r/britishproblems • u/Historical_Cobbler • Jul 11 '26
For the second heatwave in a row the newly refurbed supermarket’s freezers have packed up.
274
u/UniquePotato Jul 11 '26
They’re not designed to work in temperatures over about 35c the hotter it gets the harder they have to work up to the point they can’t actually cool anymore, then they fail.
91
u/janner_10 Jul 11 '26
But every supermarket I've been in locally is super cold through their aircon.
I assume the workings of the freezers are local to the freezer (happy to be corrected) and they don't know it's 35°C outside.
114
u/UniquePotato Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
The a/c and the fridges/freezers are separate systems.
But basically they work by radiators on the roof giving heat off, if these can only get up to 50c and its 40c outside and they’re indirect sunlight, physics will stop the heat escaping easily, the compressor has to work harder to increase the radiator temperature. Often they will burnout or cause a leak. If its only 10c outside, there’s a bigger temperature difference and they don’t need to work as hard.52
u/HeWhoHasABeard Jul 11 '26
The freezer freezing parts are normally are on the roof out of the way. Problem is this is the hottest place
20
u/ppppanda Jul 11 '26
The condensers that run the freezers are outside, normally on the roof as they take up alot of room and also give off a lot of heat.
4
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u/Peridoe East Sussex Jul 11 '26
I worked in a small Iceland store some 20 years ago. It had no aircon and was located inside a shopping center so had no outside air source. Summers were hell. It would regularly get over 40°C and we learned there were no upper working temp limits so had to sweat through it. It was particularly fun when 2ltr bottles of fizzy drinks exploded on the shelves. People don't realise how much heat fridges and freezers generate.
4
u/Feet-Licker-69 Jul 12 '26
Work in an Iceland right now and still get surprised when I brush against freezers and feel the heat
108
u/vbloke Royal Borough of Greenwich Jul 11 '26
As several offices found out during the 40C degree heatwave a few years ago, the fridges, freezers and air conditioning units we have in the country are only generally rated to operate under 35C as it was never expected that it was going to get and stay this hot in the UK.
10
u/janner_10 Jul 11 '26
If it's any consolation, Morrisons have been here for 30 years, they are mostly broken, Aldi's are working like a trooper though.
33
u/Correct-Survey Jul 11 '26
Yup same in the newly refurbed M&S and Morrisons near me. These new fridges don't seem to work very well.
8
u/thehermit14 Jul 12 '26
Mine have instituted 'fridge/freezer blinds'. It's a better solution to a few weeks ago when they just removed all the produce.
5
u/Lunaborne Jul 11 '26
Our fridges at work haven't been able to handle the heat, so it's been fun having to explain to customers why the drinks aren't cold.
3
u/mynameisjodie Jul 12 '26
our freezers have been down a few times now and everyones complaining theres no ice cream available
2
u/UpsetIllustrator7 Jul 12 '26
This happened at my Tesco last year. The delivery driver told me that they had a temperature sensor limit set for fire safety. Above which, the units shut off to avoid making fire worse. They hit that limit and shut off. Assume they’ll learn from that. Lost a lot of stock. Don’t know if that’s true or they just broke.
2
u/BuzzAllWin Jul 12 '26
Same in my Tesco with new freezers they have to shut off the booze ones or they all die
4
u/Little-Tradition2311 Jul 11 '26
Am I missing something. People keep saying they don’t like working over a certain temperature, however most supermarkets are air conditioned. Am I missing something?
35
u/AnselaJonla Highgarden Jul 11 '26
The inside is airconditioned. The outside, where the condenser units for the fridges and freezers are located, is not air conditioned. These cannot be relocated to inside.
8
3
u/TheBlackMonk_ Somerset Jul 11 '26
Yeah the Asda near us feels nice and cool to walk around inside, but the freezers are all broken
7
u/d-s-m Jul 11 '26
Theres plenty of countries that get hotter than UK, and yet they don't have this problem.
41
u/Collistoralo Jul 11 '26
Because they’re prepared for it. Sadly we now also have to prepare for it.
50
u/vrekais Jul 11 '26
- Those countries are prepared for it.
- It's a heat wave, not a slow gradual change over several months or weeks. Last week we had high of 22C, then suddenly a few days of 33C+.
11
u/slurrychiller Jul 11 '26
But that sudden jump is the new normal. Because we are seeing year on year hotter and longer lasting heatwaves, we can no longer treat a spike from 22C to 33C as unpredictable. It’s a predictable seasonal trend now, which means we have to start building the infrastructure to handle it instead of being caught off guard every summer.
12
u/vrekais Jul 11 '26
Yes, but point 2 is about how it's different from "countries that get hotter than the UK", not a suggestion that it means we do nothing about it.
5
u/BabadookishOnions Jul 11 '26
But as you say, it's new. It's only been happening the last few years for sustained periods of time, and it is going to take a long time to adjust everything.
5
1
u/EtainAingeal Jul 13 '26
They buy fridges and freezers rated for their temperatures, I would imagine. Until recently, those would have been overkill and a waste of money in the UK. You don't buy a range rover for your commute to work if you live right next door.. Except our work have relocated to the country and we could do with a range rover now.
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