Tips For Commercial Refrigeration Maintenance For Small Business Owners
Whether your small business has a refrigerator, a freezer, or both, the best maintenance plan includes them being professionally serviced on a regular basis, usually between two and four times a year depending on the size of the unit and other variables. But what you do between maintenance visits is also a crucial aspect of keeping your units at the top of their form. Here are two tips for maintenance you can do yourself on a regular basis to ensure that your commercial refrigeration units perform reliably and don't leave you in need of emergency repairs.
1. Keep an eye and ear out for irregularities
If you pay attention when you open and close the doors to your refrigeration unit, you'll be able to detect changes such as faulty seals that make the door looser and easier to open or damaged in any way so you can remedy the situation by replacing the seal or repairing it with a clear adhesive. You'll also notice if seals begin to get a bit grimy, indicating that it's time to clean them. Other things to do to keep an eye and ear out for include:
- Occasionally checking that the thermostat and thermometer agree
- Noticing whether doors are closing automatically as they should
- Paying attention to how the compressor sounds when it runs so you'll notice any bad sounds
2. Clean regularly, especially the compressor coils
Like the rubber seals on the doors, the entire inside of your unit will benefit from occasional cleaning. The most crucial part of the unit to regularly clean between maintenance visits is the compressor coil. It can accumulate enough dust and dirt to seriously hamper its performance, meaning that not only is there more wear and tear on the system, but you're also wasting energy because the unit will need more electricity to accomplish what it needs to do. To clean the compressor coil, simply shut off the circuit breaker for safety and then brush or vacuum dust away from the coil. The evaporator coil needs to be cleaned annually as well for best function, but you can have that done at your regularly scheduled preventative maintenance visit.
Consult with a maintenance technician, such as those at A1 American Commercial Refrigeration, LLC, for advice on how frequently to have preventative maintenance visits scheduled and combine these two tips with maintenance visits for a thorough plan that will keep your refrigeration units in great shape for years to come.