If that isn’t possible, you could at least stick something like, well, a stick into the condensor fans to stop them. Poking a hole in the condensor would probably suck though. I doubt refrigerant in an enclosed space is a good thing.
Especially in a commercial unit. They frequently use ammonia as a refrigerant.
If an OSHA inspector sees that someone will get a little slip of paper. And pay $$$$$$$ to clear it.
The condencer will be on the outside of the unit.
I have never seen controls on the inside. Except on some units a switch to turn off the evaporator fans.
I am reminded of this one bar I used to hang out in back in West Texas. It had a walk-in cooler. One of the bartenders, not the brightest bulb in the bunch, was in there one time when someone closed the door on him, not knowing anyone was inside. He actually did not know that the plunger-looking device on the door was the “doorknob” and would open the door if pushed in. So he ended up waiting in there for some time until another bartender went in there looking for something, not knowing he could have easily opened the door himself all the while.
I’m thinking of a whole bunch of “blonde” jokes and how this guy was probably turning the knob. 
I worked at a Cala/Ralphs/Kroger ~2001-2004 in the deli, and there were no intercoms in either the walkin freezer upstairs, the milk walkin, nor the deli walkin. I was never scared, if only because the areas in front of the walkins were high traffic and would never have anything blocking them anyway. I did get trapped in an elevator for an hour or two once during rolling blackouts, though.
:smack:
In a walk in cooler and/or freezer there is a thermostat and almost always a toggle switch that turns off the evaporator.
In short, the thermostat is in the same walk in cooler you’re locked in to!.
Turn the thermostat up, or simply turn the toggle switch off and you’re no longer being refrigerated.
In plant environments, like ice cream manufacturers or very large refrigerated distribution warehouses, yes.
Your run-of-the-mill bar/pub, McDonald’s, Friendly’s, IHOP, no.
Usually R12, MP39, R404, R22 or some other refrigerant.
I was thinking “only in Texas,” but I wasn’t going to say it.
I’m glad you didn’t, it might have upset someone.
Can you lock them from the inside, say if someone were shooting up the place and you wanted to hide? Assuming you were lucky enough to get in there first.
Not the one in our warehouse. As I recall, the inside of the door was bare, except for the pushrod that opened the latch on the outside. All the locking mechanism was on the outside of the door.
The butler in Tomb Raider II never seemed any worse for the wear after being locked in the freezer.
I currently work at a restaurant with a walk-in refrigerator. On days when the truck comes in i am usually inside the walk-in for a half hour to 45 minutes putting away the produce. And it gets cold in there, i can’t imagine being locked in there over night would turn out well at all.
But blonde jokes won’t. You have not tried to tell my wife one.