Managing a grocery store can be a rewarding experience. You get to talk to your customers everyday and you go home satisfied every night knowing your store provided folks with the food they need for a week of healthy home-cooked meals. On the flip side, there are duties you must perform regularly to ensure food safety—like cleaning freezer units, checking the temperature of food coolers and inspecting chillers for damage. A key example is your store’s meat freezers, which need to be regularly cleaned and maintained to avoid food spoilage and health hazards.
If you have a frozen meat section, here are five signs to watch for that it may be time to replace your grocery store’s commercial freezers in Eugene, OR:
Not cold all the time: You may start to notice that one of your meat freezers is having a hard time maintaining a set cold temperature. While you are less likely to be able to feel a temperature difference, what you will notice are indications of the freezer randomly thawing and then refreezing. Meat products will be covered in frosty ice, as will freezer shelves and baskets. Unfortunately, big temperature fluctuations could mean the unit is about to go kaput.
Meats are not solid: Fresh meats go on shelves in a chiller, while frozen cuts of meat are placed in temperature-controlled freezers to keep them frozen solid. If your employees come across meats in a freezer that are soft or semi-soft, first check to make sure the temperature setting is correct. If it reads as it should, you need to consider a malfunction and get the meat into another freezer as soon as possible—assuming it’s still good. Conduct regular walkthrough inspections for issues before a customer points them out.
Physical damage to units: While commercial meat freezers are strong, they can sustain damage just like your freezer at home. Meat freezers take beatings everyday. From rough stocking to customers haphazardly dropping items back into freezer bays, once visible cracks form, you might want to make repairs or invest in replacements.
Doesn’t hold all your meat products: Maybe your grocery store inventory has grown or the demand for frozen meats has increased. Either reason should get you thinking about upgrading to larger, more efficient commercial freezers in Eugene, OR for your business. Alternatively, you might want to downsize your meat freezer if you’ve decided to stock fewer frozen meat options.
Needs constant maintenance: Although routine maintenance is important for proper freezer function, the unit starts to become a problem when it needs too much professional maintenance or repair. Old freezers are more likely to act up, and defective parts on newer units can cause a total failure. It could be worth it to replace the freezer instead of paying for repairs every month.
If your grocery store’s commercial freezers in Eugene, OR are in need of repairs or you require completely new unit installations, call the professionals at American Refrigeration Inc. Our friendly and helpful commercial refrigeration and freezer technicians are at the ready to get your business back to normal operation in no time!
Commercial grade refrigeration units are not cheap, and neither are the repair bills associated with them. For this reason, it’s important that you clean and inspect all running units on a regular basis. Let’s take a look at some good tips to help you care for your commercial walk in coolers in Eugene, OR.
Cleaning the unit
To avoid costly issues and repairs, it’s a good idea to clean the unit in between professional cleanings. Coming together as a team to perform regular commercial cooler maintenance will likely result in the appliance performing well and lasting a long time. Moreover, clean cooling units will ensure that your establishment won’t stink of spoiled foods, which will turn off customers:
Schedule regular cleanings: You can make cleaning your walk in coolers easier each time by spot cleaning often, instead of waiting until odors get worse and spills multiply. Read the owner’s manual for cleaning instructions, or use a damp cloth with a gentle soapy solution. Consider working regular cooler cleanings into your daily routine to wipe away food particles and spills, and dirt from floors, as well as eliminate lingering odors from the day.
Plan thorough cleanings: Once again, check your owner’s annual for more in-depth cleaning instructions. You want to keep the cooler’s ventilation and grate covers clear of debris and gunk or ice buildup, and wipe down fans, coils and electrical connections (after turning off the power, of course). If debris accumulates around or inside the unit components, then the cooler may run into issues with performance.
Inspecting unit parts
The best time for quick unit inspections is while you’re cleaning it. That way, you might uncover damage or problems like cracks, splits, rust or corrosion and disconnected wires that would otherwise go undetected:
Prevent issues now: Small issues almost always grow into bigger problems, which is why weekly inspections of commercial walk in coolers in Eugene, OR are recommended—especially for the food service industry. Add regular weekly inspections to the work calendar to be completed by you or a designated employee.
