Refrigerated Cabinet Maintenance: Why Is It Important and How Can We Support You?

A refrigerated cabinet is used to display food, drink, and other goods that require chilling or freezing accessible so that customers can access them. The most common example of this is the chiller/freezer units in the supermarket, farm, or corner shop, etc.

However, without regular maintenance, your refrigerated cabinets can develop faults or even break down and bring business delays (and costs) that impact customers.

So, what do you need to know about refrigerated cabinet maintenance?

What Is Refrigerated Cabinet Maintenance?

Refrigerated cabinet maintenance includes carefully checking and correcting any potential issues with your cabinet, so it stays in tip-top condition for as long as possible – helping it last for as long as 10-15 years.  

Commercial Refrigeration Maintenance Checklists Can Include:

While every company does it differently, refrigerated cabinet maintenance can include:

• The right clearance to allow for airflow (Cabinets generate a lot of heat so there needs to be a minimum of 50mm and a maximum of 500mm between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling, plus around the unit on all sides to ensure adequate airflow.)
• Level flooring (Truly flat flooring ensures that doors operate effectively and allow for the proper drainage of condensate from the evaporator – an essential part of the cooling system.)
• Only load the unit with products when the cabinet has reached normal operating temperature (Loading before the operating temperature has been reached can cause hotspots – check this with a thermometer to be sure.)
• Check door gaskets (Notoriously delicate, gaskets seal the cool air in and keep out warm air, stopping your cabinet from working too hard and making them more energy efficient. These can be replaced if they become damaged.)
• Ensure all keys are functional and removed from locking elements
• Evaporator and drain hole (Check for blockages that can stop operation or cause a loss in refrigeration.)
• Clear condensate drain lines
• Monitor thermostat operation – adjust as needed
• Monitor temperature and cycling
• Check compressor operation and control wiring
• Check refrigerant level
• Oil motors – but only if oil ports exist
• Check the unit thermometer is functional and accurate (This can cause goods to spoil or even give customers food poisoning if they are ingested.)
• Check suction line insulation
• Inspect door hinges and door closers – replace as needed to ensure doors remain operational and can keep the cool air in, while warm air is kept out.
• Check and adjust defrost timers

Does Refrigerated Cabinet Maintenance Include Cleaning?

Simply put, yes!

Keeping your refrigerated cabinet clean is a really important part of regular maintenance and can stop really small niggles from developing into much larger-scale problems that can be expensive to fix later down the line.

Cleaning Checklist For Refrigerated Cabinet Maintenance

• The full exterior of the refrigerated cabinet – to ensure ventilation and fans remain uninterrupted
• All and any shelves or racking
• Any doors
• Door gaskets – but be gentle as they can be easy to accidentally damage!
• Pressure clean and degrease condenser coils – these must be cleaned a minimum of 4 times per year, once disconnected from mains power to keep you safe.
• Evaporator and drain hole

It is also encouraged to disinfect everything with a disinfectant spray once cleaned, as this can remove any remaining hidden nasties that can affect the health of others.

Is there anything I can’t do myself?

Many companies are exploring retrofitting energy-saving doors to their refrigerated cabinets to keep refrigerated air contained and refrigerate products more efficiently.

However, we always encourage people to find experts to do this for them. With an expert, retrofitting doors can really improve the look and performance of your cabinet, while also saving you money and being quick to install.

Doing it yourself can lead to costly mistakes, which can mean you need to replace the entire unit – so it’s best not to risk it.

How Often Should Refrigerated Cabinets Undergo Maintenance?

Should maintenance be professional or can it be completed in-house?

Depending on the frequency of the maintenance and the works required, you may need to bring in a professional.

In-house maintenance

It is possible to carry out and track daily or monthly maintenance using your own in-house teams.

Professional maintenance 

We would always recommend professional maintenance servicing:

• Quarterly – we can offer a service/maintenance contract if required.
• For 6 monthly checks 
• Annually – which will make sure all components are working before an upcoming audit.

Need Help With Refrigerated Cabinet Maintenance? UK Cold Room Spares Can Help

Even if you have a qualified maintenance team, finding and ordering the right parts for your refrigerated cabinet parts can be complex and time-consuming, especially if you (and they) aren’t sure what you need.

As such, UK Cold Room Spares can assist with:

• Purchasing cabinet spares on our website
• Identifying old parts that need replacing – if you or your maintenance team find a part that needs replacing but can’t identify it, you can send us a photo and we’ll be in touch to help.

If you have any questions or need some help with refrigerated cabinet maintenance or parts, our friendly team at UK Cold Room Spares is just a call away.

To speak to us, call us on  01886 833 381or email us at spares@mtcss.co.uk and we’ll be in touch as soon as we can.