Produce cooler

Abstract

A produce cooler is for use with produce disposed in an enclosure. A vertically extending cooling compartment is located adjacent the enclosure. Within the cooling compartment is a horizontally extending heat exchanger substantially above the bottom of the compartment and well below the top thereof. A demister also extends across the cooling compartment below the top of it and sufficiently above the heat exchanger to leave an intervening chamber. There is a plenum between the produce enclosure and the cooling compartment in communication with produce in the compartment and in communication with the cooling compartment. A fan circulates air from the produce in the compartment through the plenum and into the bottom of the cooling compartment so that the air is made to rise upwardly therethrough and return from the top thereof to the produce in the cooling compartment. The heat exchanger comprises a series of superposed, generally horizontal plates of expanded metal held apart by spacers and subject to a cold water spray from spray nozzles. The spray falls through the heat exchanger and onto the floor of the cooling compartment, from which the water discharges into a sump and flows over a cooling coil, thus having its temperature reduced. The cooled water collects in the bottom of the sump and is restored by a pump to the spray nozzles. The air flowing upwardly interchanges heat with the water droplets falling downwardly. The rising air entrains some mist and in going upwardly through the demister loses water droplets and emerges as cool, dry air to flow in heat exchanging relationship with the produce, to withdraw heat therefrom and then to recirculate.