Check for leaks: Water leaking from or inside the cooling unit needs immediate attention. There could be an issue with the coil condensers, compressor or other unit components that are in place to keep walk in coolers at the right temperature. Also, make sure the door is holding shut when you close it, because at warmer temperatures, the door seal could malfunction. A leaky or warm cooler means the internal temperature is dropping and food safety is now on the line.
Don’t ignore strange sounds: A walk in cooler can start making all sorts of noises seemingly out of nowhere. First, there are odd door sounds—like popping joints, loose hinges jingling and a lack of suction sounds upon opening the door. Other strange sounds include a struggling fan motor or compressor, which can be an indication of a system clog or malfunction.
Performing your own unit cleaning and inspections is good, but every now and then, you should hire a professional to give everything a closer look. For repairs and installations of commercial walk in coolers in Eugene, OR, contact the experienced team at American Refrigeration Inc. today!
Spring and summer are approaching, which means it’s almost time to crank up the air conditioner. As a restaurant or business owner, the last thing you want is to keep your customers sweating if your commercial HVAC were to fail. For those in the restaurant industry, this means wasted food and a loss of patrons as they head somewhere else in search of cooler temperatures.
One of the best ways to avoid these scenarios is to understand when to contact a professional for commercial HVAC repair in Eugene, OR. Read on for six tell-tale signs that your HVAC system is in need of service now:
Excess moisture in the air: Inefficient cooling or heating can cause the humidity levels in any size building to increase drastically. Even if you can’t feel it, you can easily tell there’s something amiss if you’re noticing condensation on glass windows, tile flooring, doors or even a bar top. Over time, the moisture could even result in mold, which could be dangerous to the health of your patrons.
Hot and cool spots: Are your employees constantly complaining about one room feeling colder than the rest? This may indicate that there’s a problem with the central air ducts and your HVAC system. An experienced HVAC repair specialist will be able to permanently fix the problem.
Constantly having to adjust the thermostat: Nothing is more obnoxious than constantly adjusting the thermostat in an attempt to maintain a comfortable temperature. While it might not seem like a major problem, it may indicate that your HVAC system is seriously in need of maintenance.
Presence of ice: Ice on an outdoor HVAC unit could lead to some serious problems. It could be caused by a variety of factors, including exposure to cold weather, poor airflow due to the accumulation of dust or even a refrigerant leak. Regardless, you’ll need the help of a professional to fix the problem and prevent any serious damage from occurring.
Smell of gas: The smell of gas should always be a red flag that something is seriously wrong. Don’t take it lightly, as the scent could indicate that a dangerous gas, such as carbon monoxide, is leaking into your business. Breathing in the tainted air is incredibly dangerous and may even be fatal. Evacuate the area immediately if you smell gas. Once everyone is a safe distance from the scene, contact an HVAC repair technician to handle the problem safely.
Strange noises: A strange noise from any type of machine or appliance tends to be an indicator that something is wrong. An odd sound could mean that a vital part has been damaged or that an important piece is no longer functioning properly. A professional will be able to easily identify the problem before making the necessary repairs.
If you notice any of these signs, it’s time to contact the professionals at American Refrigeration Inc. today. Our team is available for emergency commercial HVAC repair in Eugene, OR 24 hours a day, which means your customers will always be both safe and comfortable.
Your business depends on its commercial refrigeration equipment. Whether you’re keeping seafood at the correct temperature to meet important safety standards or chilling wine to the perfect temperature, you know that so much rides on a functioning unit. That’s why it’s crucial to have a commercial refrigeration repair specialist readily available when disaster strikes. Choosing the best in commercial refrigeration repair in Eugene, OR can be a tricky process, though. You need someone you know to perform high quality work exactly when you need it.
