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Most refrigerators and walk-ins seem nearly indestructible and problem free, but you’ll get longer life out of yours by following these safety and maintenance tips. Clean the door gaskets and hinges regularly. The door gaskets, made of rubber, may rot more effortlessly if they are caked with feed or grime, which weakens their sealing properties. They may be safely cleaned with a solution of baking soda and warm water. Hinges may be rubbed with a bit of petroleum jelly to keep them working well. Dirty coils strength the refrigerator to run hotter, which shortens the life of the compressor motor. They will have to be cleaned each 90 days, preferably with an industrial-strength vacuum cleaner. Walk-in floors may be damp-mopped but ought to never be hosed out. Too much water may get into the seals among the floor panels and harm the insulation. A refrigerator only works as well as the air that’s permitted to circulate around it is contents. Cramming feed containers together so there’s not a spare inch of space around them doesn’t help. Also try to keep containers (especially cardboard ones) from touching the walls of the cabinet. They may freeze and stick to the walls, damaging both product and wall. Use a good rotation system: First in, initial out (FIFO) is preferable. Or put colored dots on feed packages, a dissimilar color for each day of the week, so everyone in your kitchen knows how long each item has been in the fridge. WALK-IN COOLERS AND FREEZERS A walk-in cooler is just what it is name implies: a cooler big sufficient to walk into. It may be as little as a closet or as huge as a good-size room, but it is crucial intention is to provide refrigerated storage for big quantities of feed in a central area. Experts suggest that your operation needs a walk-in when it is refrigeration needs exceed 80 cubic feet, or if you serve more than 250 meals per day. Once again, you’ll need to determine how much you need to store, what sizes of containers the storage space ought to accommodate, and the greatest or most complete or best possible amount of goods you’ll want to have on hand. The only way to use walk-in space wisely is to equip it with shelves, organized in sections. Exactly how much square footage do you need? The easiest formula is to calculate 1 to 1.5 cubic feet of walk-in storage for each meal you serve per day. Another basic calculation: Take the total number of linear feet of shelving you’ve decisive you will need (A), and divide it by the number of shelves (B) you may put in each section. This will give you the number of linear feet per division (C). To this number (C), add 40 to 50 percent (1.40 or 1.50) to cover “overflow”-volume increases, wasted space, and bulky items or loose product. This will give you an estimate of the total linear footage (D) needed. However, linear footage is not enough. Because shelves are three dimensional, you must calculate square footage. So multiply (D) by the depth of each shelf (E) to obtain the total square footage amount (F). Finally, double the (F) figure, to pay for aisle space. Roughly half of walk-in cooler space is aisle space. Another standard formula is to calculate that, for each 28 to 30 pounds of feed you’ll store, you will need 1 cubic foot of space. When you get that figure, multiply it by 2.5. (The element 2.5 means only 40 percent of your walk-in will be applied as storage space; the other 60 percent is aisles and space amidst products.) The result is the size of the refrigerated storage area you will need. For a walk-in freezer, plainly divide your walk-in refrigerator space by two. Larger kitchens, which serve more than 400 meals a day, may need as numerous as three walk-in refrigerators for dissimilar temperature needs: one for develop (41 degrees Fahrenheit), one for meats and fish (33 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit), and one for dairy productions (32 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit). The walk-in is used most many times to store bulk foods. Because this often times means wheeling carts or dollies in and out, the floor must be level with the kitchen floor. This leveling is achieved by the use of strips (called screeds) that are employed to the floor. Coolers don’t come as a single unit; they are constructed on-site. The walls, ceilings, and floors are made of person panels. Wall panels ought to be insulated to a rating of R-30, which means a 4-inch thickness. They come in respective lengths and widths, with 12-by-12-inch corner panels at 90-degree angles. They may be as short as 71?2 feet or as tall as 131?2 feet. The most mutual type of insulation inside the panels is polyurethane, and the outside walls of the panels may be made of stainless steel, vinyl, or aluminum. Stainless steel is the most expensive, and aluminum-because it’s the least expensive-is the most general choice. If