Walk-In Fridge Repair

A walk-in fridge, otherwise known as an industrial cold room, is a type of commercial refrigerator that can be accessed from the outside, usually on rollers.

This allows chefs to keep more food items on hand without crowding their kitchen or requiring additional storage space.

Walk-in fridges are usually used for bulk storage, keeping large quantities of meats, dairy products, and other ingredients on hand for restaurant employees.

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Cold Rooms / Walk-In Fridges

They may also be used to store perishable items such as cheese or prepared food that is waiting to be served.

Due to the nature of a commercial walk-in refrigerator, and the amount of valuable stock they hold, things can quickly go wrong when you start to experience problems. For this reason, Nova Catering Repairs provide quick response times for cold room repair, to minimise the downtime your kitchen experiences.

The primary purpose of a walk-in fridge is to provide food service personnel with a self-contained storage area that can be accessed from the outside. This saves both time and energy, since these large pieces of equipment don't need to be moved around or opened on a regular basis.

Many restaurants also prefer walk-in fridges because they don't need to be opened as often, so their interior temperature can remain consistent – making them both effective and energy efficient. This is especially important for kitchens where the air is regularly ventilated, since hot or cool air has a tendency to flow straight out of an open refrigerator.

The commercial refrigeration engineers at Nova Catering Repairs are Refrigeration qualified, and can provide you with a reliable cold room maintenance or repair service, if you start to experience problems with your walk in fridge.

Is a walk-in fridge worth it?

While there are plenty of benefits to having a walk-in fridge, or cold room, within your commercial catering businesses, there are a few things to consider before investing in this hefty piece of equipment.

Commercial walk-in refrigerators are designed to hold larger amounts of stock than the typical reach-in refrigerator. Due to their size, the amount of stock they hold is better organised and more easily accessible than the reach-in, too. This can help reduce your product wastage, since it is easier to track where food items are placed. The interior design of a walk-in fridge can be custom built to your requirements – such as extra shelving or increased floor space.

For this same reason – their size – walk in fridges are also more practical. Though this sounds counterintuitive, walk-in fridges can actually save kitchen space, since they can be installed outside. And despite the installation process being longer for walk-ins than reach-ins, if your cold room is built outside, the installation will not affect the functioning of your kitchen. An outdoor cold room is great for product deliveries, too, since it can be easily accessed without disturbing the kitchen.

Walk-in fridges can be more cost effective, despite their tall initial purchase costs. With the right installation, walk-ins can be more energy efficient than having a reach-in, or several reach-ins. Walk-in fridges are not designed to be continually opened and closed, which means they can keep a more consistent temperature since they are not as affected by external warm air entering. Additionally, depending on the amount of produce your kitchen stocks, one cold room can take the place of needing several reach-ins – saving both the purchase and energy costs of this.

However, a walk-in fridge cannot take the place of a reach-in; it is necessary for a commercial kitchen to be able to access an indoor refrigerator that is designed for frequent use (such as a reach-in). If a cold room is used in place of a reach-in fridge, you may experience a cold room condensation problem (a build up of condensation caused by warm external air entering the room).

If your commercial kitchen requires large amounts of stock, or could benefit from increasing your stock deliveries, a walk-in fridge is worth the investment.

How does a walk in refrigerator work?

A refrigerator works by moving heat from one area to another. On the back of most refrigerators is a vent that sucks air into the condenser. This air passes over tubes carrying coolant (a mixture of antifreeze and water) that removes heat from the air as it cools. The now cooled air is pushed through a filter, which catches any dust or debris, before being sent to the inside of the fridge.

At the front of a walk-in refrigerator is an evaporator that releases cold, high-pressure air. This air passes through a rack of tubes carrying a food-safe solution, usually a mixture of propylene glycol and water. The high pressure forces the solution into the tubes where it absorbs heat from the air until it reaches the end of its journey in the evaporator. Once this happens, the solution is pushed out with the help of a compressor and circulates back to the beginning of its journey in order to continue cooling the inside of the refrigerator.

Once the cold air has passed through the evaporator, it enters into a coil that is sitting in front of a vent. The fan blows hot air over this coil to remove the last bit of heat from the fridge. The now-cooled air is pushed back into the room using a second fan.

How cold are walk in fridges?

Walk-In Fridge Repair - Commercial Cold Rooms

Nova Catering Repairs

With fast response times, and 24/7 emergency response*, Nova Catering Repairs can repair, install, or maintain your commercial catering equipment. Being Gas, Electric, and Refrigeration qualified, our engineers can safely work with all types of commercial catering equipment to restore the condition of your kitchen.

We service all commercial catering equipment within the Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Worcester, Coventry, and Gloucester postcodes.

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The engineers at Nova Catering Repairs have decades of experience, and are specialists at performing repairs on commercial catering equipment. Our engineers are manufacturer-trained, carry a complete, universal van stock, and use job management software to ensure your service is as smooth as possible.

For your peace of mind, photos and videos are taken of every repair, and with the connections and partnerships our engineers have formed with major suppliers, we can ensure a fast and reliable repair.

Furthermore, the engineers at Nova Catering Repairs retrain on new equipment releases, so they’re familiar with all appliances.

With a customer support driven office team, Nova Catering Repairs are trusted by local councils, NHS, and celebrity chefs alike.

We don’t sell new equipment, so our only priority is to provide our customers with a great quality repair, instead of pushing for new equipment. Moreover, we offer regular equipment servicing to reduce your kitchen downtime and help prevent any further breakdowns.

*24/7 emergency response is subject to contract terms.