Archived having trouble staying in cooler/freezer

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OneGoodEar

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is there any one who has trouble staying in the cooler/ freezer longer than 10 minutes? I can't. it's not the temperature because I can stay out in the outside cold for 30 minutes without any problems. I don't think its the freeon since I can drive with the air conditioner for at least an hour with no trouble. but I can't stay in those temperature controlled confined rooms for too long or I will have trouble breathing.
 
Put on all the cold weather gear for starters. Depending on your store coolers, it's sounds like you need to your tl about your concerns. If there is poor lighting, it can cause some folks to get edgy. In a well lit cooler, no issues.
 
Try propping the door. It keeps the blowers off. I can stay in there for ages but the blowers drive me nuts. Just know how long you have till the alarm goes off.
 
( I will add upfront I dont work in a Super Spot or P fresh...just a reg Spot with an exst. dairy and frozen sections)I don't have trouble breathing but my hands get way too cold ( even with gloves ). I am good for about ten minutes then I have to come out for a couple minutes. What I have started doing is going in, trying to get all my loose backstock done. Then I will pull my rack of casepack backstock outside of the freezer...and print the labels for them if needed OR put the pic labels on the boxes( if they already have them, not sure why some come with them and some don't) since this can be hard to do with gloves on etc. By the time I get this done my hands have unthawed some and I can take the rack back in the freezer and go at it again.
 
There is really good gear that you'll want for the freezers. You may have to order the DC versions of it. But the fans always going in the freezer tends to be the bit that makes it worse and depending on your store your door alarm could be 30 seconds or longer.
 
Oh, I remember those days, getting ice crystals forming on my facial hair....If it's a big project like BS'ing a truck or leftover plano reset, then try to get multiple people to knock it out quickly. If not, then just keep coming out every 10-15 min to warm-up. If you ever get a TL/ETL wondering why your just standing around trying to warm up, ask em if they would like to join you in the freezer. Usually shuts em down pretty quickly.
 
dabeastfromtheeast said:
Oh, I remember those days, getting ice crystals forming on my facial hair....If it's a big project like BS'ing a truck or leftover plano reset, then try to get multiple people to knock it out quickly. If not, then just keep coming out every 10-15 min to warm-up. If you ever get a TL/ETL wondering why your just standing around trying to warm up, ask em if they would like to join you in the freezer. Usually shuts em down pretty quickly.
Click to expand...
My favorite thing is when someone walks by and you are trying to warm up and they say...is it cold in there? I want to shove them in there and hold the door closed and let them see how cold it gets
 
tgtguy said:
My favorite thing is when someone walks by and you are trying to warm up and they say...is it cold in there? I want to shove them in there and hold the door closed and let them see how cold it gets
Click to expand...

Nope...Negative 10-15 degrees is the Perfect temp :) haha..so cold
 
We had one person who could pretty much work entire shifts in the freezer if needed.
In honor of this he had a custom name tag 'SubZero'.
He had an edge since he was born in Norilsk, Siberia.

To the thread starters question, could you have a touch of claustrophobia?
 
I get at least ten minutes or more on mine before the alarm goes off. I run in and out with no gloves and just a t-shirt though, so not as big of a problem for me.
 
Depending on how your door works, there is a way to bypass the alarm by using a magnet on the thingamajig above the door. We got in trouble for doing it though. Couple of years ago, they changed the alarm from one long beep to a fire alarm type sound.
 
coolerqueen said:
I get at least ten minutes or more on mine before the alarm goes off. I run in and out with no gloves and just a t-shirt though, so not as big of a problem for me.
Click to expand...
I think ours is less than a minute (at least for the door alarm), not sure if that makes the one at guest services go off as well.
 
One day i got stuck in the freezer. No walkie was on me so i could call for help. I banged at the door and i felt my hand sticking to the door. I almost had a panic attack.

I didn't realize if you shut the door on you after the alarm goes off, it locks up for a minute.
 
Make sure you're using a set of waterproof touchscreen gloves over a pair of cotton gloves. The worst possible thing is to have moisture on your body when working in the freezer.

I can usually stay in the coolers for about 30 minutes without even a jacket, but I can only last about 5 minutes in the freezer without cold gear. So using all of the provided gear really helps (boots, jumpsuit, jacket, gloves, and ski mask) and if your store doesn't have it, take it up with the CTL.
 
My TL knows and understands this.

Even with the proper gear I still have problems.

The lighting is fine.

Please note I feel this way even in the produce cooler.

I do think I might have a case of claustrophobia.
 
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You are not the only one who feels that way. In my coolers and freezers, we have had issues with lights out and sensors not working for at least 6 months. I have told the SFT about it but nothing gets done.

Depending your store, you could keep the door cracked but if the alarm system is like my store, the alarms will go off in 10 seconds.

If anyone has the time, can you please help me find the names and tipp/sap (forgot which we use) numbers for gloves that we are suppose to use in the freezer, jackets used in the cooler and any other equipment we use to stay warm in the freezers. Thanks
 
Our alarms on our coolers/freezers start going off after 10-15 seconds o_O

What exactly are you doing in the freezers for that long? If it's backstock, I started telling my trainees to run in, grab all the empty wacos, and set them outside the freezer. Then bring a vehicle of backstock out and (quickly) backstock out there. Just wear gloves, and you'll be fine. No freezing.

As far as pulling autofills...i'd recommend getting a box of those air-activated hand warmers. At least your hands won't go numb.
 
Believe it or not....best practice is...the alarms are not supposed to go off until after 15 minutes of the door being opened. I have had refrigeration techs tell me it's supposed to be shorter..but it's not...your sft should know how to change the duration...
 
Quattro said:
Our alarms on our coolers/freezers start going off after 10-15 seconds o_O

What exactly are you doing in the freezers for that long? If it's backstock, I started telling my trainees to run in, grab all the empty wacos, and set them outside the freezer. Then bring a vehicle of backstock out and (quickly) backstock out there. Just wear gloves, and you'll be fine. No freezing.

As far as pulling autofills...i'd recommend getting a box of those air-activated hand warmers. At least your hands won't go numb.
Click to expand...
My CTL requisitioned us some of those handwarmers from Dollar Spot when we did market inventory, what we didn't realize is that they take 30 minutes to fully warm up. :rolleyes:
 
redcounts said:
One day i got stuck in the freezer. No walkie was on me so i could call for help. I banged at the door and i felt my hand sticking to the door. I almost had a panic attack.

I didn't realize if you shut the door on you after the alarm goes off, it locks up for a minute.
Click to expand...

This happens to me on occasion but it's actually due to Gay-Lussac's law. When the door is left open, the inside of the freezer (including the air) warms up a little and expands. When you close the door, the refers kick on and cool everything down, causing the air molecules to contract and cause a vacuum effect. There's a mechanism that is supposed to equalize the pressure but it's certainly not the fastest thing in the world. I'm a big guy and I have to really shove to get the door open if it was recently open for a few minutes.
 
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