Refrigeration Maintenance
Refrigeration Maintenance Grand Rapids MI
How to properly maintain your commercial freezer:
Freezer maintenance is critical if you want to extend the life of your investment. A freezer is similar to your car in that it will require maintenance in periodic and frequent intervals. The frequency of intervals is dependent upon the usage of the freezer, its general location, and the environment it is kept in. Regardless, maintenance should be scheduled annually, quarterly, or monthly and adhered to as if it were the law.
Maintenance is simple and can easily be performed by the consumer or a hired hand. If however, you are unable or unwilling to commit an employee to this, we strongly recommend our customers sign up for a scheduled PM (preventive maintenance) program.
When we perform PM, we take the time to record the make, model, and serial number of each unit. We have a checklist with the items we examine and clean. Additionally, we record all of this information on a PM card as well as document any items that may need further attention.
These PMs are recorded on file in a database and copies are mailed to the customer for their records. We view this as an insurance policy.
The term “PM” traditionally stands for “Preventive Maintenance” but we also like to think of it as “Peace of Mind”.
Common maintenance tips for all freezer owners:
1.) The condensing unit (typically found underneath or above self-contained units) must be cleaned on a regular basis. This can easily be done with a vacuum cleaner, compressed air, or water depending on the location of the freezer. We recommend cleaning the condensing unit with a power washer. You want to remove the “dust bunnies” from the fans, compressor, and condenser.
IMPORTANT NOTE WHEN USING COMPRESSED AIR: Many people instinctively use the air nozzle to blow the dust bunnies through the condenser. DO NOT DO THIS!
Doing this can result in plugging the fins as the “dust bunnies” collect in-between the fins rather than push through them. Furthermore, the ones that do pass through end up on the fan(s) behind the coil and can get on the compressor. We can’t emphasize enough how damaging this can be!
Video How To: Cleaning Your Condenser
2.) Periodic cleaning of the inside of the cabinet is also important to preserve your investment. Melted ice cream and even more so – orange juice – can both be very corrosive and cause the paint to peel and rust. Many health inspectors ding retail owners when they discover rust and corrosion.
3.) A scheduled maintenance inspection by a certified refrigeration technician is strongly recommended. If you have qualified technicians look over your unit, they can typically find potential problems and make adjustments to ensure the longevity of your freezer. We recommend an annual inspection and insist the technician cleans the unit thoroughly during his inspection.
4.) Check over the fans and lights inside the cabinet. Often times, we get machines in and quickly are able to discern how well a machine was cared for or neglected simply by how clean (or dirty) the lights and evaporator (upper-inside the cabinet) fans are. The fans and lights should be kept clean and free from obstructions. The fan grill can easily be dented or pushed up into the blades of the fan causing damage to the fan, motor, etc. Also, the lights and associated wiring need to be checked over for cracking, fraying, deterioration, and shorts. This is particularly important with TRUE GDM-49F model freezers. These units may have issues with the door lights and defrost wiring as the wiring is wrapped around the freezer’s lower hinge on the door (by the factory).
5.) Inspect the door gaskets. Here again, this is a must-do. Gaskets have a life dependent upon how well they are cared for. Check the gaskets for cracking, fraying, rips and tears. A bad door gasket can make your freezer work overtime and leak out cold air. If you have a bad gasket, don’t panic. A gasket replacement is fairly simply and relatively inexpensive.
Contact Weidenfeller Refrigeration today for more information on commercial refrigeration maintenance!
Rick and Tammy, we are so glad to hear that you like our pork! You are more than welcome to give us an order and we will have it ready whenever you can make it down. It was great meeting you both and the freezer runs great! We just love it and I know the customers like being able to pick out what they want, helps with compulsive buying too! LOL. It looks so nice full of pork! Blessings to you both as well and we hope you have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. 🙂
I have been doing business with this company for over 3 years. They service all of my coolers every 6 months or so to make sure they are working properly. I have bought 3 coolers over the years some new and some used. The level of service and promptness to service calls is top notch. Great family owned company to work with!
Thank you for getting me the cooler. We had some really cold icy weather last week so fedx was unable to deliver Monday. I have it now in place and it looks good. Thank you for doing such a great job wrapping and palleting the cooler. I will try to send a picture with it filled with product. Thanks again
Fast response time! Knowledgeable staff! Very professional and easy to work with! Cost effective! Weidenfeller Refrigeration has been my sole provider of service for the 4 industrial coolers and 1 industrial freezer on my blueberry farm for the last year. Always available at a moments notice and consistently shows up in my time of needs. Emergency after hours service was also available to me! They will take the time to explain the problem in a way anyone can understand, offer different solutions, and leave it to the customer on exactly how to handle it. Rick has even saved me money several times by maintaining several wear and tear parts rather than just replacing them. 5/5 would recommend to friends, family and other industry professionals.
I just received a new Migali Mega Top prep table / cooler from The Freezer Depot. I saved over 20% off of the traditional brand names and like this unit better than the (2) named brand units I currently have in my kitchen. This new unit is awesome!
Rick has been a great resource for me in figuring out the changing refrigeration needs of my small business. He always has a good selection of units, great service, and straight, honest answers. And he delivers!
The Freezer Depot provided me a top of the line Master Bilt freezer in great condition at an amazing price. I saved thousands of dollars! Best of all, I was given excellent service and support. I’ll never buy a new freezer again!
Buying through the internet is often a tentative experience at best but with Rick and The Freezer Depot it was pure pleasure. Initially, I was shopping for a two door freezer and two door cooler but then decided on getting three door units. Rick was informative with the answers to my questions and made recommendations when asked. He made my purchase extremely comfortable and easy. The units I purchased needed to travel to Fairbanks, Alaska and Rick did an excellent job packing them to ensure their safe arrival. They are an excellent addition to our store and are helping to increase sales. You will be my first choice with future needs. Thank You, Rick.
We purchased a used freezer from The Freezer Depot and was very happy with it. We did run into a few problems with it which Rick came out and addressed in a timely manner. After a couple of times Rick chose to replace it with a upgrade he had at his facility at no cost to us. We really appreciated the service and commitment from Rick to stand behind his product and resolve any open issues, thanks again.
Just wanted to say thanks for coming out to Ann Arbor to take care of the problem with our freezer. I took your invoice to the other company who had misdiagnosed it, and they gave a full refund of the charge for that day. (I’m still out their other fees for the Kelvinator that we traded in to you, but oh well.) In the future we will call a refrigeration tech in our area as you suggested, not heating/cooling. Thanks for the help and if you need any testimonials for your website we can provide one 🙂
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Byron Center
Comstock Park
Grand Rapids
Grandville
Holland
Hudsonville
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Middleville
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Wyoming
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