20ft Refrigerated Container

By Christian LeBlanc, second-generation operator, and Paul LeBlanc, owner, Van Blanc Ent. Inc.

A 20ft refrigerated shipping container, or reefer container, is a shipping container with insulated walls and a refrigeration unit built into one end. It holds a set temperature for as long as it has power. The 20ft reefer is the smallest refrigerated container in the global fleet and the specialty unit Van Blanc gets asked about most across our four Brantford yards. Operations that outgrow it step up to the 40ft High Cube reefer. Anyone still mapping cold-chain basics can start with our field guide to refrigerated containers before picking a size.

Buyers who call about a 20ft reefer tend to fall into six groups. A florist needs post-harvest cool-down for cut flowers, and a craft brewery wants a cellar for its fermentation tanks. A mushroom grower needs a temperature-stable substrate room. A Holland Marsh vegetable farm needs somewhere to stage harvest overflow. Restaurant and food-service groups want seasonal cold storage, and Health Canada licensed cannabis facilities want climate-controlled cultivation or cure rooms.

Every one of those buyers needs a set temperature held inside a sealed box, day in and day out, and wants that box on site within a week. The 20ft reefer does the job. Power is where first-time buyers get caught. Carrier’s PrimeLINE manual rates its base unit at nominal 380/460 volt, 3-phase, 50/60 hertz power, and Hapag-Lloyd fits its reefers with a 32 A plug. Most Ontario homes and many farms run on single-phase service, so the site needs three-phase power or a converter first. The three-phase supply question for a reefer is its own short read. Off-grid or temporary sites run a diesel genset. Van Blanc goes through the power question on every reefer quote, because getting it wrong is the costliest mistake a first-time reefer buyer makes.

20ft Reefer Containers for Sale in Ontario

Van Blanc sells 20ft reefer containers outright from stock at our four Brantford yards, and each unit is quoted by its own container number. The refrigeration unit is half of what you are buying, so we start it for you in the yard or on a video call before you commit. You watch the display pull the box down to set-point, read the hours on the controller, and look over the door gaskets. Payment is on delivery, never a deposit.

Delivery runs 1 to 3 days across Ontario, Eastern Ontario included, Ottawa and Kingston too. Far-north addresses are quoted per route. The truck needs a clear path at least 12 ft wide and at least 14 ft of overhead room along the approach. The room a delivery truck needs on your lot covers the rest of the site check. Where a tilt-deck cannot reach the pad, a crane truck can set the reefer instead.

Greenhouse operators around Leamington and the Essex greenhouse cluster tend to order ahead of winter, so the reefer is powered up before the first snow. Have the electrical ready before the truck arrives, whatever the address. A reefer that lands on a pad with no matching receptacle sits idle until the electrician finishes. The Van Blanc quote names the plug, so your electrician can wire for it in advance.

20ft Reefer Container Specs, ISO 22R1

The figures below are the 20ft refrigerated container’s own. They run smaller than the dry box of the same length, because the thermal envelope takes its share of the inside. For most buyers, what each set-point actually asks of the unit matters more than the last centimetre of cargo length.

The R in 22R1 designates “refrigerated” with the refrigeration unit integral to the container. The inside runs smaller than a standard 22G1 dry container for three reasons. The insulation occupies about 10 cm of wall thickness on all sides. The refrigeration unit takes about 90 cm of length at the front end, and the T-bar aluminium floor adds a few centimetres of depth above the steel. Net cargo volume is approximately 27.7 m³ against 33.2 m³ for the dry equivalent, a 16 percent reduction for the thermal envelope.

What is the capacity of a 20ft reefer container?

A 20ft reefer gives you roughly 28 cubic metres of space held at the set-point you choose and a payload in the 27.5 tonne range, depending on the build. Hapag-Lloyd’s specification for its 20′ refrigerated container (ISO 22R1) lists a slightly larger inside than the figures Van Blanc prints, so the two sit side by side below. Where they differ, our table above uses the lower volume and the lower payload.

The tare is the number that matters on delivery day. A 20ft reefer weighs about 3,000 kg empty. That weight comes down on four corner castings, so the pad has to be level and firm under each corner. Buyers sizing up the bigger box can compare the 40ft High Cube reefer’s tare and payload before choosing. The same Hapag-Lloyd sheet rates its reefers to hold temperature in ambient heat up to 50°C, with set-points available as low as -40°C on that fleet. A 20ft reefer bought for an Ontario site works inside the -30°C to +30°C range our table gives.

