With the Summer heat upon us – refrigeration equipment is now more important than ever. Have you ever put items in your home or commercial refrigerator only to discover a few hours later that your fridge is freezing all your food? Whilst this is somewhat a rare occurrence, it can happen – and when it does, you are left with food that needs to be defrosted before you can use them, and in some cases, the food can be wasted.
It could be fruit, vegetables, meat, or even dairy. Accidental fridge freezing can be disastrous. While you may still be able to eat your perishables (especially if you’re cooking them), the expansion of water molecules caused by freezing may completely alter the taste and texture of your food which can be a disaster for a restaurant type business.
We have put together this easy to follow article on what to do if this ever happens, how you can prevent this issue from happening, along with our tips on keeping your refrigerator in perfect working condition.
What is causing your fridge to freeze everything?
Frozen food can be a minor inconvenience or a big frustration. It can cause your product to go bad or can even pop compressed cans open when the liquid freezes, which is a situation no one wants (to clean up).
The way a refrigerator works is that cold air in your fridge comes from the evaporator coils located behind the freezer compartment. The refrigerator is a separate compartment, and cold air circulates between the two compartments through an opening.
In all-refrigerator units, a ‘damper’ regulates the size of the opening, while a fan controls circulation. Both are monitored by a temperature-sensitive thermostat which tells the control panel when to open the damper and turn on the fan to achieve the desired temperature.
If your refrigerator is freezing food then any of these areas could be the source of the problem with your refrigerator freezing food.
How to inspect a refrigerator that is freezing food.
Start by making sure your fridge is set to the right temperature. Some people naturally think to set their fridge to the lowest temperature. However, a low setting is also often the culprit of frozen food. Check your owner’s manual, but most units should be usually set between 2 and 3 degrees celsius.
If you are unable to find the temperature controls on your fridge unit you can use a thermostat to take a reading of the fridge. We advise it to leave it overnight for an accurate reading, especially if the fridge is prone to be opened and closed throughout the day.
If you are unable to set or adjust your fridge temperature yourself using the knob controls then it may be best to call in the experts to take a look at your fridge as there may be an issue with the thermostat control settings which is causing the freezing issues.
Other ways to inspect your fridge
There are a few ways to inspect a fridge freezing issue other than checking the temperature settings. The first option is to place glasses of water in different locations of your fridge to see which areas of the fridge are causing your produce to freeze.
Some people do this by filling their fridge with food and then identifying what is frozen in an attempt to locate the issue. For example, if you identify a spot where food gets frozen, then you can make a note to yourself to not put perishable goods in that spot – until the overall issue has been resolved and fixed.
Check your fridge doors and seals
Another key area to check is your fridge door seals. Every domestic and commercial refrigerator door features a secure and protective seal to ensure the fridge door gets fully closed – in order to maintain the inside temperature.
If your fridge seal is damaged or missing, it might cause air to leak out causing the fridge to work even harder to stay cool – which in the long term will have a negative impact on your energy costs as more electricity is used.
Advanced Inspections
If you have already looked into all the points made above, the underlying issue may be in an area in which only an experienced refrigeration engineer will be able to access (safely) and repair.
With all refrigeration and cooling equipment, you have ‘coils’. There are coils present on the outside of your refrigerator (heat exchanging coils or condenser coils) as well as on its inside (evaporator coils).
The refrigerator coils serve to act as a heat exchanging medium between the refrigerant fluid and its surroundings. If they get dirty and or covered in dust, the refrigerator again has to work harder than usual to sustain the set freezing temperature. In some models, this can lead to overcooling, thus everything will be frozen. This is a job for a qualified service technician with the proper training and equipment. Contact ADK Kooling today to book an engineer to repair your refrigerator.
How to prevent your Fridge from freezing everything.
The best way to prevent freezing issues with your refrigerator is to have a PPM agreement set in place. Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM), is the best way to keep your commercial refrigerator units working effectively. It is advised not to wait until the last moment to get your commercial fridge repaired and fixed. This will save you money in the long-term, along with the stress and hassle to your business.
At ADK Kooling, we understand the importance of early detection and repair of your commercial refrigeration equipment. Our planned preventative maintenance programs ensure that your equipment is always working efficiently, reducing the likelihood of a costly failure. Should a problem develop and a reactive service is required, our expert team is on hand to help. Contact us now to speak to our PPM experts.
Benefits of having a planned preventative maintenance agreement in place:
- Reduction in Breakdowns
- Saves Costs for Reactive Callouts
- Improved Asset Life Cycle
- Remaining Legal & F-GAS Compliant
- Lower Energy Consumption
- Reduces Environmental Impact
At ADK, planned preventative maintenance visits can be arranged with clients tailored to their personal requirements within a timescale to suit their business needs and budgets. Tailoring our works for minimal disruption to your schedule, we’ll ensure that your refrigeration unit is maintained and that your cooling system is always working to the best of its capabilities, as efficiently as possible.
For more information about our refrigeration services, please get in touch with us today or call 0208 831 8900 and we’ll be more than happy to help you with anything you need. Alternatively, you can contact us to request an engineer and site survey.