Old cold-rooms can sometimes be problematic. They often use excessive amounts of electricity, and every now and then they do not run at a cold enough temperature. Running a business is difficult enough as it is; the last thing any food business wants to go through is having cold-room issues, as managers are then side-tracked by thinking about food spoilage. Unfortunately, these events happen, and when they do, you need someone to act, and act fast.

Problem

We received a call from a client asking us to fix the cold room of their Toowong restaurant.

Once on the business premises, we identified that the cold-rooms external condensing unit was located a good 15 meters from the cold room itself. At A & P Refrigeration, we prefer to locate our condenser units as close to the appliance as possible, as distant condenser units require more piping, becoming more expensive to supply and increasing the chances of gas leaks (which are quite difficult to locate).

Also, the refrigeration unit works better and more efficient with shorter lengths of pipes, etc.

In addition, as pipes grow older, they become more prone to leaks due to wear and tear. At this Toowong restaurant, a gas leak had emerged in one of the pipes from the cold-room to the condenser unit, resulting in a burnt compressor.

Action

Once we identified that the issue was related to a burnt compressor caused by blockage, we also detected a gas leak contributing to unit not getting cold. We quoted the client for the services of supplying and installing the new condenser unit. This worked out to be cheaper than repairing the existing unit. Furthermore, as the unit was 18 years old, the new unit would be more energy efficient.

Solution

With approval from the client for the services quoted, we started by removing the condenser unit.

We then placed the new condensing unit much closer to the cold room and installed the necessary gas piping. Since less piping was necessary for the installation, there is now less chances of future gas leaks, and the condenser unit can be run more efficiently and effectively.

Result

The client now has a more efficient commercial cold room with a brand new condenser unit resulting in less chance of food spoilage.