Start/Stop vs Continuous

When I pulled reefer you just about always run it in stop and go to save fuel and time on the reefer. You only put it on continuous if the load required it. A load of ice cream needed air blowing over it all the time to keep the ince cream coold and no hot spots in the trailer. Ice cream in trailer at -20 would not melt but it needed air moving all the time to keep it hard.

Fresh vegetables needed continuous air flow to keep entire load at same temperature.

 

Depending on circumstances (set temp, ambient outside temp, reefer age insulation) start/stop can burn more fuel than continuous. They burn very little fuel at slow idle maintaining a set temp. So why take a chance? Set it on continuous and no worries.

It's hard to fathom trying to save enough money in fuel to buy a plate lunch versus being on the hook for a load that might cost you $40,000 when the insurance company says it won't cover the loss due to your negligence in not running the unit on continuous.

 

Strawberries you better keep it on continuous.

 

[Protect from freezing]

"Let me just crank this thing on continuous!"

That's WAY more than a plate lunch.

Set it for whatever the product temp is coming out of the warehouse... the reefer will run less than 5 minutes an hour.

 

Yeah slight exaggeration. Maybe dinner for 2 plus a bar tab at the steakhouse. But that versus several tens of thousands $ in potential claims seems like an ok risk to you? When it is easily and cheaply avoided? And only running for 5 minutes an hour is also an exaggeration, it depends on the ambient temp versus set. It'll actually burn way more fuel on start/stop if that is way far apart.

 

If you are running more than 5 minutes an hour on a protect load, you have insulation problems.

 

I just had my unit serviced. I asked him the same question as the OP. He recommends leaving it running at high speed and letting it do its job. I also asked him if I should let it run when unloading, or doing multiple stops. He recommends shutting the unit down if leaving the door open for more than a few minutes. It causes condensation and makes the unit work harder than it has to. Not all of my loads require a refer. I could go weeks in between refer loads. I usually run it once a week for an hour or two. He told me to keep doing what I am doing to keep it from locking up from non-use.

 

NEVER EVER EVER shut your reefer off unless you are instructed to do so by the shipper or receiver. This is about the fastest way to have a load rejected for temperature and having to file a claim.

 

There's no insulation problem with my trailer. It's a Dane that I've pulled since almost new for about 7 years now. I sometimes haul ice cream around the deep south in the summertime, without giving it a second thought.

If you've got a big temperature variation between ambient and the set I don't care what reefer you have it's going to be on for a lot more than 5 minutes an hour. And it'll definitely burn more than running continuous.

If those temperatures are close, yeah, I can see one not starting up much at all and saving a lot of fuel. But when that unit shuts off then doesn't start back again causing a claim it'll take you probably 10 years of fuel savings to cover it.

 

It’s almost impossible to believe but not quite
The amount of things people argue about
it really never gets old LOL