To help you choose only the best, here are a few things to look out for when hiring a specialist for commercial refrigeration repair in Eugene, OR:
Experience: Knowing how to handle any commercial refrigeration repair that could arise takes significant experience in the industry. As you know, refrigeration units are expensive, so it’s crucial that there aren’t any unnecessary mistakes that could do some damage. Plus, any downtime spent waiting for an inexperienced technician to figure out the problem could cost you business—not to mention loss of product due to a lack of proper refrigeration. Ideally, your repair technician should have at least 10 years of experience on the job.
Speed of service: Running a high quality business means working both efficiently and quickly. A broken commercial refrigerator compromises this, however. You need a technician who will be available exactly when you need them to be, as food could quickly spoil while you are waiting for an unreliable repair company. Select a company that you know is dependable and will be able to commit to a quick response time.
Prior reviews: Hiring a company with a strong reputation within your local community is always a safe bet. Check with others in your industry to see which contractors they use and whether they would recommend their services. Take the time to check online reviews to get a better understanding of their overall reputation and quality of service.
Maintenance: Preventative maintenance is one of the most important steps in keeping your commercial refrigerator in top condition. A refrigeration specialist will not only make repairs, but will also be able to perform regular checks of the machinery to extend the life of the unit and keep it functioning efficiently. During a maintenance check, a qualified professional will be able to identify any potential problems and make the necessary repairs quickly to avoid any downtime.
Emergency services: Time is literally money when it comes to a broken commercial refrigeration unit. A restaurant depends on a functioning refrigerator to keep food and drinks cool—and customers happy. A professional refrigeration specialist will be able to offer emergency services when you need them.
At American Refrigeration Inc., we understand the important role a working commercial refrigerator plays in the success of your business. That’s why we offer the best in commercial refrigeration repair in Eugene, OR and the surrounding areas. Call us today to learn more about how our experienced professional repair team can help you. We look forward to assisting you soon!
Whether it’s a restaurant, hotel or hospital, any business in the hospitality industry needs a commercial freezer to keep stored food cold before it’s served to guests. However, just like a lot of huge appliances, commercial freezers in Eugene, OR are very expensive assets. Since they cost so much, if you’re considering buying a commercial freezer, you need to put a lot of thought into the decision. Here are a few things to think about before you take the plunge and buy a new commercial freezer.
What size freezer do you need?
A kitchen crew needs 1.5 cubic feet of storage space for every meal that’s being served per day. If you’re running a large restaurant, you’ll obviously need a big commercial freezer to hold all that food. On the flip side, smaller restaurants need smaller kitchens. If your restaurant gets super busy one night, or if you host a big event, what happens if you run out of space to store your cold food? It’s best to over-plan by having a bigger freezer, if you have the space and the budget.
Do you have enough space?
Depending on the size on the unit, commercial freezers can take up a whole lot of space in your kitchen. Before you buy a unit, you need to take into careful consideration how big your kitchen is and how much room you can dedicate to a commercial freezer.
Where will the freezer go?
Before our customers call us to install commercial freezers in Eugene, OR, we need them to know exactly where the appliances will be installed. The last thing installers want is to deal with an indecisive chef or kitchen manager who keeps changing his mind on where to put the commercial freezer! Assuming you have space, you should place your commercial freezer near the food preparation area to save time walking back and forth to the freezer. Keep in mind that all commercial freezers need to sit on an insulated floor in order to work properly.
What size do you need?
A commercial freezer obviously needs to be able to keep food very, very cold. Your food may get warm and spoil if you buy a big freezer, but a refrigeration unit that’s too small to cool the freezer. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if your refrigeration unit is too big for your freezer, you’ll be wasting a ton of money on the electric bill. Units that are too large will cycle on and off more frequently and run up your costs.
What can you afford?
Commercial freezers are expensive, but they’re not really something you can afford to go cheap on. A low-quality freezer is bound to break down more often, and possibly not keep your food as cold as you need it to be. Lower-quality freezers can also rack up higher energy bills, which could end up costing more in the long run. We recommend paying what you can afford for a freezer and trying to save costs elsewhere.
Once you’ve thought about all of the questions above related to commercial freezers in Eugene, OR, give American Refrigeration Inc. a call to find out what we can do for you and your business.
