How to Have Fewer Repairs on Your Commercial Refrigerator
There are many industries where a commercial refrigerator is beneficial such as restaurants, caterers, grocery stores, school cafeterias, and many more. Some people may even have one in their homes. A commercial refrigerator won’t be beneficial anywhere if it has broken down. There are a few things every owner should be mindful of to prevent a decrease in performance or worse a total breakdown on their refrigerator. Ideas and practices such as being aware of how your refrigerator normally operates, having a regular cleaning schedule, routine in house maintenance, as well as regularly scheduled professional maintenance, will go a long way towards keeping your repair costs down.
Knowing Your Refrigerator
Most people might not know why the electrical system in a kitchen matters, but it is a factor that you should consider if you want optimal performance from your commercial refrigerator. All electrical equipment has a certain voltage that it needs to run on and using the wrong voltage for appliances can cause a lot of damage. This generally shouldn’t be a problem because you usually won’t be able to plug something into an outlet it is not meant for. Refrigerators are also recommended to be on their own circuit to lessen the chances of the breaker tripping and causing your food to spoil.
Having a big refrigerator is great right? It is, but you will want to be mindful of the space you have to work with when placing it. Having it somewhere that the coils cannot ventilate properly will cause the coils to heat up and the compressor will seize up, which is something no one wants to happen. Check the recommended clearance space for your commercial refrigerator and be sure that it is placed in the optimal space.
Recognize Warning Signs
You should also familiarize yourself with how your refrigerator normally sounds when running properly. Weird noises like humming, whirring, or clicking that aren’t usually there are a dead giveaway that something is not functioning the way it should. It could be something simple that you could take care of yourself like built up gunk, or something more serious that you need to have a professional to look at. It is never a good idea to leave noises like that unattended, because doing so may lead to your refrigerator failing. It is much easier to fix something small early on than to leave it and have a huge repair bill because something has been neglected.
The refrigerator is a piece of equipment meant to keep food stored at a cool temperature. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of the warning signs of problems is an unsteady or too high temperature. You should watch for these things and have a professional diagnose your problem and fix the problem as soon as possible.
Cleaning and Maintenance
It is pretty obvious that equipment used for storing food should be cleaned thoroughly and often, but there are some less obvious areas that can cause problems if neglected. The drainage system should be cleaned and have clogs removed routinely. You will also want to wipe down gaskets with soapy water, checking for rips or tears. Fan blades should be wiped down as well, be sure not to get moisture in the motor. Condenser coils should be cleaned with a nylon brush or with an approved cleaning solution to remove grease from the coils.
You will be able to do some of the maintenance for your refrigerator yourself. You should take care of things such as the alignment on the doors and making sure the lighting inside the refrigerator is replaced when it burns out.
Some things will require a maintenance and repair professional like Touchstone Commercial Services. You should have routinely scheduled maintenance done on your refrigerator around twice a year. This will extend your equipment’s working life and keep it running properly throughout that time.
Avoiding downtime and repair costs should sound wonderful for anyone running a kitchen. Using the routines and ideas above is an excellent way to avoid future headaches. Your commercial refrigerators will also run more efficiently for a longer period of time. Take a little time out of your day, implement some of these suggestions and save yourself valuable time and money.
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