve the problem outright — but do not wait for the diagnosis before lining up a fallback. Quotes for temporary capacity cost nothing, and cancelling an enquiry is easier than losing a chamber of stock.
Consolidate deliberately, not frantically. If you run several chambers, plan one quick move: group frozen goods into the coldest chamber, fill gaps so the load sits densely, then shut the door and leave it. Repeated small transfers do more harm than one organised one. Nearby businesses with spare cold capacity can be a genuine stopgap — ask early, while your stock is still comfortably frozen.
Start a temperature log immediately
Your insurer will want evidence, and memory does not count. From the moment the fault is noticed, record the time, the reading, and every action taken — engineer called, doors sealed, stock moved — with photographs of the display and the chamber. If you run a food business, regulatory expectations vary by product and local authority, so speak to your environmental health team rather than relying on a rule of thumb; the same log will usually serve both audiences. Disposal decisions should follow your insurer’s and the authority’s guidance, not guesswork under pressure.
How emergency cold storage hire works
The standard answer to a broken cold room is a refrigerated container delivered to your site: an insulated ISO box with its own refrigeration unit, running anywhere from -25 °C to +25 °C, so a single unit can hold chilled duty at around +2 °C or frozen duty at around -18 °C. Three sizes cover most needs:
| Size | Usable volume | Pallet capacity |
|---|---|---|
| 10ft | ≈ 15 m³ | 4 – 5 pallets |
| 20ft | ≈ 28 m³ | 10 – 11 pallets |
| 40ft high cube | ≈ 67 m³ | 23 pallets |
EuroReefer holds no stock and runs no fleet: we pass your request to specialist suppliers, who contact you directly if they can meet your need. How fast a unit can physically arrive depends on depot stock, haulage availability and your access — nobody who has not confirmed those three things can honestly promise a delivery slot, and we do not promise one either.
One honest caveat on terms: many UK suppliers price hire around a 90-day minimum, because delivery and collection cost the depot much the same whether the box stays a fortnight or a year. Short-term hire does exist at a higher day rate — see short-term hire for how that segment works and who it suits.
What the hire firm will ask
Answering these questions in your first enquiry does more to speed things up than any amount of chasing:
- Set point — chilled (around +2 °C) or frozen (around -18 °C)?
- Size — how many pallets, or roughly how many cubic metres of stock?
- Power on site — most units need a three-phase 380/400 V supply on a CEE 32 A five-pin plug; some smaller formats run on single-phase 230 V. Power draw is typically 5 to 12 kW. Our power supply guide covers what to check before the lorry arrives.
- Access — space for a delivery lorry, firm level ground, and any height or width restrictions.
- Duration — be realistic; it determines which suppliers and rate structures fit.
What it will cost
Indicative UK figures, observed in 2026 and quoted ex VAT (VAT applies at 20%): long-term hire starts at around £12 a day, with short-term hire priced higher per day — the market’s normal degressive structure. Electricity comes on top: expect roughly 70 to 170 kWh a day depending on size and set point, billed at your own tariff. Delivery and collection are normally charged separately, so compare complete quotes rather than headline day rates. Our prices page breaks the figures down by size and duration.
If the breakdown has exposed a permanent capacity gap, run the sums past roughly 18 to 24 months of continuous use — beyond that point, buying often beats an open-ended hire. Used refrigerated containers are observed at £4,500 to £7,500 ex VAT in the UK; browse used units once the immediate crisis is handled.
Get your request in front of suppliers now
The fastest move you can make from this page is a complete enquiry: set point, size, power, access, duration. Request quotes and we will pass your request to specialist refrigerated container suppliers, who contact you directly if they can meet your need — while you keep the doors shut and the log running.
Frequently asked questions
How long will stock stay frozen after a walk-in freezer breakdown?
There is no single safe figure: it depends on how full the chamber is, the insulation, the ambient temperature and, above all, door discipline. A well-stocked chamber warms far more slowly than a nearly empty one. Keep the doors shut, measure with a probe thermometer rather than guessing, and record readings at regular intervals. Decisions about disposal should follow your insurer's and your local environmental health team's guidance, not an internet estimate.
How quickly can an emergency refrigerated container arrive?
That depends on the supplier's depot stock, haulage availability and your site access, so treat any promised delivery slot with caution until it is confirmed in writing. What genuinely speeds things up is answering the supplier's questions in your first message: set point, size, power supply on site, access for the delivery lorry and expected hire length. A complete enquiry can be quoted; an incomplete one triggers a round of phone calls first.
What does emergency cold storage hire cost in the UK?
Indicative UK rates start at around £12 a day ex VAT on longer hire terms; short-term hire is priced higher per day, and VAT is charged at 20% on top. Electricity is extra — a refrigerated container draws roughly 70 to 170 kWh a day depending on size and set point, billed at your own tariff. Delivery and collection are normally charged separately, so compare full quotes rather than headline day rates.
What power supply does a refrigerated container need?
Most units run on a three-phase 380/400 V supply through a CEE 32 A five-pin plug, with some smaller formats available in single-phase 230 V. Power draw is typically 5 to 12 kW depending on size. If your site has no three-phase supply, say so in your first enquiry: it changes which units a supplier can offer and whether an electrician is needed before delivery.
What records will my insurer want after a freezer breakdown?
Policies differ, so call your insurer early, but a contemporaneous record helps almost every claim: the time the fault was noticed, temperature readings at regular intervals, photographs of the display and the stock, and a note of every action taken — engineer called, doors sealed, stock moved. If you run a food business, your environmental health team may also expect the same documentation, so keep one clean log covering both.