When looking for refrigeration equipment for your business, it is important to pay attention and understand the difference between freezer and refrigerator.
Although the terms freezer and refrigerator appear to have the same meaning, in this article you will understand that, although related, they have different meanings.
In this way, FRICON intends to clarify the differences between freezer and refrigerator, as well as a conservator, issues that can generate a certain ambiguity.
Each of these devices has different ways of working and purposes that may or may not meet your needs. Before proceeding with the purchase of a cold equipment, realize the differences between equipment, freezer and refrigerator.
Let’s start by understanding the differences between freezer and refrigerator.
Freezing equipment (freezer)
Freezing equipment is designed to receive products at room temperature and freeze them quickly.
As a rule, freezers are domestic equipment, which serve to store meat, fish, vegetables and other foods that are in their normal state (i.e., not frozen).
Ideally, the temperature range of these equipment varies between -24ºC and -16ºC.
A freezer usually has the option of manual or automatic defrosting, as ice build-up can develop over time.
— Thus, freezing is a term used in the domestic context and refers to a long-term storage method, which involves reducing the temperature of food below 0°C, that is, negative. This extremely low temperature inhibits the growth of microorganisms and slows down chemical reactions that can lead to food spoilage. Freezers are designed to store frozen foods such as meat, fish, bread, leftovers and pre-prepared foods. Thus, freezing confers a change in the physical state of the product.
Refrigeration equipment (refrigerator)
Refrigeration equipment, on the other hand, is designed to receive food or drinks and keep them cool. And the difference from the others is easily perceptible, as the temperature of this type of solution varies between 0ºC and 8ºC.
Technically, refrigerators produce positive cold, as they are above 0°C. Naturally, consumption is lower than other equipment, as it requires less effort to reach the ideal temperature.
In refrigerators, defrosting is generally not necessary, as they do not reach temperatures below 0°C.
— In summary, refrigeration is ideal for keeping food fresh and ready to eat for a short period of time, in order to promote its preservation. Therefore, refrigeration is a process that allows the maintenance of the integral condition of the product and the corresponding increase in its shelf life.
Now that you understand the differences between freezer and refrigerator, you will understand that a conservator is also different from these two previous ones.
Conservation equipment (conservator)
As with freezing equipment, the temperature of conservators varies between –24ºC and -16ºC. However, there is a difference in how you should use them.
The conservation equipment is designed to receive pre-frozen products and keep them in the same conditions according to the equipment’s operating temperature.
This is the case with ice cream, frozen peas, pre-frozen meat and fish, among other foods, which you see inside the horizontal supermarkets chests when you go there.
This does not mean that, if you place fresh food in a freezer, it will not freeze. They will be frozen for sure! However, the conservator expects you to put only pre-frozen or frozen food inside.
— In short, the conservation process allows the maintenance of the physical state of the product, in which it is previously frozen and also remains in the conservator.
Now that we hope we have understood the difference between a freezer and refrigerator, we share a specific case where conservation and refrigeration come together to create a single product. We might call it a 2-in-1!
Bi-temperature equipment
In the case of bi-temperature solutions, you can find two modes (conservative and cooler) in the same equipment.
As with our vertical display (DUO) where it is possible to store frozen or ice cream and drinks or fresh food, simultaneously, maintaining the highest quality of food, due to its composition by two doors.
If you have doubts about the difference between freezer and refrigerator, as conservator read our detailed article on the topic.