Important Questions to Ask Before Having a Refrigeration Unit Installed
If you run any type of diner or food service establishment, you'll need to have a commercial refrigerator or cool room installed in your location. Never assume that you can purchase one of these units from a neighbourhood home improvement store, as residential refrigerators are not very convenient for commercial use and may not meet food storage and other such safety codes in your local area. To help you decide on the best refrigeration unit for commercial use, note a few important questions to ask before buying and having such a unit installed at your facility.
Ask how often it needs to be cleaned
Some refrigeration units and cool rooms will have coatings on the walls and shelves that naturally resist bacteria, germs and other such contaminants, so these refrigerators will need to be cleaned far less often than other units. Even so, it's good to ask how often the unit should be cleaned inside and out, and what materials to use for this cleaning, so you know you're keeping shelving, doors and mechanical equipment like compressor coils and blowers clean and free of dust, dirt and other bothersome elements.
Ask about clearance
A refrigerator or stand-alone cool room will usually need a certain amount of clearance between the unit and a wall, to ensure the refrigerator can adequately vent warm air away from the compressor, motor and blower. It might also be recommended that you keep the unit away from the wall a certain distance so that any water leaks won't get absorbed by the wall's building materials. It's important to know this information as you might need to opt for a smaller unit than you expected so that it will have this needed clearance.
Ask about electrical usage
It's good to know the watts required by any type of cooling unit, so you can consider the average cost of keeping it running. This is especially good if you're thinking of getting a very large unit for your facility, or one with a built-in freezer or icemaker, as these units may be more expensive to operate than you realize.
Note, too, that a commercial cooling unit may need more power than what is provided by a certain outlet in your facility. You may need to have an electrician run new wiring to that outlet, and also put the cooling unit on its own circuit so that there are no electrical shutdowns in your kitchen or elsewhere!
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