Top Five Ways To Extend The Life Of Your Commercial Refrigeration Equipment & Freezers
You invest a lot of money in your commercial restaurant/refrigeration equipment. Lets talk about the best ways to make your refrigeration equipment last longer, and work better. A typical residential refrigerator that might sell for $1000.00 will cost $3,000.00 as a commercial one. As a business owner it pays to do the little things to do things to extend the life of this equipment. In my experience, as an expert service technician, there are five things you can watch for and do to make this happen.
Condenser Coil Cleaning Of Refrigeration Equipment
One – Clean the condenser coil. The condenser coil is the finned coil on the outside of any refrigeration equipment. It has a fan that blows air over it and it is next to the compressor. The term for this group of items is the condensing unit. Sometimes the condensing unit is located outside away from the refrigerator/freezer and connected by refrigeration tubing. There are three ways to clean this coil. First, use a chemical coil cleaner which is sprayed on with a manual pump sprayer. Usually this method of cleaning is used when the coil is in a very greasy environment like a kitchen with fryers. It is important to rinse off the chemical solution very thoroughly or the copper coils will develop leaks. Secondly a brush like a stiff paint brush can be used to clean the coil. This can be done if the air around the coil is not filled with smoke or oil. Thirdly, a shot air, co2, or nitrogen can be used to blow out the dust and dirt. Again this method will not work on grease covered coils. Care should be taken while cleaning the coils to keep from pushing them flat, because the coils are fragile. This will hinder airflow over the coils.
Clean Or Replace Rubber Door Gaskets
Two – Clean the door gaskets, and replace with new ones if they become damaged. Be careful when cleaning the gaskets so not to damage them. Do not use a sharp object like a knife. Just wipe them down with a wet towel. Over time the gaskets may sag or come loose or tear. Replace them because without proper seal around the door warm air will get into the cooler and make it run continually in an effort to maintain the thermostats temperature setting. This constant running will shorten the life of the compressor and condenser fan motor.
Don’t Leave Your Food Containers Open
Three – Cover all food containers that are in the refrigerator. Many foods are acid based and the acids can travel by air into the evaporator coil. The evaporator coil is on the inside of the cabinet. When these acids land on the coil they can eat away at the copper tubing and create leaks. A leaky evaporator coil is very expensive to repair and can cause other parts of the refrigeration system to become damaged. If the foods are airtight this corrosion of the copper coils will be minimized.
Fix Or Replace Power Cord
Four – Check your power cord and repair or replace if damaged. Most commercial refrigeration is on casters for moving them around. Often the casters will damage the cords when they run over them. If the cords fray the hot and the neutral wires can touch which could cause personal injury or burn out the compressor.
Maintain Space For Airflow
Five – Keep clearance for good airflow. Most commercial equipment is designed to push up against a wall. It is always better to keep a space of at least one inch behind the equipment and if possible on the sides also for the air to flow into and out of the condenser fan. Also make sure the condenser fan and the evaporator fan are running. These fans typically burn out after about five years. If you use plastic wrap or sandwich wraps these often get sucked into the condenser coil and shut off the airflow. If the airflow stops to the condenser coil it can burn out the compressor.
These five easy to do things will keep your refrigerator or freezer working a long time. If you do not have time to make follow these steps call Marathon Air, and we will set up a preventative maintenance schedule to check and clean all your refrigeration equipment.