I was just asked. “What’s the difference between the Austwide AFD930 and the FED SD930”? “They look the same”.
I must agree they do look the same. They look like they’re made by the same manufacturer and they possibly are.
This would mean that the cabinet, the doors, the castors the electronic controller are possibly all the same.
Also, their dimensions are the same and they’re both rated at 32°C Ambient.
What is different then?
Our ASF930 is fitted with a Full Auto defrost, Forced Air Refrigeration System. Whereas the FED SD930 is only fitted with a static refrigeration system.
The FED Model with its Static System means the shelves are fixed in place because they are the evaporator (the evaporator is the heat exchanger that removes the heat form the freezer).
A static evaporator means;
(1) It’s a cheaper system to manufacture so you should pay less for it.
(2) The shelves will have ice build-up and will require manually defrosting. When defrosting you’ll need to remove all the stock out of the cabinet.
(3) You cannot adjust the shelves. They are fixed as the steel tubes cannot be bent.
(4) After the doors are opened any temperature recovery period will be longer as the evaporator is static. Heat transfer is slower.
Austwide’s ASF930 with its Fan Forced System does not suffer these limitations;
(1) All the shelves are completely adjustable. You can position them to best suit your products or remove them entirely.
(2) There is no defrosting to worry about. The defrost is fully automatic.
(3) Any temperature recovery is quicker as the frozen air is moved through out the cabinet by fans.
So, is the Austwide ASF930 better than the FED SD930 for general storage and display of frozen foods? Too Right it is.
Mark Orford
Mark Orford is a qualified Refrigeration Mechanic and been involve in Design and Manufacturing of commercial refrigeration for over 35 years.