Single Pallet Vacuum Cooler

The Cold Change Single Pallet Vacuum Cooler is a compact industrial vacuum cooling system designed for businesses requiring rapid pre-cooling in a smaller-capacity machine.

Also referred to as a 1 pallet vacuum cooler, vacuum chiller, vacuum pre-cooler or vacuum cooling machine, this system provides growers, packhouses, food processors and specialist producers with access to industrial vacuum cooling technology without requiring a large multi-pallet installation.

Designed to cool one pallet per cycle, the Single Pallet Vacuum Cooler is particularly suited to smaller growers, specialist crops, lower production volumes, product trials and operations requiring a dedicated vacuum cooling machine for a particular product.

For businesses requiring greater capacity, view our 2 Pallet Vacuum Cooler or explore the complete Cold Change Vacuum Cooler Range.

Compact Industrial Vacuum Cooling

The Single Pallet Vacuum Cooler provides the same fundamental vacuum cooling process used in larger industrial systems in a compact format.

Products are loaded into a sealed vacuum chamber before powerful vacuum pumps reduce the pressure inside the vessel.

As pressure falls, the boiling point of water also falls. A small quantity of moisture within or on suitable products evaporates at low temperature.

This evaporation absorbs heat from the product, allowing suitable fresh produce to be cooled extremely rapidly.

Unlike conventional air cooling, which gradually removes heat from the outside of the load, vacuum cooling can remove heat throughout suitable products.

This makes vacuum chilling and vacuum pre-cooling particularly effective for certain fresh produce applications.

What Can Be Vacuum Cooled?

Cold Change vacuum cooling machines can be configured for a wide variety of products, including:

Mushrooms
Lettuce
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Leafy vegetables
Spinach
Herbs
Celery
Sweetcorn
Fresh vegetables
Flowers and cut flowers
Turf
Selected bakery products

The optimum vacuum cooling cycle varies according to the product, product weight, starting temperature, required final temperature, packaging and loading configuration.

Cold Change can configure the system and cooling programs around the customer’s particular application.

Single Pallet Mushroom Vacuum Cooler

Mushrooms are particularly well suited to rapid vacuum pre-cooling.

Freshly harvested mushrooms can retain significant product heat, making rapid temperature reduction an important part of post-harvest temperature management.

A Single Pallet Mushroom Vacuum Cooler can be particularly attractive to smaller mushroom growers, specialist producers or businesses wanting a dedicated mushroom cooling machine.

It can also provide a practical entry point for growers considering vacuum cooling before progressing to larger production capacities.

Read our Vacuum Cooling Mushrooms Guide to learn more about mushroom vacuum cooling, cooling cycles and post-harvest temperature management.

Lettuce & Leafy Vegetable Cooling

Vacuum cooling is widely associated with lettuce and other leafy produce.

Suitable leafy vegetables can be cooled rapidly throughout the product, helping growers and packhouses remove field heat shortly after harvest.

A single pallet lettuce vacuum cooler can provide a compact solution for smaller farms, specialist growers, research facilities and businesses processing lower volumes of high-value fresh produce.

Read our Vacuum Cooling Lettuce Guide and Vacuum Cooling Leafy Vegetables Guide for more information.

Broccoli, Cauliflower & Fresh Vegetables

Broccoli continues to respire after harvest and can generate heat while awaiting cooling, packing and transportation.

Rapid post-harvest pre-cooling can therefore form an important part of maintaining the required cold chain.

Depending on the product and application, a vegetable vacuum cooler can provide a rapid method of removing field heat before produce enters cold storage or refrigerated transportation.

Vacuum pre-cooling can also be considered for cauliflower, herbs, leafy greens and other suitable vegetables.

Why Choose a Single Pallet Vacuum Chiller?

Not every producer requires a large vacuum cooling system.

A compact 1 pallet vacuum chiller can be particularly useful for businesses that:

Process smaller production volumes
Grow specialist or high-value crops
Require a dedicated cooler for a particular product
Want rapid cooling without a large chamber
Have limited installation space
Require different cooling processes for separate products
Want to introduce vacuum cooling into an existing packhouse
Require a machine for product development or cooling trials

For operations that subsequently increase production, Cold Change can also supply larger multi-pallet systems.

