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CoolTech

Straight answers

Questions answered

Every one of these is a question a real operator asked before buying. Answers are complete on their own — no marketing runaround, no 'contact us to find out'.

Basics

What does CoolTech do?

CoolTech is a commercial refrigeration controller with a web console attached. It is installed on the walk-in coolers and freezers, reach-ins, prep tables, display cases and cold rooms you already own, and it runs the refrigeration cycle on them — compressor, defrost and fans. While it does that it reports every reading to one console called CoolTech Central, sends alerts by email and text when a unit drifts out of range or stops reporting, lets you change setpoints and defrost settings from a browser, and keeps the temperature logs a health inspector asks for. It is used by restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, cold storage operators, and refrigeration service contractors.

Is CoolTech a controller or a monitoring system?

It is a controller. That is the difference that matters most when comparing it to anything else on the market. Most products sold for this are sensors that watch equipment run by somebody else's controller — they can tell you a walk-in is warming up, but they cannot do anything about it. CoolTech replaces the control on the unit, so it decides when the compressor runs, when defrost starts and stops, and how the fans behave. The monitoring, alerting and compliance logging are what it reports while doing that job, which is why a problem it finds is a problem it can also fix.

Do I need to buy new coolers or freezers?

No. CoolTech fits the commercial refrigeration equipment you already own. It is wired into your existing walk-ins, freezers, reach-ins and cases by a refrigeration technician during a normal service visit, and takes over the control side — you keep the boxes, the compressors and the coils. Replacing a whole cooler to get remote control and alerting would rarely be worth it, which is exactly why CoolTech is built to retrofit.

How is CoolTech different from a temperature data logger?

They are different categories of product. A data logger records temperature and waits for someone to download it, so you learn about a failure after the product is already lost — and even when it does alert you, it cannot change anything, because it is not connected to the refrigeration controls. CoolTech is the controller: it reports continuously, alerts you while the problem is still fixable, and lets you correct a setpoint or a defrost schedule from a browser instead of driving to the site. It also produces the same compliance logs a data logger produces, so it replaces the logger rather than sitting alongside it.

What happens if the internet goes down?

The refrigeration keeps running exactly as configured. This is a direct consequence of CoolTech being the controller rather than a cloud service: the compressor, defrost and fan decisions are made by the controller on the unit itself, so an internet outage never affects whether your product stays cold. The unit continues recording its own history while offline and uploads the gap when the connection returns, so your temperature log has no hole in it. You lose remote visibility during the outage — not refrigeration and not records.

Can I see all my locations in one place?

Yes. Every unit across every location appears on a single fleet screen, with each site carrying its own timezone so overnight windows and reports read correctly locally. Units can be grouped across sites — for example every walk-in freezer in the estate — and alerts, reports and user permissions can all be scoped to a customer, a location, a group, or a single unit.

Alerts

How fast will I know a cooler is warming up?

That depends on the alert type, and CoolTech tells you the real number for each one rather than advertising a best case. A temperature threshold alert fires once the breach has held for the duration you set — typically 15 minutes — plus up to one reporting interval. An offline alert fires within your chosen silent window plus up to 30 minutes, because a unit that has stopped talking has to be found by a sweep rather than by its own report. Every alert type states its true worst-case detection time in the rule editor.

Will I get alerted every time someone opens the cooler door?

No. A temperature alert only fires when the breach is sustained for a duration you configure, so a door held open during a delivery does not page anyone. That sustained-breach requirement is the single biggest reason operators stop ignoring their alerts.

Can alerts go to a phone as a text message?

Yes. Alerts are delivered by email and by SMS text message. Mobile numbers are stored on each person's profile rather than on individual rules, so when someone changes their number you update it once and every rule follows. A per-number rate limit means a runaway condition pages once instead of flooding a phone.

What if the first person does not respond?

Escalation chains handle it. A rule can notify the manager immediately, the on-call phone fifteen minutes later, and the whole admin group after thirty — with each step choosing its own recipients and its own channels. Acknowledging the event in the console stops the chain. Business-hours rules can hold non-urgent texts until working hours, and critical alerts always break through regardless.