Reefer Units: Carrier, Thermo King, Daikin

Three brand families dominate the global reefer market, and each one handles defrost and set-points its own way. Van Blanc carries units from all three in the Brantford yards at different times. Call the yard at 519-754-6844 to ask which brand a given unit runs, and keep the brand differences in mind.

For most Ontario buyers (florists, breweries, mushroom growers, restaurants), the brand on the unit matters less than the unit’s hours-of-use history and the local parts availability. We disclose unit make, model, and approximate hours during the quote. If your application demands proven reliability (cannabis, pharma, food-service compliance), we recommend a refrigeration technician’s inspection before you buy. The inspection is an hour of a technician’s time against a machine that will run for years.

20ft Reefer Grades, Used and New

Grade on a reefer means two things at once, the box and the machine, and the machine is the one that decides the price. A cargo worthy reefer with a low-hours unit can be a stronger buy than a one-trip box that has run hard. A new (one-trip) reefer adds clean paint, factory-tight gaskets and a unit under 5,000 hours, and on any grade the hours on the quote cover the rest.

Every Van Blanc reefer quote is landed: the unit from our Brantford yards plus delivery priced by distance and access, stated together as one number. Multi-bin orders get a per-box discount on delivery starting at three units. Ask the electrician to wire to the plug and voltage on the unit’s nameplate. That electrical work is a separate cost paid to a licensed Ontario electrician, and how ESA inspection works on a container circuit is worth reading before that quote arrives.

20ft Reefer Use Cases in Ontario

1. Florist post-harvest cold chain

Cut flowers need 2-4°C within hours of harvest to extend vase life. Wholesale florists serving the GTA, the Toronto Flower Auction supply chain, and Niagara region greenhouse operations use 20ft reefers for on-site cool-down. The box holds stems between cutting and shipment. One-Trip grade is typical because cleanliness for product contact matters, and the Niagara greenhouse belt is where most of those units go. Electricity is the running cost, and it moves with cycle time and ambient temperature far more than with the brand on the unit.

2. Craft brewery fermentation cellar

Lager fermentation requires 8-12°C for two to four weeks. Conditioning runs 0-4°C for another month or longer. A 20ft reefer holds 4-6 stainless fermenters or 8-10 cornelius kegs in conditioning. Cargo Worthy grade is the default because the reefer sits inside the brewery building, exterior aesthetic does not matter. Multiple Ontario craft breweries from Cambridge to Welland run 20ft reefers as fermentation cellars, and the ones that outgrow the box move to a glycol-cooled brewery container next.

3. Mushroom growing substrate room

Most commercial mushroom species (button, oyster, shiitake, lion’s mane) require 12-18°C with high humidity (85-95% RH) for fruiting. A 20ft reefer with a humidifier add-on holds the temperature and humidity stable while a separate dehumidifier handles excess moisture during the spawn-run phase. Norfolk County and Wellington County host several Ontario mushroom operations using reefer fleets; the fruiting-room build in a container covers the humidity side that the reefer alone does not.

4. Holland Marsh harvest staging

The Holland Marsh produces carrots, onions, celery, leeks, and Asian greens at scale. During peak harvest (August through October), permanent cold-storage capacity at the farm fills before the produce can move to the Ontario Food Terminal. A 20ft reefer at the field edge holds harvested product at 4°C for 24 to 72 hours, which buys the grower time to move it. The Bradford and Marsh growers are the reason our trucks know Highway 400 in October. Multi-bin orders of 3 to 6 reefers per large Holland Marsh operation are routine.

5. Restaurant and food-service overflow

Multi-location restaurant groups, catering companies serving large-event venues, and seasonal food-service operations (festival catering, wedding catering, golf course kitchens) use 20ft reefers as portable overflow walk-in cooler capacity. The reefer arrives in 1 to 3 days, plugs in, and provides immediate refrigeration without the construction cost of a permanent walk-in.

