Prevent Walk-In Refrigerator Breakdowns With These Simple Steps

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When it comes to keeping your walk-in refrigerator in great shape, an affordable ounce of prevention is definitely worth an expensive pound of cure. You can prevent nightmarish breakdowns from putting a wrench in your restaurant operations by following these simple tips.

Always Keep an Eye on Those Rubber Gaskets

Chilled air is always looking for a way out of your walk-in refrigerator. If you're not careful, a cracked or worn gasket could be all it needs to escape. When that happens, the refrigerator has to work harder to make more cool air and maintain the refrigerator's set temperature. Eventually, it becomes a losing battle where the end results are higher energy bills and a steep repair bill for replacing burnt-out components.

You can easily prevent a major catastrophe by simply taking a close look at the unit's rubber door gaskets:

• The gaskets should be free of all cracks, pits, gouges and other flaws that could allow chilled air to escape. If the gaskets look old and weathered, they should be replaced as soon as possible.
• The gaskets should also be free of any signs of deformation, which could prevent the gasket from forming an air-tight seal.
• Listen out for any whistling noises emanating from the refrigerator door. This is usually a sign of gasket failure, as it indicates air rushing past a portion of the failed gasket.

Be Vigilant about Dust on the Condenser Coils

Over time, dust and debris found in the air can settle down and accumulate on the refrigerator's condenser coil. The performance hit this causes is akin to covering your car's radiator with a blanket as it struggles up a steep grade. The added heat not only disrupts your refrigerator's performance, but it can also cause greater wear and tear than usual on your equipment.

Cleaning the condenser is a relatively straightforward task that only requires a few tools. In most cases, you can simply wipe away or vacuum the dust with a shop vacuum. You can also blast stubborn dust out of the coils with compressed air or a strong shop vacuum with reversible air flow. Don't forget to clean up the outer surfaces of the refrigerator when you're done with the condenser coil cleaning.

Keep Those Drains Free of Clogs

Condensation is a fact of life for any refrigeration product, and walk-in refrigerators are no different. The drain mounted at the base of the unit helps direct interior condensation into the drip pan, where it eventually evaporates under the heat of the compressor. If the drain becomes blocked, you could end up with a flooded floor that'll eventually freeze.

It's a good idea to clean the refrigerator drain on a daily basis to ensure it doesn't get clogged up. As an extra precaution, you'll also want to keep containers full of oils, crumbs, leaves and other potential debris as far from the drain opening as possible.

In addition, use a bubble level to make sure the walk-in refrigerator remains level. If it's pitched forward, it could allow the condensate to run all the way to the front of the pan and leak through the screw holes.

Be Careful with Acidic Foods

You wouldn't expect the very foods you store your walk-in refrigerator to cause problems, but it can happen. Certain foods can emit acids that slowly contribute to corrosion of refrigerant lines and other components. To keep this from happening (and because it makes good sense from a food safety standpoint), it's a good idea to keep your refrigerated foods in sealable plastic food storage containers.

These tips can help keep refrigeration troubles from getting in the way of your business. For more information, contact a local commercial freezer repair company. 

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18 June 2015