the walk-in is an outdoor installation, aluminum is the most weather resistant. The installer will be sure the unit has interior lighting. The floor panels for walk-ins are similar to the wall panels. Load capacities of 600 pounds per square foot are the norm, but if you plan to store very heavy items (like beer kegs), a reinforced floor may be purchased with a load capacity of up to 1000 pounds per square foot. The refrigeration scheme of a walk-in is a more complex installation than a ordinary refrigerator, mainly because it’s so much bigger. Matching the scheme (and it is power requirements) with the dimensions of the walk-in and it is projected use is best left to professionals, but it’s indispensable to note that a walk-in accessed many times all around the day will require a compressor with dandier horsepower to maintain it is interior temperature than one that is accessed seldom. A 9-foot-square walk-in would need at least a 2-horsepower compressor. The condenser unit is located either on top of the walk-in (directly above the evaporator) or up to 25 feet away, with lines connecting it to the walk-in. The latter, for evident reasons, is known as a remote system, and is necessary for larger-than-normal condensing units with capacities of up to 7.5 horsepower. In a remote system, the refrigerant ought to be added at the time of installation. For littler walk-ins, there’s likewise a plumbing configuration called a quick-couple system, which is shipped from the factory entirely charged with refrigerant. This unquestionably simplifies installation. However, you may need the added power of a remote scheme if your kitchen has any of these drains on the walk-in’s cooling ability: general door opening, glass display doors, multiple doors per compartment, or an ambient kitchen temperature that’s near 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Modern walk-ins on occasion offer a frozen-food division in addition to the regular cooler space. There are pros and cons to this concept. It may ease the load on the freezer, because it’s already located inside a chilled airspace; but it also can’t aid but reduce overall usable space, because it requires a distinguished door. You may also order your walk-in with a separate, reach-in section that has it is own door and shelves. Although this may save the cost of purchasing a discerned reach-in, a heap of critics assert that a walk-in is not designed to do a reach-in job, such as storing uncovered desserts. Do you genuinely want them in the same surroundings as cartons of lettuce and other bulk storage items? There may be cleanliness or feed quality constituents to consider. The doors ought to open out, not into the cooler itself. The usual door opening is 34 by 78 inches. Several door features are important for proper walk-in operation. These include: A heavy-duty door closer. Self-closing, cam-lift door hinges. If the door may be opened past a 90-degree angle, the cam will hold it open. A heavy-duty stainless steel threshold. This is installed over the galvanized channel of the door frame. A pull-type door handle, with both a cylinder door lock and room to use a discerned padlock if necessary. Pressure-sensitive vents, which prevent vacuum buildup when opening and closing the door. An interior safety release so no one may be (accidentally or otherwise) locked inside the cooler. Other smart features that may be ordered for walk-ins are: A thermometer (designed for outdoor use, but mounted inside the cooler) with a range of 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. A monitoring and recording scheme that keeps a printout of refrigeration temperature or downloads to a computer. Glass, full-length door panels (like those in supermarkets and comfortableness stores), most times called retail doors, either hinged or sliding. Heavy-duty plastic strip curtains inside the door. (One manufacturer claims a 40 percent energy savings with this feature.) A foot treadle, which enables you to open the door by pressing on a pedal or lever with your foot when both hands are full. Three-way interior lighting, which may be turned on from outside or inside the cooler, with a light-on indicator light outside. Inside, the light itself will have to be a vapor-proof bulb with an unbreakable globe and shield. When space is at a premium, think regarding whether it is practical to install an outdoor walk-in unit. This is an economical way to add space without increasing the size of your kitchen, and you may buy ready-to-use, stand-alone structures with electricity and refrigeration schemes in place. They come in usual sizes from 8 to 12 feet wide and up to 50 feet in length, in 1-foot increments. They range in height from 7.5 to 9.5 feet. Look for a unit with a slanted, weatherproof roof, a weather hood, and a totally insulated floor. Outdoor walk-ins cost with regards to half of the price of installing an indoor kitchen walk-in, so this is a money-saving idea if it works in your location. If your demands for walk-in space are seasonal, consider leasing a refrigerated trailer, available in most metropolitan areas on a on a weekly basis or per month basis. They may provide an instant 2000 cubic feet of further and added storage space, which may be kept at any temperature from 40 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. They use basic 60-amp, 230-volt, three-phase electricity. Ask if the lease agreement includes hookup at your web site and service if anything goes wrong.
