How to Install a Walk-In Cooler

How cam-lock panels work

Understanding one joint makes the whole box make sense.

The panels we supply are 4 inch insulated, and a standard wall panel has a routed edge on each side: a male routed edge (the tongue) on one side and a female routed edge (the groove) on the other. The male edge slides into the female edge of the panel beside it, so the joint is located before you lock anything.

Inside the panel edges are cam-lock housings. The male side holds a steel hook on a hex cam, and the female side holds a steel pin. You put an Allen (hex) wrench through a small hole in the panel face and turn it clockwise. The hook swings across the joint, catches the pin and pulls the two panels together under compression, which squeezes the joint gasket so it seals.

Once a joint is locked, each wrench hole gets a plastic plug cap (a button). The caps sit on the inside face, about half an inch off the joint, staggered.

There is no wood perimeter in the panels, so nothing organic at the edge can absorb water, swell or rot. Panel skins, listings and options are on our walk-in coolers page.

What to have ready before day one

• The approved drawing in hand. Every box gets a dimensioned approval drawing (plan and elevation, with evaporator and door callouts) that you sign before your order goes in. It is your assembly map. See real examples in our approval drawings gallery.
• The delivery checked against the packing list. Count panels and hardware before you start so you are not stopped halfway. Write any damage on the delivery receipt (the bill of lading) before you sign, send us photos and call us right away: claims must be made within 24 hours. More on delivery is on our free shipping page.
• A level, clean floor. Cam locks pull panels square only when they start on a level base. On an uneven slab the joints open at the top, the door frame racks and the door will not seal. Check it with a 4 ft level before you start. Sweep it: a pebble under a panel edge is enough to throw it off.
• Tools. Allen (hex) wrench, a 4 ft level, tape measure, framing square, step ladder, a drill for fastening the screed or aluminum angle, and silicone for the bead under the vinyl screed on a floorless box. Sealant and anchors are bought locally.
• Two people minimum. Panels are large and awkward. One person holds a panel plumb while the other seats and locks it.
• Room to lay panels flat. Stage them near the room in the order you will use them, skins protected, so you never dig through a stack for the next panel.
• The route and clearances. Measure your narrowest doorway, the tightest hallway turn and the lowest ceiling obstruction, and leave space around the box for the refrigeration and for air.

Walk-in cooler assembly steps

The usual order, from the floor up. Your drawing and the shipped instructions decide the details.

1. Lay out by the drawing. Snap the outside outline of the box on the floor and measure both diagonals. Equal diagonals mean the outline is square.
2. Set the base. On a box with a floor, the prefabricated insulated floor panels go down first and lock together; the NSF Listed floor has a smooth aluminum interior and a cove where wall meets floor for easy cleaning. On a floorless cooler, fasten the 4 inch U-shape vinyl screed along the outline (or aluminum angle where engineering calls for it). Our floor or no floor guide explains which you need.
3. Stand the first corner. Start with a back corner panel, set it in the screed or on the floor, and check it plumb on both faces.
4. Add wall panels and lock as you go. Slide each male edge fully into the female edge, check that the panel tops and bottoms are flush, then turn the cam locks. Never lock a joint that is not fully seated.
5. Check plumb and square every few panels. Put the level on the panel faces and re-measure diagonals. A small error fixed now is far easier than one found after the ceiling is on.
6. Set the door section. The panel with the reinforced door frame goes exactly where the drawing shows. Check it plumb in both directions, because a racked frame means a door that never seals.
7. Close the walls. Finish the remaining runs and corners until the walls form a closed, square shell.
8. Set the ceiling. Start at one end and lock each ceiling panel to the walls and to the panel before it. On long spans, roof suspension supports the ceiling; the hardware is included except the cables or threaded rod. If you chose a drop-in self-contained system, the ceiling panel with the factory cutout goes where the drawing shows it.
9. Cap every wrench hole. Push a plug cap into every wrench hole on the inside face.
10. Hang and adjust the door. Set the self-closing hinges, adjust the automatic closer and the latch, and test the inside safety release. Close the door on a strip of paper at several points around the frame; it should drag everywhere, which tells you the magnetic gasket seals all the way around.
11. Freezers: heater wire and relief vent. The door frame heater wire and the pressure relief vent both run on 115 V and are connected by an electrician.

Inside height to plan around: a 7'6" box is about 86 inches inside without a floor and about 82 inches with one, before the evaporator takes some space at the ceiling. If you are still choosing a size, start with the size guide, then send us your room dimensions for a drawing.

Installing a walk-in outdoors

Outdoor boxes go together the same way, with a few added jobs. Each outdoor box gets a rain roof (rain cap) for protection against the elements, unless you protect it another way.

Set the box on a level pad that sheds water away from the walls. For the full comparison, read indoor vs outdoor walk-in coolers.

Common walk-in install mistakes

• Building on an unlevel slab. The panels lock, but not square. Doors drag and joints open at the top.
• Skipping a cam lock. One unlocked hook leaves a joint gasket uncompressed, and that joint leaks cold air and gathers condensation.
• Not fully engaging, or forcing it. Turn each cam until the hook has caught the pin and comes to a firm stop. Leaning on the wrench past that point can damage the housing.
• Forgetting plug caps. An open wrench hole leaves a gap in the inside skin. Cap every one before the box goes into service.
• A door frame out of square. The gasket cannot seal a racked frame, no matter how the closer is adjusted.
• A freezer on a bare slab. Never. Concrete is not an insulator; moisture in and under the slab freezes, expands about nine percent and heaves the floor. That is why every walk-in freezer we sell ships with an insulated floor.
• Blocking condenser airflow. A condensing unit boxed into a closet or against a wall runs hot and struggles to hold temperature.

Most of these are settled on paper before anything ships. Ask for a quote with photos of the room and the floor, and we will draw the box around what you actually have.