A commercial refrigeration unit is designed to keep food, beverages, and other perishable items at a specific temperature. If you own a food service business and have one of these units in your establishment, it’s critical that you have it inspected regularly by a professional who specializes in commercial refrigeration. If not maintained properly, these systems can cause serious problems for your business, including lost revenue due to spoiled inventory.
Temperature Problems
It is important to keep the temperature of your commercial refrigeration unit in check, especially if you are storing food or beverages. Refrigeration systems use a compressor and refrigerant to cool and heat the air inside the unit. When there are problems with these components, it can cause serious issues with temperature regulation.
In order to maintain safe temperatures inside your commercial refrigerator, check for these common problems:
- Broken thermostat
- Leaking seals on doors and lids
- Low/high ambient air temperatures
Power Issues
If you’re having problems with your refrigeration unit, the first thing to check is whether or not the power is turned on. If it doesn’t seem to be working, try flipping all of the breakers in your electrical panel and see if that fixes anything. If that doesn’t work either, then it’s possible you have an overload on one of your circuits. A short circuit might also cause problems with your unit’s power supply; again, flip all of the breakers in your panel and see if that solves things for you!
Ice Buildup Inside the System
If you see ice in the drain pan, it could be a sign of an issue with your system. Ice buildup can cause damage to the equipment and can cause safety issues like fire hazards. As soon as you notice ice in the drain pan, call a professional service provider right away to have them resolve the problem so that it doesn’t get worse.
Unusual Noises
If the unit is making unusual noises, it’s important to listen to the sound and determine if there is a pattern. If you have been hearing the same noise for a while, it could be time to contact a repair service. Listen carefully and try to determine if the noise changes when you use different parts of your refrigerator or freezer. For example, does the sound get louder or softer as you open or close doors? If so, that might indicate that one part of your unit is not working properly.
Compressor Issues
If your compressor is not working, it can cause many different problems. Some of these problems are:
- Your refrigerator doesn’t cool at all.
- Your freezer doesn’t freeze and/or ice buildup occurs in the freezer compartment.
- The refrigerator temperature control does not work properly (the unit cycles on and off frequently).
- You hear an unusual sound when the motor starts up—this may be an indication of a problem with the compressor or its wiring.
Evaporator Fan
One of the more common causes for your refrigerator to run poorly is a bad evaporator fan. The evaporator fan is the one that blows cold air into the unit, so if it’s not working properly, you’ll have a hard time getting things cool inside. Common problems with this component include a bad thermostat and/or capacitor.
Ice in the Drain Pan
If the ice is not removed from the drain pan, it can cause problems with the compressor. The compressor is a very expensive part of your refrigerator. If it’s broken, you’ll need to call for repairs before taking any other steps!
If the ice is not removed from the drain pan and it’s allowed to sit there for an extended period of time, it can also cause problems with your evaporator coil. Some refrigerators have an internal fan that pulls warm air from inside your home through this coil; if water has accumulated within this cold plate and dries out over time, then this will result in reduced efficiency when keeping food chilled within your appliance.
If you own a refrigeration unit and one of the symptoms above occurs, call a service provider immediately.
If you own a refrigeration unit and one of the symptoms above occurs, call a service provider immediately. In many cases, if left unaddressed for an extended length of time and continued use, damage to your unit can occur which may lead to expensive repairs or replacement. The sooner you call the better!
The longer a problem is left unaddressed, the greater chance that further damage could occur in addition to what already has been caused by not properly maintaining your equipment. This could be anything from being a fire hazard or health hazard due to mold growing inside the unit (from condensation forming) or it could even be safety hazardous if someone falls through an open access panel while working on it (which is common).
Commercial Refrigeration Service in Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland
If you are looking for commercial refrigeration service and want a reliable company that focuses specifically on commercial systems, give us a call at 703-649-2977 or request service here.