Updated
Searches such as "reefer container for sale in Ghana", "in South Africa", "in Qatar" or "in Pakistan" come from buyers who will not see the unit before it arrives. What they need to know is the same in every market: whether the machinery works, whether it will run on the power available at the destination, and how much working life is left in it.
A reefer is two products in one box: an insulated container and a refrigeration machine. They age at different rates, so a unit can be structurally sound with tired machinery, or carry a healthy machine in a shell whose insulation has deteriorated. This guide covers what to specify, what to check and what the power supply at the far end has to provide. For sizes and internal dimensions, see reefer containers.
Decide the job before the unit
The same 40ft High Cube reefer can be bought for three quite different jobs, and the checks that matter differ between them:
- Temperature-controlled transport — the unit carries cargo under a set point at sea. Machinery, controller, temperature recorder, CSC plate and carrier acceptance all matter. See SOC containers.
- Cold store at the destination — the unit is shipped to site and plugged in there. Machinery and insulation matter most, and the site power supply is usually the deciding constraint.
- Insulated storage without refrigeration — a non-operating reefer (NOR) bought for its shell. Machinery condition is irrelevant; insulation, inner lining and doors are everything, and it costs a fraction of a working unit.
The refrigeration machinery
Common makes on reefer containers include Carrier Transicold, Thermo King, Daikin and Star Cool from Maersk Container Industry. The make matters less than the model, the build year and the maintenance record. It does matter for spares and service, so find out whether technicians where the unit is going support that make before choosing between offers.
Makers publish rated ranges per model. Daikin gives an inside temperature range of −30 °C to +30 °C for its LXE series, in ambient temperatures from −30 °C to +50 °C. Thermo King states that its Magnum Plus maintains −40 °C to +40 °C in ambient temperatures up to +50 °C. Those are ratings for machinery in good order; a used unit is worth what it achieves on test, which is why the inspection record counts for more than the brochure.
Check the refrigerant too. Carrier, for example, supplies its PrimeLINE units charged with R-134a and ready for later conversion to R-513A, and newer machinery is built around alternative refrigerants. Whoever services the unit at destination needs the right gas and the right procedure for it.
Pre-trip inspection (PTI)
A pre-trip inspection is carried out on an empty reefer before it is released, to confirm that the refrigeration unit, the temperature control and the recording devices work, that the container has no structural damage, and that the interior is clean and ready to load. Current controllers include an automatic pre-trip test sequence that runs through the compressor, fans, sensors and valves and reports a pass or fail for each step.
For a reefer that will carry cargo, a current PTI is a precondition, and carriers and terminals set their own rules on how recent it must be. For a unit bought as a cold store it is still the best single evidence that the machinery works. Ask for the date of the last PTI, its result and who carried it out, and treat "it was working when it came off hire" as a statement rather than a record.
Power: voltage, frequency and the plug
Integral reefer machinery runs on three-phase power. Carrier specifies its PrimeLINE unit for a nominal 380/460 V, three-phase, 50/60 Hz supply, with an optional autotransformer for 190/230 V supplies. The Container Owners Association's guidance for shipper-owned reefers refers to operation at 380 V/50 Hz or 440 V/60 Hz, with an ISO-standard CEE 17 plug that has its earth pin at the 3 o'clock position.
The 230/400 V three-phase supply used in Europe and many other countries sits within the range this machinery is built for. What causes trouble on site is less the nominal voltage than its quality: sags, surges and loss of a phase on a weak grid can stop machinery or damage it. Before a working reefer is specified as a cold store, have an electrician confirm the three-phase supply, the protection and the socket, and size any generator for the pull-down load while the unit cools from ambient, not for the running load at set point.
Gensets: clip-on and underslung
A generator set, or genset, is a diesel generator built to power a reefer when it is not plugged into a ship or a terminal. There are two standard mounting types. A clip-on genset attaches to the front of the container and travels with the box. An underslung or undermount genset is fitted beneath the road chassis and travels with the vehicle. Thermo King describes its range as the power source that keeps reefers running after they are unplugged from the ship, on the road or waiting ashore.
That makes gensets transport equipment. For a cold store on a site with no grid, or an unreliable one, the usual answer is a stationary generator sized for the reefer's pull-down load, with a changeover arrangement where there is a mains supply. Either way, fuel, servicing and the cost of running a diesel around the clock belong in the budget alongside the container.
Controlled atmosphere
Some reefers carry a controlled-atmosphere (CA) system that regulates oxygen and carbon dioxide inside the container to slow the ripening of fresh produce on long voyages; Star Cool CA and Carrier's EverFRESH are examples. It is a fitted option, not a feature of every reefer. If a listing mentions CA, ask whether the system is installed and has been tested. For frozen cargo, for chilled goods that are not ripening produce, and for static storage it adds nothing you will use.
What to check on a used reefer
Photographs and a PTI record cover much of this remotely. Where the unit can be inspected, or a surveyor sent, work through the list:
- Running hours and service history — where the controller or an hour meter records them, read alongside the maintenance record rather than on their own
- Compressor — starts and runs without abnormal noise, no oil or refrigerant leaks, and the PTI shows the unit reaching and holding set point
- Pull-down — how long the empty unit takes to reach set point from ambient; a slow pull-down points at machinery, refrigerant charge or insulation
- Insulation and inner lining — no bulges, cracks or punctures in the lining, no soft spots in walls or roof, no sign of moisture in the foam; a damaged panel lets heat in whatever the machine does
- Floor T-bars — the aluminium T-section floor carries cold air under the cargo; bent, cracked or holed T-bars disturb the airflow
- Drains — floor drains present, clear and fitted with their plugs or valves, so defrost water can leave
- Door gaskets and hardware — complete gaskets that seat on both doors; a torn gasket is a permanent heat leak
- Cable, plug and controller — power cable undamaged, plug intact, display working, temperature records downloadable
- CSC plate — in date, if the unit will carry cargo; see the CSC plate guide
Shipping a reefer abroad
A reefer bought in Europe for use abroad is quoted to a named destination port like any other container; see worldwide delivery. Two points are specific to reefers. Shipped as a non-operating unit, the COA guidance treats it under dry container conditions. Shipped running with cargo, it needs the carrier's acceptance as shipper-owned equipment, and carriers can ask more of it than of a dry box: Hapag-Lloyd, for example, asks that shipper-owned reefers of a different make from its own fleet come with a spare parts kit, a maintenance manual and emergency procedures.
At destination, the questions are power and service. The pages for Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and the UAE cover the gateway ports and what a quotation needs. For any market, confirm the site supply and local service support for the make before choosing a working unit over an insulated shell, and read the unit's rated ambient range: high outside temperatures make machinery work harder for the same set point.
Reefer prices vary far more between individual units than dry container prices do, because the machinery does. We quote delivered prices on request, against a specific unit and its inspection record.