As a manager, you might have a recurrent nightmare: the breaking down of your refrigeration units. People involved in this kind of business will perfectly understand you: when something like this happens, you lose money not only on the equipment, but also on the food you were storing. And a double loss has a very negative impact on your business. We’ve already given you several tips on how to take the most of the refrigeration units at your store, but sometimes accidents just happen. If that’s the case, don’t panic or assume that is going to be a huge cost for your company. There are lots of things you can do to solve this problem quickly and affordably.
- Call professional technicians
Refrigeration units are very expensive equipment and you need them working constantly to assure the efficient running of your business. It doesn’t make sense to try to fix them by yourself; a skilled technician will save you both money and effort.
2. Which parts are prone to break and how can you identify them?
Once the technician comes it can be very helpful if you can tell them where you think the problem is. There are some parts in a refrigeration unit that wear and tear more easily than others and they all differ in the signs the machine gives to show this.
Compressor
It moves the coolant through the condenser and evaporates coils. It also controls the fan that drives cold air in. If you hear a loud noise coming from your unit, you can almost be certain that your compressor is not working properly.
Evaporator Coil
It pulls the heat out of the air. Whenever it breaks, the liquid inside the coils freezes up and accumulates, creating multiple layers of frost that end up by breaking the entire system.
Condenser Coil
It removes free heat from inside the refrigerator unit. Its failure puts stress on the compressor, leading to a breakdown.
3. Unplug
Before the technicians arrive, make sure the unit is unplugged – and it has remained like that for at least 3 hours, so the temperature has stabilised. Check out that your unit is disconnected from any gas connection incorporated in the machine. You should also discharge the capacitor on top of the unit’s motor. You can use a 2-watt resistor to do this.
4. Defrost
As we have said, layers of frost derived from the failure of the evaporator coil might have been the cause of the breakdown of your unit. Provided there’s enough time, defrost the entire unit and empty it so the technicians can access the underside in easily.
5. Clean Off
After defrosting, cleaning can be a very good idea, so every piece of the unit is accessible to the technicians. Use warm, soapy water and a soft piece of cloth or a sponge. Things such as steel wool are completely forbidden, as they scratch the coating of your machine. Harsh chemicals are not safe to use – remember you’re keeping food inside.
6. Check with a Backup Thermometer
All refrigerator units come with an internal thermostat that shows the temperature inside – and this helps you to discover when the unit is not working properly. However, sometimes the thermostat itself can be broken. To identify this problem, you should have a backup thermometer to contrast the values of the thermostat. If they don’t match, you should tell the technicians as soon as they come.
7. Clean around
If your refrigerator unit is in a storage area, chances are that you have other machines or boxes next to it. While you wait for the technicians to arrive, clear off the area so they can move around and change the position of the unit easily.
8. Be Present
Remember that, as the manager, your presence is not only required but essential once the technicians arrive. They can have lots of important questions that just you are in the position to answer. You should also have the instructions of your refrigerator unit to hand in case they might be useful.
Accidents happen, but they won’t have a huge negative impact on your company if you’re prepared. As soon as you start noticing any strange behaviour in the performance of your storage unit, contact our experienced team of technicians for advice. Paragon Temp guarantees a speedy response. Our service is 24/7 so we’re always in time to help you with the running of your business. Keep up-to-date with Paragon Temp on our Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus pages.