7233 of 7355 people found the following review helpful. 1. Form-factor – Compared to the Kindle 3, this Kindle feels more compact, lighter and easier to hold. My hands wrap around this better than K3. Reading books for a few hours at a stretch will be easier on this device compared to the K3. It is the lightest such device I have used compared to all previous Kindles and other tablets. 2. Screen – I personally like the fact that there are no keys on the device and that keys come up on the screen when you need them. Delivers a better overall reading experience. However, navigating through the on-screen keyboard with the 5-way controller can be taxing if you need to do a lot of searching, and you might miss the full physical keyboard. I hardly search on the Kindle itself, I search for books on my laptop so this is a non-issue. 3. Price! – At $79, you can’t go wrong. Compared to buying paperback or hardcover editions, you will recover the cost of this in a matter of a few months because most Kindle content is priced cheaper than print editions (and you get it instantly, and can access it wherever you are). Not to mention all the free Kindle downloads available in the catalog. 4. Display – almost the same E-ink display at the K3. No glare no reflection. You can sit in bright sunlight and read it just like a book. Page turns seem a lot faster on this compared to the K3. Screen size of the Kindle 3, this new Kindle, and the Touch is exactly the same in size. 5. Wi-Fi – this can be a pro or a con (no 3G) depending on a user’s personal preference. If you travel often and would like to be able to download content anywhere without worrying about getting a wi-fi connection, you’re better off sticking with the K3 or waiting for the Touch/Fire. For me, 3G is not a major issue. 6. Text to Speech and Audiobooks – These two features are lacking in this device. I personally have never used these features on my K3. If you listen to audiobooks or TTS or music on your Kindle, again the K3/Touch/Fire might be better options. 7. Storage – this device can store 2GB which they claim is approximately 1400 books. For me, that’s a massive storage capacity and it will be years before I get close to that capacity. Again, if you download books occasionally and have a moderate Kindle downloaded content on your device, 2GB is plenty. Of course, think ahead and see how much you would expect to download in the coming 2 years (I am assuming the device will be outdated and replaced within this time-frame). 8. Battery life – too early to tell but Kindle battery life tends to be great. Specs state that the battery life of this device is 1 month compared to 2 months for the Touch or K3. 1 month is plenty (Android phones need to be charged every hour!). At least I know that if I’m going on a long flight, this device won’t need charging if I charge it up in advance. 9. Power adapter – this Kindle does not come with a power adapter, only a USB charging cable. You can either buy it separately for $8-10, or use your existing USB power adapter. Any USB adapter would work with the charging cable (previous Kindle versions, Apple’s portable devices, and most HTC phones, come with a standard USB power adapter that would work for this device). There are also plenty of $2-3 adapters available here if you search for USB chargers. Bottom line – the choice between this basic Kindle, the K3 Keyboard, the Touch, and the Fire is really a personal preference. This device itself is meant for the minimalist Kindle user who, like me, reads say a 2-3 books a month, wants a device comfortable to hold, and doesn’t need any fancy bells and whistles on the device. I guess it depends on what you use your Kindle for. If it’s just the basics, this is the perfect device to get. In my humble opinion, the choices: (i) If you have a DX or an old Kindle version, or if you don’t have a Kindle yet and are an average book-reader, this is definitely the one to get – baseline model that is affordable and is a pure e-reader. (ii) If you have Kindle 3 and don’t really need an upgrade, I recommend sticking with the K3, it’s a better device than this one in terms of features. If you do need to upgrade, the Touch is probably a better option because of all the additional features, at a small incremental cost. (iii) If you’re looking for the loaded full-on Amazon content experience with access to all the apps, streaming audio and video, and playing the “strangely therapeutic” Fruit Ninja, wait for the Fire! I sincerely hope this review helps you decide whether this Kindle is right for you. If you are still unable to make a decision, it may be worthwhile to wait for the Touch and Fire to be released, and see the reviews on those devices before making a final decision. 