Cold room storage rack
Cold room racking that lets the cold air work.
Powder-coated steel shelving for walk-in chillers and cold rooms — open frames for airflow, wipe-clean shelves and layouts with the clearances your refrigeration needs.
- Sealed powder-coat finish, no timber or chipboard
- Open frames that let cold air circulate
- Layouts that keep evaporators and doors clear
The challenge
A cold room is the most expensive shelf space you own
Every cubic metre inside a chiller is paid for twice — once in rent and again in electricity. Yet many cold rooms are half-used: stock stacked on the floor, crates piled against the evaporator, and wooden shelves that swell, grow mould and fail a hygiene check.
Good cold room racking fixes three things at once. It lifts stock off the floor so the room can be cleaned. It keeps air moving around every item, so product cools evenly and the compressor works less. And it makes stock rotation visible, so older batches are used first.
For restaurants planning chiller and dry-store shelving together, our restaurant & F&B racking page covers the kitchen side.
Cold room layout rules
What we check before we draw a chiller layout
Evaporator clearance
Nothing stacked in front of or tight under the cooling unit — it needs room to blow and return air.
Wall gap
Racks sit slightly off the walls so air flows behind the stock instead of stagnating.
Floor clearance
The bottom shelf is raised so the floor underneath can be mopped and inspected.
Crate loads
Full produce crates and liquid stock are heavy — we match the rack rating to the real weight.
FIFO visibility
Shallow enough shelves that the oldest stock is never hidden behind the newest.
Door swing
The door, strip curtain and threshold stay clear so the room seals properly.
Recommended racks
Racks for chillers and cold rooms
Questions
Cold room racking questions
Can powder-coated steel racks be used in a chiller?
Yes. A baked powder coat seals the steel against the humidity and condensation of a chiller far better than wet paint, and it wipes clean. Keep the coating intact — chips from trolleys and pallet jacks are where rust starts — and dry spills promptly. Our cold room storage rack guide covers care in more detail.
What about walk-in freezers?
Freezers are harder on any rack: frost build-up, ice on the floor and repeated thaw cycles. Our racks are used in freezers, but tell us the operating temperature and defrost routine when you request a quote so we can be honest about whether our range suits your room or whether a stainless or polymer system would serve you better.
How much space should I leave around cold room racks?
As a rule of thumb, leave a gap of around 10cm between the racks and the walls, keep the top shelf well below the evaporator so it is not blocked, and keep the bottom shelf raised so the floor can be cleaned. Cold air must be able to circulate around every side of the stock.
Which rack depth works best in a small cold room?
In most restaurant walk-in chillers, 40–50cm deep boltless racks along the walls leave a usable centre aisle. Larger central-kitchen cold rooms often take 60cm deep warehouse racks for crates and bulk produce.
Can you install racks in an operating cold room?
Yes. Assembly is tool-free and fast, so we can work section by section while you keep stock cold elsewhere, or come in after service. Plan the timing with us when you confirm your order.