Re: commercial large scale refrigeration failure, presumably from the heatwave

From a BBC report taday it looks like the freezers and chillers would be working flat out but with elevated air temperature the temperature in the chests and cabinets probably go above the legally allowed minima with no work around, so contents have to be dumped. Shopkeepers have to keep a log, regularly updated of at least a few representatrive refrigeration units.

In general the refrigerators are not individual units, but are all part of a vast heat pump that cools the cabinets and heats the stores, or today cools the stores and heats the car park.

Perhaps there wasnt enough left over for the cabinets?

My ageing fridge is unable to keep the ice cream solid. I'll out it in one of the others

My local Sainsbury "corner shop" seems to have had a lot of problems with refrigeration. A few weeks back ALL their refrigerated cool cabinets failed (upright shelf units with plastic blinds that are usually only employed when the outlet is closed*) All this week all their freezer units are taped off with a notice explaining that the temperature inside is too high and the foodstuffs contained therein cannot be sold.

Just a general observation based on just a few visits to a large Tesco local to me that has 6am to midnight opening (except Sunday) and also has major overnight re-stocking. Frozen food may turn up in a refrigerated truck but then seems to be left in the back of shop warehouse until the night shift turns up. I've found that the stuff being put in then freezers is partially defrosted to a lesser or larger degree.

This large Sainsburys has the hot air outlets of a bank of them fed into one large , perhaps half metre diameter semi-flexible pipe to the roof . Surely that air handling is designed to accommodate all 10 or so being on full blast together. Perhaps Sainsbury's refrigeration designer set on lower power units (less initial and running cost) than that required for just above normal summertime shop air temperature. The shop air temperatures this last week have not seemingly been elevated beyond the usual. I wonder what the hot air handling unit on the roof is like, just vented to the external air or something else?