As always, our British summer flew in quicker than expected and we’re now working our way towards the winter months. With this in mind, it’s important to give your converted container the same care and attention throughout the colder periods of the year as it is when the sun is out too.
Damage to shipping containers caused by frost can create a series of costly repairs and in many cases, those repairs are actually easily prevented by taking a few simple steps to care for your conversion. Whether you’re hiring a container, or if you’ve bought or converted a container, it’s important to make time to perform a few simple checks and general maintenance to your shipping container to ensure that you find yourself problem-free when the snow melts.
To protect your shipping container from frost damage during the winter months, we would recommend the following:
Keep an eye on your heaters
When using your container, keep heaters on a low setting if possible and ensure that all are switched off when not in use. If your heaters are continuously left on in your converted shipping container, condensation may become a problem and during the colder seasons, this condensation can quickly become frost. It’s important to keep your container heated whilst in use but it’s equally important to take the necessary precautions to not cause any damage during Winter by checking that all heaters are off when the container is vacant.
Ensure pipes are insulated
All pipes should be fully insulated to protect your container against any frost damage. At Universal Containers, appropriate insulation comes as standard with all converted containers. Don’t forget that if you do have a problem, we offer an off-site repair service so you can rest assured that if you do run into any issues, we’re happy (and fully trained and qualified) to help.
Check your water sources
If you have a kitchenette in your container, or if it is a canteen unit, or even toilet blocks, it is imperative to ensure that water is drained and switched off when not in use. If not, this can quickly freeze during winter months and end up costing you a lot of money to repair. To avoid these unnecessary costs, just be sure that you double check all your water sources.
Maintain moving parts
Frost and general winter elements can have an extremely negative effect on the moving parts of your shipping container so we would always recommend that you maintain these parts with simple preventative measures. A good idea would be to pay close attention to door locks, padlocks, handles, and other moving parts, by adding a small amount of oil or grease. This will stop the mechanism freezing up during winter.
Not as difficult as you thought?
Of course not. It’s amazing that such little maintenance can prevent such huge damage to your container so this Winter, be vigilant and protect your container from the elements. If you’re still unsure about how to protect your shipping container from frost damage, or perhaps you’re not certain if it has been adequately insulated, please feel free to call our friendly team on 0845 050 330 or email andy@universal-containers.com for no obligation advice.
