It’s not uncommon for COOLTEC to store decedents that weigh in excess of 250 lbs. In order to accommodate large bodies, we decided to have two sizes of shelves. Most racks that I am familiar with have shelves that are 18 or 24 inches wide. To accommodate large bodies, we decided to design shelves that are 36 inches wide. As mentioned in a previous blog, COOLTEC can hold 32 decedents. Twenty of the shelves are 24 inches wide and 12 are 36 inches wide. Having the 36 inch wide shelves did not cause us to lose decedent storage space in the cooler. What we gained was the ability to easily move large bodies on and off shelves.
If one decides to make a percentage of their shelves 36 inches wide, it will require a wider door. The average cooler door width is 34 inches which easily accommodates the 24 inch wide shelves. However, in order to accommodate the 36” inch wide shelves, we had to purchase a customed 48-inch wide door. The 48 inch door cost an additional $1,000 through Store It Cold. After using the 48” door for the past 3 months, and moving bodies in and out on a daily basis, I would recommend the larger door even if one decided not to use the custom 36 inch wide shelves. It just makes moving the racks in and out so easy. The $1,000 investment is a small price to pay for the added convenience the larger door will provide.
Choosing the optimum door size for a cooler may not seem that important, but, for COOLTEC Body Storage, choosing the 48 inch wide door proved to be a great decision.