How do I know my alerts are actually working?

Every notification CoolTech sends is recorded with its recipient, time, and delivery outcome, and administrators can see that record in the console. This matters more than it sounds: on most systems an alert channel that has quietly stopped working looks exactly the same as a quiet week. On CoolTech it does not.

Compliance

Does CoolTech produce HACCP temperature logs?

Yes. CoolTech generates HACCP temperature reports for any date range, for a single unit or a whole group, and exports them to CSV for inspectors, auditors and insurers. Because the readings are recorded continuously and automatically, the log is complete whether or not anyone remembered to walk around with a clipboard. Reports can also be generated and emailed on a recurring schedule.

Can I prove who changed a setpoint?

Yes. The setpoint audit report shows who changed which setpoint, when, and to what value. Configuration changes are kept as a dated revision history per unit, and administrative and security actions are recorded in a separate searchable audit trail.

How long is temperature history kept?

Retention is configurable, with a guaranteed floor of recent history retained per unit regardless of the retention setting. Most operators keep enough history to cover their inspection and insurance requirements; CSV exports let you archive further back independently.

Installation

How long does installation take?

Most installations are a same-day job for a refrigeration technician. Because CoolTech takes over the controls on equipment you already own, the work is a normal service visit: the controller is fitted to the unit and wired to the compressor, defrost and fan circuits, then provisioned with a single command and enrolled from the console by an administrator approving its request. There is no image to build, no server to stand up, and no per-site software to maintain.

Do I need to install anything on my computers?

No. CoolTech Central runs in a web browser on a desktop, tablet or phone. There is nothing to install, and nothing that stops working when someone's laptop is replaced.

What happens when a unit's hardware fails?

The replacement carries the original unit's identity, history and settings across, and the old endpoint is retired and linked to its replacement rather than deleted. Your temperature history and your compliance record survive the hardware.

Does CoolTech tell me before hardware fails?

In many cases, yes. Each unit reports its own equipment health, and CoolTech raises predictive alerts on degradation — storage wear, media faults, cabling problems and response-time degradation — so a unit gets replaced on a scheduled visit rather than during a Saturday night failure.

Pricing & support

How much does CoolTech cost?

There are two costs, and the first year of one of them is free. You pay once per unit for the equipment that goes on the refrigeration unit. CoolTech Central — the console, alerting, reporting, unlimited users and support — is then included at no monthly cost for your first twelve months, after which it is a per-unit monthly rate. Exact figures depend on how many units you run, how many locations they sit across, and whether you want remote control or monitoring only. Call CoolTech at +1 (660) 229-5700 or email cooltech.us.llc@gmail.com and you will get both numbers in writing before you commit to anything.

Is the first year really free, or is it a limited trial?

It is the whole product for a full year. Not a stripped-down tier, not a feature-limited trial, and not a thirty-day countdown: every alert rule, every report, every user and full support are included for the first twelve months at no monthly cost. You still pay once up front for the equipment on each unit. CoolTech carries the first year because a demo cannot tell you whether an alerting system is trustworthy — only a year of your own equipment can.

What happens after the first year?

CoolTech Central moves to a per-unit monthly rate. That rate is quoted in writing before you buy anything, so it is never a surprise twelve months later, and it steps down as unit count rises — a twelve-store estate does not pay a single-restaurant rate. Nothing stops working on its own, and if you choose not to continue you keep the equipment and can export your temperature history to CSV.

Is there a contract or minimum term?

There is no long minimum term. Units can be paused when a site closes for a season and reinstated later without losing their history, and paused units are not billed.

Who do I talk to when something goes wrong?

The people who build and support the platform, directly. CoolTech is run by Cooltech, LLC out of Warrensburg, Missouri, and serves customers across the United States and Canada. Support reaches a person on +1 (660) 229-5700 or cooltech.us.llc@gmail.com — there is no call centre in between.

Can a refrigeration contractor use CoolTech across all their clients?

Yes, and it is built for exactly that. Customers are fully separated, so a service company can run every client from one login without any client seeing another's equipment. Per-customer billable unit counts export for invoicing, and staff can be scoped to only the customers they actually service.

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