Aside from the cost of the building itself, one of the largest capital expenses that business owners are likely to incur is the purchase of a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Companies rely on HVAC systems to keep their customers, employees and clients happy and comfortable.
Without a working HVAC system, the work environment can be distracting and uncomfortable for employees, and customers are likely to try and get in and out of your location as quickly as they possibly can. Investing in a quality HVAC system, however, ensures that customers and employees alike are content and satisfied.
Because commercial HVAC systems in Eugene, OR represent such a substantial investment, many business owners want to know precisely how long they’ll last, so that they can budget accordingly moving forward. Of course, there’s no set-in-stone answer as to how long HVAC systems last, because it largely depends on the operating conditions, the amount of maintenance that the business invests in the equipment and a slew of environmental factors.
Generally speaking, an HVAC system that’s well cared for will last between 10 and 15 years. Here are just some of the factors that can affect the longevity of an HVAC system that business owners should consider both before and after purchasing a system for their company:
Maintenance matters: One of the most important things that you can do to extend the life of your HVAC system is invest in routine preventative maintenance. This will help you ensure that your system continues to operate as intended for months and years to come, and will help you reap the best possible return on your investment.
Construction quality: While higher quality HVAC systems do indeed cost more money, they’re almost always worth the extra investment. The construction quality will go a long way toward determining just how long your company’s HVAC system will be up and running.
Local climate: Because HVAC systems work to maintain a consistently comfortable temperature and ambient humidity, the local climate of your business will also determine the system’s longevity, at least to a degree. Damper climates or climates with lots of extreme heat waves and cold snaps could end up damaging your system.
Proper installation: It’s important to have your system installed by a trustworthy professional with extensive knowledge of how to best install commercial HVAC systems in Eugene, OR. Failure to install your system correctly the first time around could end up substantially shortening its lifespan and reduce the amount of time that you can enjoy its heating and cooling powers.
Since 1995, American Refrigeration Inc. has been a trusted source for maintenance and care for commercial HVAC systems in Eugene, OR. We’re proud to provide each of our clients with quality, dependable HVAC and refrigeration services that they can rely on. We possess the skills, expertise and tools necessary to successfully keep commercial cooling and heating systems in prime condition. Reach out to one of our friendly representatives today to learn more about what we can do for you!
If you operate a business where having a commercial ice machine is necessary, then you know how important this relatively simple piece of machinery is—and what a pain it can be when it stops operating correctly. When this nightmare scenario happens to you, it can be frustrating for you and disappointing to customers—and ultimately affect your bottom line.
Fortunately, American Refrigeration Inc. is here to help with all your ice machine repair and ice machine maintenance in Eugene, OR. Here is an overview of how cleaning and proper maintenance for an ice machine works, and why you should never put it off.
Cleaning your ice machine
Keeping your ice machine nice and clean will help keep it functioning properly, and ensure your customers get a quality product. How often your ice machine needs to be cleaned will depend on its size and capacity, and how many customers you are serving ice in a given day.
Here’s the great thing: you can clean your ice machine yourself, rather than calling a service person every time. The next time you have someone provide routine ice machine maintenance in Eugene, OR, ask them to show you how to properly clean the ice machine.
Proper routine maintenance
In addition to cleaning, your ice machine will also need routine maintenance to ensure it works properly. While cleaning is something you should be able to handle yourself, ice machine maintenance needs to be handled by an experienced professional.
A lot of things can go wrong with your ice machine—it can start producing slush, or stop producing anything at all. If you want to avoid having this happen as much as possible, be sure to invest in regular, routine ice machine maintenance in Eugene, OR from an experienced, fully qualified professional. That way, you will have one less thing to worry about.
Don’t hesitate to get help
If your ice machine seems to be working just fine, it can be easy to put off cleaning it for a few weeks. It might even be tempting to skip one or two routine maintenance appointments.
This impulse is understandable—after all, as a business owner or manager, you have a lot of different things to take care of at all times. But when it comes to ice machine maintenance and ice machine cleaning, procrastinating simply is not a risk worth taking. An out-of-commission ice machine could put your business’ daily profit in serious danger, but routine ice machine maintenance and cleaning is an easy way to help prevent this from happening.
Call American Refrigeration Inc. today
Do you have questions about ice machine maintenance? Do you want to learn how to clean your own ice machine? Do you need to figure out a schedule for ice machine maintenance in Eugene, OR?
If so, you are in luck—American Refrigeration Inc. can help with all of the above and more! Give us a call the next time you need help with your ice machine, or with your refrigerator, cooler or freezer. Our experienced, friendly professionals look forward to helping you!
Do you own or operate a business that uses an ice machine? Whether it is a restaurant, cafeteria, movie theater or other place of business, you need to make sure that your ice machine is working properly at all times, so that your customers will enjoy their time there.
That is where American Refrigeration Inc. comes in. We have ample experience with ice machine maintenance in Eugene, OR, and are here to help. To that end, here are answers to some frequently asked ice machine questions.
How often should my ice machine be cleaned?
It is imperative that you have your ice machine cleaned on a regular basis—otherwise, it can easily become dirty or clogged, which can result in really bad service for your customers. Fortunately, the team at American Refrigeration Inc. can provide this cleaning.
How often your ice machine needs to be cleaned depends on factors like how big it is and how many customers you serve on a daily basis. Our team will work with you to come up with a cleaning schedule that makes sense.
What if my ice machine is just making slush?
Occasionally, your ice machine might stop producing fully formed ice cubes, instead putting out a slushy substance somewhere in between water and ice. This is a common issue, and a sign that your ice machine needs some maintenance. When you notice your ice machine has started producing slush, give your ice machine repair and maintenance service a call right away.
