Ice cream sells hardest in exactly the weeks your cold room is already fighting to keep up. A heatwave lifts demand and warms every storeroom at once, and a gelateria, a small-batch maker or a frozen-food wholesaler suddenly needs more deep-freeze space than the building was ever sized for. A refrigerated shipping container — dropped in the yard, behind the shop or at the depot — gives you a walk-in freezer on a fixed footprint, held at a negative setpoint through the hottest stretch of the year, then handed back when trade cools off. EuroReefer is an editorial site specialising in reefer containers; we hold no stock, depot or fleet, and this is one of several trades covered in our sector guides.
The setpoint has to go negative
Ice cream, sorbet and gelato are frozen goods, not chilled ones. They hold at a deep-freeze setpoint — typically around -18 °C, with hard-scoop gelato often kept only slightly warmer for service. A reefer container works across a standard -25 °C to +25 °C band, so a negative setting sits comfortably within range: the same box that would chill drinks at +2 °C will hold frozen stock at -18 °C. What changes with the colder setting is how hard the unit works and what it costs to run — the physics, not the container.
Freezer duty draws more power
The figure that surprises people is electricity. Holding -18 °C pulls more than a +2 °C chilled setpoint, because the unit is fighting a wider gap between inside and out — and a hot day widens it further. The kWh figures below are physical constants for the format and duty; what you actually pay follows your own electricity tariff.
| Size | Chilled (+2 °C) | Frozen (-18 °C) |
|---|---|---|
| 20 ft | 85 – 95 kWh/day | 95 – 110 kWh/day |
| 40 ft HC | 170 – 190 kWh/day | 190 – 215 kWh/day |
Across formats a reefer draws roughly 70 to 170 kWh a day, freezer duty at the top of that band — budget for the colder setting, not the chilled one. Under load the unit calls for 5 to 12 kW.
Pull the box down before you load it
Run the empty container down to your target setpoint before a single tub goes in, rather than cooling warm stock from ambient inside a full box. Pre-cooling the empty space keeps the product within the deep-freeze band on the way in; loading a warm, full container on a July afternoon is slow, and the outer layers of stock can drift while it catches up. Keep the doors shut while it pulls down, then load in quick bursts once it holds.
Sizing: the interior is smaller than you think
Match the box to your overflow, not your average week, and remember a reefer’s interior is smaller than a dry container of the same format — the insulation takes thickness off every wall, the ceiling and the floor.
| Size | Interior (approx.) | Rough capacity |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ft | usable length well under the 2.99 m outer shell | ~15 m³, 4–5 pallets |
| 20 ft | 5.44 × 2.29 × 2.27 m | ~28 m³, 10–11 pallets |
| 40 ft HC | 11.58 × 2.29 × 2.55 m | ~67 m³, 23 pallets |
The 40 ft high-cube is the one to weigh for bulk frozen wholesale: its 2.55 m internal height gives clearance a standard box does not. Treat the 10 ft’s 2.99 m as an overall figure — insulation and the cold unit take a large share on that format, so it is a compact store rather than a three-metre one.
Power on site
The standard connection is three-phase 380/400 V through a CEE 32 A five-pin socket. Many shop yards and small units have only single-phase, so ask whether a smaller format running on 230 V single-phase suits you before committing to a new supply — bringing in three-phase can add real cost. Cold units are built by Carrier, Thermo King, Daikin and Star Cool; a sound local spares network matters more than the badge when a freezer is full.
Hire the season, or buy outright
Every figure below is ex VAT (UK VAT applies at 20 %), before delivery.
| Option | Indicative UK price (ex VAT) |
|---|---|
| Long-term hire | from ~£12/day |
| Used unit (class A or B) | £4,500 – 7,500 |
| New “one-trip” | £18,995 – 22,500 |
Long-term hire starts at around £12 a day, and a 90-day minimum term is common — which happens to cover an April-to-September ice cream season neatly; some suppliers also offer shorter terms at a higher day rate. See reefer hire for the format-by-format picture. A serviceable used unit runs £4,500 – 7,500, usually class A or B, with 10 to 15 years of service life left; a class A machine is typically under 12 years old, so ask for a PTI (Pre-Trip Inspection) dated within the last three months and a cold test before you buy outright. A new one-trip box lands at £18,995 – 22,500. As a rule of thumb, past 18 to 24 months of continuous use the sums tip towards owning — which is why a year-round gelateria may buy where a summer-only trader hires. Our price guide sets the ranges side by side.
Food safety and the ATP question
Storing frozen food sits under HACCP-based hygiene controls, and the detail varies by country and by local authority — treat it as something to confirm with yours rather than read off a container spec. One point worth clearing up: ATP marks refrigerated transport, not a static, sited freezer. A container standing behind the shop is storage, not a vehicle, so ATP does not apply to it.
Tell us the format, the setpoint and where the box will stand, and we pass your request to specialist suppliers who contact you directly if they can meet your need. Send your details and compare hire and purchase offers in one go.
Frequently asked questions
What temperature does ice cream need in a refrigerated container?
Ice cream, sorbet and gelato are frozen goods, not chilled. They hold at a deep-freeze setpoint of roughly -18 °C, with hard-scoop gelato sometimes kept a touch warmer for service. A reefer container runs across a standard -25 °C to +25 °C band, so a negative setting sits well within range. Bring the empty box down to temperature first, then keep door openings brief.
Does freezer mode use more electricity than a chiller?
Yes. Holding -18 °C draws more than a +2 °C chilled setpoint, because the unit works against a wider temperature gap. A 20 ft reefer uses roughly 95 to 110 kWh a day frozen, against 85 to 95 kWh chilled; a 40 ft high-cube runs 190 to 215 kWh frozen, against 170 to 190 kWh. You pay that at your own electricity tariff.
How long before loading should I switch the container on?
Run the empty container down to your target setpoint before you load a single tub, rather than cooling warm stock from ambient inside a full box. Pre-cooling the space keeps the product within the deep-freeze band on the way in. Allow extra time on a hot day, keep the doors shut while it pulls down, then load in quick bursts once it holds.
How does seasonal hire work for a summer-only ice cream trade?
Long-term hire starts at around £12 a day ex VAT, and a minimum term of about 90 days is common — which covers an April-to-September season neatly. Some suppliers also offer shorter terms at a higher day rate. On top of the hire you pay for electricity at your own tariff, and a freezer setpoint costs a little more to run than a chiller.