Benefits of Vacuum Cooling

Depending on the product and application, industrial vacuum cooling can offer:

Rapid removal of field and product heat
Fast cooling cycles
Uniform cooling throughout suitable products
Rapid post-harvest temperature reduction
Faster transfer into cold storage
Improved cold-chain temperature management
Support for maintaining product quality
Potential extension of shelf life
Repeatable automatic cooling programs
Reduced cooling demand on downstream cold rooms
Compact cooling solutions for smaller production volumes

Intelligent PLC Control

Cold Change vacuum cooling systems can be supplied with a modern touchscreen HMI and PLC control system.

Cooling programs can be configured for different products, allowing operators to select the appropriate program for the load being cooled.

The control system can manage and monitor the vacuum cooling cycle automatically, helping provide consistent and repeatable operation.

Manual control backup can also be incorporated depending on machine specification.

Optional Smart Remote Monitoring

Cold Change vacuum coolers can also be supplied with an optional Smart Monitoring System.

Depending on the selected specification, remote monitoring can provide access to information including:

Energy consumption
Cooling cycle times
Product temperatures
Service alerts
Machine alarms
Breakdown alerts
Historical operating information

Remote connectivity can also assist Cold Change engineers with machine diagnostics and technical support.

Energy-Efficient Vacuum Cooling

Correct equipment selection is important when designing an efficient vacuum cooling system.

Cold Change can select and optimise the vacuum pumps, refrigeration system and cooling programs around the actual application rather than unnecessarily oversizing equipment.

Important design considerations include:

Product being cooled
Product weight
Starting temperature
Required final temperature
Required cooling time
Number of cooling cycles per hour
Daily production
Ambient conditions
Available electrical supply

Energy-saving options can also be discussed during system design.

Refrigerant & Low-GWP Options

Different refrigeration configurations and refrigerants can be offered according to the application, installation country and local requirements.

Cold Change can discuss lower-GWP and natural refrigerant options where appropriate.

The refrigeration system can be selected to work alongside the vacuum system to achieve the required cooling performance while considering energy efficiency and environmental requirements.

Custom-Built Vacuum Cooling Machines

Even with a single-pallet system, pallet dimensions and production requirements can vary significantly between customers.

Cold Change can therefore manufacture custom vacuum cooling systems around individual applications.

Systems can be configured around:

Pallet dimensions
Product weight
Required chamber dimensions
Cooling temperatures
Production capacity
Factory layout
Loading requirements
Refrigeration requirements

Contact Cold Change if your pallet, trolley, rack or product container requires a customised chamber.

Need More Capacity?

As production increases, a larger vacuum cooler can provide significantly greater throughput.

The 2 Pallet Vacuum Cooler is the next step up from the Single Pallet model and provides capacity for two pallet loads during each cooling cycle.

Larger operations can also consider the 4 Pallet Vacuum Cooler, 8 Pallet Vacuum Cooler or 10 Pallet Vacuum Cooler.

View the complete Cold Change Vacuum Cooler Range to compare available capacities.

Other Pre-Cooling Technologies

Vacuum cooling isn’t the only method of rapidly cooling products.

Cold Change also supplies:

The most appropriate technology depends on the product, required cooling time, production volume and final temperature.

Vacuum Cooling Research & Guides

Vacuum cooling has been researched and used across numerous fresh produce applications.

For more application-specific information, visit our:

These resources explain how vacuum cooling can be applied to different fresh produce products and the importance of rapid post-harvest temperature reduction.

Why Cold Change?

Cold Change specialises in industrial vacuum cooling, vacuum chilling and cold-chain technology for fresh produce and food applications.

Our systems are developed with input from British engineers with decades of combined refrigeration and vacuum cooling experience across international markets.

Cold Change can support projects throughout the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America, the Middle East, Asia and other international markets.

Whether you need a compact one-pallet machine or a large industrial multi-pallet vacuum cooling system, we can configure the equipment around your product and production requirements.