Do I need a filtration system in my ice machine?
A filtration system can be built into your ice machine from the start, or you can add one at any time. A filtration system is highly recommended, as it will both extend the life of your ice machine and ensure you are giving your customers the best possible product. It is a win-win for all involved!
What do I do when my machine stops making ice?
When your ice machine stops making ice, there are three things you can quickly do yourself to troubleshoot the situation: make sure the ice machine is fully plugged in, ensure that the breaker has not tripped and check to see that the ice machine is getting enough water supply.
Once you have done these three things, if your ice machine still isn’t making ice, then it is time to call in the professionals for assistance.
How much ice should my machine produce?
The capacity of your ice machine should depend on how many customers you will be serving on a daily basis. Typically, commercial ice machines will produce between 50 and 2,000 pounds during a 24-hour period. Consult an expert to learn what size ice machine you will need to purchase.
If you have additional questions about ice machines and ice machine maintenance in Eugene, OR, please feel free to get in touch with American Refrigeration Inc. anytime. Our experienced, helpful team is here to ensure you get quality service, and that your ice machine stays in tip-top shape.
With enough use, all walk-in coolers are going to get dirty eventually. It’s important that you keep up with your general maintenance and cleaning to make sure that any spills or other issues that occur don’t lead to persistent, unpleasant issues, such as odors that linger all the time in the space.
While unpleasant odors can simply be the result of regular use or spills that haven’t been properly cleaned up, they could also be a symptom of a much larger problem, such as a mold or bacteria growth somewhere inside your walk-in. Considering the fact that most walk-in coolers are used for food and beverage items, these types of issues need to be corrected immediately, or else you run the risk of having products that get contaminated, ultimately costing you a significant amount of money in lost inventory. This is a problem many small businesses simply cannot afford to have.
Here are some issues to consider when you begin to notice unpleasant odors lingering around your commercial walk-in coolers in Eugene, OR.
Steps to take
If your commercial walk-in cooler is more than two or three years old, it becomes easier for odors to get trapped inside the walls and flooring. This isn’t necessarily symptomatic of trouble—a little bit of odor is going to be natural, especially if the cooler gets a lot of use and houses a lot of food or other fragrant items. However, if bacteria gets trapped in these areas, then you could be looking at some trouble, as it can grow and multiply, resulting in these odors becoming stronger and fouler over time.
So what should you do if you notice odors starting to form in your cooler? The best thing you can do is thoroughly clean it out.
First, empty out all of your inventory into another cooler—you might not have another walk-in cooler available, but portable coolers with ice will do in a pinch. Remove all the shelves, bins and containers from the walk-in to clean those separately. Simple soap and water will be a good cleaner—you don’t want to use harsh chemicals, as they could damage the walls and surfaces of the unit. Baking soda and white vinegar are also effective cleaners, because vinegar is a great agent to fight against mildew and odors. Clean off the surfaces as soon as you spray your cleaner (whichever cleaner you decide you’ll use), and allow all surfaces to completely dry before you bring back in all the shelves and products.
Another good way to absorb odors in your walk-in cooler is to set out a bowl of charcoal briquettes, fresh coffee grounds or baking soda. All of these are natural odor fighters and can help you keep those unwanted smells at bay.
For more tips and information about what you should do if you start to have unpleasant smells lingering in your commercial walk-in coolers in Eugene, OR, contact the team at American Refrigeration Inc. today and we’ll be happy to assist.
No matter what purpose you’re using a walk-in cooler for, it’s important you make sure the system is properly designed so you don’t waste money keeping it cool. This means having proper insulation levels so you are able to more effectively maintain a cool temperature.
When you run your own business, it’s important to place an emphasis on efficiency in as many areas of your operation as possible. Insulation can help you maintain the efficiency of your commercial walk-in coolers in Eugene, OR, as it keeps temperatures regulated at your desired level of coolness while also lowering the costs of utilities, as your equipment won’t have to run as constantly to maintain that temperature. It also is beneficial in that it protects your inventory—by keeping the inside of the cooler at your desired temperature, you don’t have to worry about losing any products that have to be refrigerated.
Considerations when looking at commercial walk-in coolers
As you shop around for a walk-in cooler, consider the temperature you’ll be keeping your unit at while it’s in operation. Temperature and insulation often go hand in hand, and different temperatures may require different types of insulation.
The quality of the insulation you look at is measured by R-value, also occasionally called R-factor. The R-value gauges how resistant a material is to heat flow. The type of foam that gets used in insulation, as well as the age of that foam, are two of the biggest factors in determining what the materials’ R-value is.
The average R-value for insulation in the walk-in cooler industry is 25, though keep in mind that the different types of foam and different thicknesses can actually increase the R-value of that insulation well beyond that 25 benchmark. This is something, therefore, that you’re going to want to make sure you ask any commercial walk-in cooler dealer about when you’re comparing units and attempting to make a decision for your business.
Insulation that has a higher R-value will make it easier for your walk-in unit to keep its temperatures cool. Because the machine won’t have to work as hard to keep running, this will extend the life of the compressor and its components, and lower the costs of operating the unit, as it won’t have to constantly run. Keep in mind, though, that R-value does change over time. After a few years, it’s likely that your insulation’s R-value will decrease. Make sure that, when you’re shopping, you base your decision on a projected R-value at least five years out, rather than what you can expect that insulation to provide right out of the box in terms of R-value. The projected R-value of the insulation will primarily be determined by the average operating temperature of your walk-in cooler.
R-value might not seem like the most interesting aspect of your cooler shopping, but it’s an important metric to keep in mind as you make your decision. For more information about commercial walk-in coolers in Eugene, OR, contact the team at American Refrigeration Inc. today.
