Cooler Doors
American Made Strip Curtains
Strip curtains, also known as strip doors, plastic flaps, cooler flaps, and plastic door flaps are critical for ensuring a food producing facility keeps their products fresh, their coolers cool, and their energy consumption to a minimum. Any restaurant, grocery store, convenience store, bakery, produce distributor, seafood processor, and drink manufacturer will tell you that they are necessary to keep products fresh, costs down, and equipment running longer.
Functionality
The doors are critical for making sure coolers can maintain their temperature while deliveries are being made and while employees are retrieving ingredients for making food. If the cooler door is open and a strip curtain is not installed, the cooler temperature can rise 20 degrees within 15 minutes due to a lack of barrier between the warm air outside and the inside of the cooler. It can take hours to bring that cooler temperature back down to the proper levels after the temperature has risen due to the door being left open. Therefore, the strip doors are necessary for every business that needs to refrigerate their foods.
They can pay for themselves in as little as two months, through energy savings and reduction of food spoilage. There is nothing worse than throwing away product that has not been consumed due to negligence and a lack of preparation for daily business activities. Plastic curtains are also necessary for reducing outside debris and other environmental materials from entering a facility.
This type of doors can be installed inside of exterior roll-up doors to insulate a business, keep birds from flying in, and prevent dust and other contaminants from entering the space. This is especially critical for major produce, seafood, bakery, and food manufacturers that load large amounts of food on pallets for trucks to deliver to restaurants, grocery stores, supermarkets, meat markets, and anyone else that sells these products.
What is a strip curtain?
A strip curtain is a series of plastic strips used as a door to prevent cold air from escaping walk-in coolers and freezers.
Why do people use strip curtains?
Strip curtains are designed to save on energy consumption, reduce food spoilage, and increase the lifespan of compressors in walk-in boxes. Strip curtains can also be used to prevent dust, debris, birds, and other outside contaminants from entering a workspace. Strip curtains are a perfect combination of economical and effective for various applications.
Do they come in different sizes?
Yes, all are made to order and can be completely customized. The most common widths for strip curtains are: 4”, 6”, 8”, and 12”, but there are wider options as well.
Can they be made for freezers?
Yes, they can be made with a special formulation of PVC to withstand temperatures as low as -60 degrees Fahrenheit.
How do you hang strip curtains?
Strip curtains have a variety of different hardware options for various door applications. If you have space above the jamb in the header, then there are bars that can be drilled above the door and the strips can hang down from that bar. If you do not have space above the door, there are hardware systems that can be drilled into the top of the door jamb, or on the inside of the jamb to accommodate this door set up.
Are there heavier duty curtains?
Yes, there are ribbed strip curtains for heavy duty traffic. Typically, ribbed strips are used in applications where there is a lot of traffic, and in particular motorized traffic like forklifts, scissor lifts, and cherry pickers. The ribbed part of the strip is a reinforced spine that sticks out and concentrates the impact at the tip to reduce cracking, scratching, and any other damage that could come from the traffic.
Do strip curtains come in colors?
Yes, strip curtains are available in many different colors. The most popular strips are clear, but there are many other options as well. Safety orange is a great strip color choice for the two end strips to signal where forklifts should avoid driving. Amber material is great for reducing sun and UV exposure. There are also colored, opaque strips that can be used to make doors or walls in case a building needs to be sectioned off.
Can I make my own?
Yes, strip curtains are available for purchase by the roll, and the hardware is also available to be purchased by the foot.
Why do people choose strip curtains over air curtains?
Strip curtains are a more economical option than air curtains, and they are just as effective for their intended purpose.
Why do people choose strip curtains over high-speed roll-up doors?
Strip curtains are a more economical option than high-speed doors.
How long do they last?
It all depends on the way they are treated. Strips can last as little as 6 months and as long as 20 years. On average, they last at least 1-2 years.