6. Health Canada licensed cannabis cultivation and post-harvest

Federally licensed cannabis cultivators use 20ft reefers for vegetative-stage propagation rooms (18-20°C, lower humidity) and flowering rooms (with custom HVAC retrofit). They also run post-harvest cure rooms in them (15-18°C, 60-65% RH for 30 to 60 days). The Health Canada licensing process requires specific documentation of temperature stability and access control; our reefer specifications match what the standard licence application asks for. We work with several Ontario cannabis operators on facility-expansion reefer purchases, usually alongside a grow room built in a dry container for the vegetative stage.

Power Supply: Three Ways to Run It

Every 20ft reefer needs continuous electrical power to run, and an Ontario site can supply it in three ways.

1. Plug in to site power (most common). The reefer’s own power cable ends in a 32 A plug. Hapag-Lloyd lists it with 4 poles according to CEE, on a fixed cable of up to 18 m (49 ft). A site with three-phase service gets a matching receptacle from a licensed electrician, and our three-phase guide covers that IEC 60309 plug pin by pin. A single-phase farm or home adds a rotary phase converter sized 15 to 20 hp. Carrier also offers an optional autotransformer that lets a PrimeLINE run on nominal 190/230 volt, 3-phase power. If the existing service is already at capacity, the local utility may require a panel upgrade first.

2. Diesel genset (off-grid or temporary). A 15-20 kW diesel generator powers the reefer continuously. Fuel consumption runs roughly 1.5 to 2.5 litres of diesel per hour depending on ambient temperature and cycle frequency. Best for remote sites (off-grid cottages, mining camps, remote agricultural operations) or short-term temporary use. Operating cost is significantly higher than grid electricity (roughly 3 to 5 times the equivalent kWh cost).

3. Solar plus battery (specialty). A 6-10 kW solar array plus 30-40 kWh battery bank can run a 20ft reefer continuously if the duty cycle is favourable (above-zero operation, mild ambient temperature, daylight-heavy season). Capital cost is the highest of the three by a wide margin and operating cost is near zero; the off-grid solar container build sets out the array and battery math. Best for permanent off-grid cottage food storage or specialty operations where grid power is not available.

20ft Reefer Container Cost Drivers

Van Blanc quotes every 20ft reefer as one landed number: the unit plus delivery from our Brantford yards, with delivery charged per kilometre from our terminal. These six things move that number:

• The box grade: new (one-trip), cargo worthy, wind and water tight, or as-is.
• The refrigeration unit itself, meaning its make, model, controller generation and the hours on the meter.
• The duty you need, since frozen storage asks more of the unit than chilled storage does.
• Distance, because delivery is charged per kilometre and the postal code sets it.
• Order size, with the per-box delivery discount starting at three units.
• Site work, as the electrical circuit is paid to your licensed Ontario electrician, not to us.

Quotes hold 14 days. The bare reefer is what Van Blanc sells. Electrical installation is paid to a licensed Ontario electrician separately, and two quotes from electricians who have wired reefers before is a sensible start. Once the unit is running, the defrost cycle and set-point controls are the first thing to learn.

The 1,000 Dollar Facebook Reefer Scam

The 20ft reefer is occasionally targeted by Facebook Marketplace scams, though less often than the 20ft or 40ft dry containers. Its price point is higher, so the scam ask stands out. Listings claim a one-trip or cargo worthy 20ft reefer at a fraction of any yard’s price, with delivery included from a Toronto, Vaughan, or Mississauga seller. The deposit ask is about a thousand dollars, and the account goes the way of the disappearing Marketplace seller 48 hours after the e-transfer clears. The reefer does not exist.

Defence: come walk one of our Brantford yards. Van Blanc can start the refrigeration unit while you watch, the temperature display reading, the gasket condition, and the hours-of-use logged on the unit. A seller asking half of market will not start the refrigeration unit for you, because there is no unit to start. Our policy is no deposit on phantom inventory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Placement requirements vary by municipality. A quick call to your local planning office before delivery is the easiest way to confirm what works for your property.

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Related Reading

• 40ft High Cube refrigerated container specifications
• 20ft standard dry container specifications
• How reefer containers work, from power to cargo
• Insulated containers without a refrigeration unit
• Buying reefers and dry boxes as a farm co-op
• Doors, vents and insulation added to a container
• Spotting a fake reefer listing on Marketplace