2838 of 2905 people found the following review helpful. There are a few things to know about this particular Kindle that can help you decide if it’s right for you… Here is a list of things to know about this Kindle. 1. You’ll be using an onscreen keyboard with the 5-Way Controller. This is not a problem for setting up WiFi and a little writing but if you are an avid note-taker or do a lot of writing with your Kindle, you might want to opt for the Kindle Keyboard. As for reading, and as a pure reading device. It is awesome… in fact, without the keyboard, audio, and other features I don’t need. This is actually the best one for someone like me who just wants to read. I’ve already successfully transferred my library, downloaded books over WiFi, and borrowed library books through the Overdrive Library eBooks System. My only small point of dissatisfaction is that there are so few good covers and accessories right now (though there ARE some available that look pretty good). All in all, I believe this is the BEST of all the Kindles currently available. Only consider others if you: Hope this helps someone make a good decision! (Brief update: I love this Kindle, but right now the scarcity of good, inexpensive covers for it is a little troubling. The Amazon made leather one with light won’t be available until November or so and there are currently no inexpensive ones to use in the interim. I’ll just have to use it gently for a month or so.) Update on cases: Checking the specifications for the Kindle, Nook Touch, and Kobo: It looks like the Kobo is about exactly the same size and the Nook Touch is slightly longer. If you need a case but can’t find one that you like yet, it may be worth a little hunting to see if a nook or kobo case or cover might fit the bill. 1034 of 1096 people found the following review helpful. If you are a little perplexed with all the various Kindle models and are wondering if this Is the Kindle for you, here are a few questions for you to consider… 1. Do you need text to speech capability or have the desire to listen to mp3′s on your Kindle? If you can live without that, then proceed. This Kindle does not have a speaker thus is not capable of text to speech or playing sounds of any kind including mp3′s. 2. Is color important to you? This is not a color Kindle, it is gray-scale. If you are mostly wanting to read books then this will work for you exceedingly well. The e-ink screen is gorgeous, sharp and provides the ability to change font size, font face and line spacing. It even displays photos quite nicely, but in gray-scale. And you can even zoom in on images. 3. Is a physical keyboard a necessity for you? If you like to make notes and annotations while reading, you may want to look at another model Kindle that has a physical keyboard. Although this Kindle has a screen-based keyboard, it is tedious to type more than a few words or URL’s. It works very well for minimal typing but it’s not for you if you need more than that. 4. Is compact size important for you? Then this is the one to get. It’s thin, light and diminutive in size. Slips easily into a purse, pocket or inside pocket. It is so light which makes holding and reading with one hand for longer periods of time very easy. 5. Do you want to be able to occasionally use a web browser to access a web site? Well surprise surprise, you can do that on this Kindle. It’s an “experimental” feature but it works quite well. It’s been experimental for years, so I’m not quite sure why it’s still labeled experimental. But in any case you can visit websites, save bookmarks and it works. I also own the original Kindle with the SD card slot. Compared to the original Kindle, this new one is svelte. Thinner, lighter and notably, the e-ink on this new Kindle is vastly improved. In low interior lighting with gray overcast lighting outside, I’m able to easily read the Kindle. It is amazing how the screen almost glows, as if it were backlit. Of course it is not backlit and in fact will not work in the dark. But if you have a small reading light, that solves that problem. Otherwise in most other situations you will pleased with the excellent sharpness and clarity of the Kindle text. Page “turning” was very snappy to me especially when compared to my old Kindle. The black page flash that occurs on every page turn on the old Kindle does not occur nearly as frequently with the new Kindle. It now occurs after every 5 page turns. The fact that there is no physical keyboard means that this Kindle is absolutely