A hotel operations manager called us at 1:47am on a bank holiday Sunday. Both chillers serving the hotel’s main kitchen cold rooms had tripped simultaneously — a power surge from a nearby lightning strike had taken out the contactors on both units. Sixty rooms of guests expecting breakfast in six hours, and every fridge and cold room in the building was climbing.

We had an engineer on site within 90 minutes. He replaced both contactors from van stock, reset the safety circuits, verified refrigerant pressures on both systems, and stayed until the cold rooms pulled back below 3°C. Total time from phone call to fully operational: just under three hours. The kitchen staff walked in at 5am to find everything at temperature and no stock losses.

That’s what emergency breakdown service looks like when it’s done properly. Not a call centre, not a promise to “send someone Monday”, not a voicemail. A real engineer with real parts on a real van, moving fast because they understand what a commercial breakdown actually costs.

What We Mean by Emergency Response

Our phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Not by an answering service — by someone who can dispatch an engineer. Our average response time across London is under 3 hours. For PPM contract clients, we guarantee attendance within 4 hours or the callout fee is waived.

Every ADK service van carries a standard kit of the parts that fail most often on commercial HVAC and refrigeration systems:

• Contactors and overloads (single-phase and three-phase)
• Run and start capacitors (common sizes for Daikin, Mitsubishi, Fujitsu)
• Fan motors (condenser and evaporator, common frame sizes)
• Filters (standard commercial sizes)
• Condensate pumps (Aspen, Charles Austen)
• Thermistors and pressure transducers
• PCB fuses and wiring components
• Door gasket material (for emergency cold room seal repairs)
• Refrigerant (R410A, R32, R449A, R134a)

We complete roughly 70% of emergency repairs on the first visit. For the remaining 30% — typically compressor replacements, PCB orders, or specialised parts — we’ll get the system running on a temporary basis where possible and source the part for next-day completion.

Common Emergency Callouts We Attend

Commercial Refrigeration Emergencies

Refrigeration breakdowns are the calls where speed matters most. Every hour a commercial fridge or cold room spends above safe temperature is money in the bin — literally. We attend:

We provide emergency breakdown service services across the capital, including Central London, North London, and every borough in between. Fast response times are built into our service model.

• Walk-in cold room failures — compressor lockouts, thermostat failures, evaporator icing, door seal failures
• Walk-in freezer breakdowns — defrost system failures, refrigerant leaks, condenser blockages
• Reach-in fridge and freezer faults — common on Foster, Williams, True, and Polar units in restaurant kitchens
• Display case temperature alarms — supermarket and convenience store display cabinets running warm
• Cellar cooling failures — beer cellar glycol chillers, wine room temperature control
• Ice machine breakdowns — Hoshizaki, Scotsman, and Manitowoc units not producing
• Blast chiller faults — critical for HACCP compliance in commercial kitchens

Air Conditioning Emergencies

• Total system failure — compressor failure, electrical trip, refrigerant loss
• Water leaks from indoor units — blocked condensate drains causing ceiling damage or flooding
• Server room / comms room cooling failure — the most time-critical AC emergency. Equipment starts overheating within minutes
• VRV/VRF system error codes — communication faults, inverter failures, refrigerant circuit issues
• Rooftop unit failures — common in retail and restaurant environments
• Multi-split partial failures — one or more indoor units not responding

How We Handle an Emergency Call

When you call 020 3974 1419 with an emergency, here’s what happens:

1. Triage: We ask what equipment has failed, what symptoms you’re seeing, and whether there’s any immediate risk (food safety, server overheating, water damage). This takes 2-3 minutes and helps us send the right engineer with the right parts.
2. Dispatch: We assign the nearest available engineer and give you an ETA. If the fault description suggests specific parts, we’ll confirm the engineer has them on the van or arrange collection en route.
3. Arrival and diagnosis: The engineer assesses the fault, explains what’s wrong in plain English, and gives you a repair estimate before starting any chargeable work.
4. Repair: If the parts are on the van, we fix it there and then. If not, we tell you honestly and give you a timeline for completion.
5. Verification: We don’t leave until the system is operating correctly and temperatures are confirmed at set point.
6. Report: You get a written job report within 24 hours — fault found, work carried out, parts used, and any recommendations for preventing recurrence.

Pricing

We charge a fixed callout fee plus hourly labour. Parts are charged at cost plus a standard markup. We’ll always give you a verbal estimate before starting work, and we’ll tell you if the repair cost is approaching the replacement cost of the equipment — sometimes a new unit is the honest recommendation.

Two of the most common problems we resolve are server room AC failures and walk-in freezers not holding temperature. If you have spotted either of these warning signs, get in touch before the situation worsens.

PPM contract clients receive discounted emergency rates and priority dispatch. If emergency breakdowns are happening regularly, that’s usually a sign the equipment needs a proper maintenance programme — and we’ll tell you that rather than just keep turning up to fix the same problems.

Coverage Area

We cover all London boroughs and the surrounding areas within the M25, with regular work extending to Watford, Slough, and Heathrow. Our base in Uxbridge gives us fast access to West London and the M25 corridor, while our engineers based in central and east London cover the City, Canary Wharf, and everything in between.

Call Us Now

If your AC or refrigeration has broken down and you need it fixed today, call 020 3974 1419. We answer 24/7, dispatch fast, and carry the parts to fix most faults on the first visit. If you’d rather request a callback, we’ll be in touch within the hour during business hours.