the easiest to carry Kindle ever. Fits nicely in the hand and the slightly grippy surface makes you feel secure in holding it… it will not easily slip out of your hand. Setup was a breeze. The Kindle immediately identified my Wi-Fi network and as soon as I entered my password using the onscreen keyboard, I was good to go. Signal strength indicated very high on the Kindle and I did not notice any degradation in signal no matter how I handled it. As concerns the onscreen keyboard, it was easy and intuitive to use. I don’t expect to have to use it very often and for me I’d rather have no physical keyboard because that makes the Kindle smaller and easier to pack and go. You still get the typical Kindle tools, such as Highlighting, Notes, Annotations, Public Notes and a few others. You can upload PDF and TXT files and view them. You can easily transfer prior Kindle purchases to your new Kindle. You have the ability to create “collections” Once you’ve created a collection, you add items to it and this is a great way to organize many books. I have not had this model long enough to comment on battery life, but I’m sure that based on my previous Kindle and the specifications that it will excel. I believe that reading 1/2 hour a day will let you go a month before needing a charge if Wi-Fi is off. That’s pretty awesome. It is charged via the included USB cable and that can be from your computer or via an AC to USB power adapter, or in-car power port USB adapter. And don’t worry that the memory has decreased in this Kindle. There is still more than enough memory to hold well over 1000 books. And you archive books too which means they are just a click and a few seconds away from being downloaded back to your Kindle from the Amazon Cloud. Regarding the ads… they are not objectionable. In fact (don’t tell this to the advertisers) I didn’t even notice that there was an advertisement on the home screen until I deliberately looked for it. It takes up just a small portion of the bottom of the screen and is no taller than an inch in height. I don’t know for sure whether all ads are the same size but the one I’m looking at is very unobtrusive. The screensaver ads are full page and don’t bother me at all. And of course, you may just end up getting a good deal on something. I LIKE the ads. Just today I got a couple from an ad that saves me $5 on a $10 Amazon purchase in addition to my choice of a selected list of Mystery/Thriller books for only $1. Love the deals! I think Amazon has another winner on its hands with this ad-supported Kindle. You just can’t beat it for reading and I’m so glad I got it. If you have any questions please leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer them. UPDATE: 10/16/2011 – I had the opportunity to compare the display of my new Kindle with that of a friends who had a Kindle with keyboard. I’m not sure how old his is, but his display actually had a somewhat lighter colored background which made the legibility slightly better in my opinion. I was quite happy with the clarity, sharpness and contrast of my new Kindle until I compared with him. Now I’m a little conflicted. It’s still great, don’t get me wrong, But it’s not an improvement necessarily over the previous generation as far as I can tell. It’s also possible that there are variations in the e-ink display depending on the luck of the draw. I may question Amazon about this and will report back here if I do. I’d still get this in a heartbeat, but just wanted to let you know about the contrast issue. UPDATE: 10/17/2011 – There is a new firmware update for the Kindle that addresses the page refresh issue. The new version is 4.0.1 If installed, you will see an additional option in the Settings panel on page 3 called “Page Refresh.” This allows you to have the Kindle refresh the page at each page turn (the screen flashes black briefly.) Otherwise the Kindle will not refresh the page until after each 5 page turns. UPDATE: 10/19/2011 – I called Amazon Kindle Support to discuss the screen darkness issue I mentioned above. They said they’d send a replacement which I’ve just received. I’m happy to say that the screen background is in fact -slightly- lighter in color on the new Kindle I just received. I’m happy and probably would have still been happy had I not replaced it. But at least I am psychologically satisfied now. The difference in background color was extremely subtle so I wouldn’t worry at all about it if you are happy with your newly purchased $79 Kindle. However there do seem to be some circulating that are more obviously darker and if yours is one of those, then contact Amazon. UPDATE: 12/6/2011 – Wow, the way these specials offers are going, this Kindle is going to end up being free. I just got another $10 Amazon gift card for $5 the other day. Plus a free Audible Audiobook and 50% off a Kindle cover. Loving the special offers. |
Fantastic device – pick your Kindle!