Daily
- Read and log the temperature at opening and closing. A common food-safety guideline is chilled food at 5 °C or below and frozen food at −18 °C or below.
- Check doors close and seal on their own; nothing should be propping them open.
- Don't block the air vents inside the cabinet with stock.
- Wipe spills straight away — sugar and brine attack gaskets and steel.
Weekly
- Clean door gaskets with warm soapy water and check for tears or hardening.
- Do the paper test: close the door on a sheet of paper; if it slides out easily, the gasket isn't sealing there.
- Clear the defrost drain and empty or wipe the drip tray.
- Look for ice building up on the evaporator or around the door frame.
Monthly
Clean the condenser coil. It's the single most effective maintenance task: a coil coated in dust, flour or kitchen grease can't reject heat, so the compressor runs longer and hotter. Switch the unit off, then brush or vacuum the fins gently in the direction they run. Kitchens near fryers or bakeries may need this every two weeks.
- Check the condenser and evaporator fans spin freely and quietly.
- Make sure the ventilation clearance around the unit hasn't been filled with boxes.
- Tighten loose shelf supports and door hinges.
Every 3–6 months: professional service
Some checks need a trained technician and the right tools — and units with hydrocarbon refrigerants such as R290 should only be opened up by technicians trained for flammable refrigerants.
- Refrigerant system and pressure checks; leak test if performance has dropped.
- Electrical checks: compressor current draw, connections, earthing, controller calibration.
- Defrost heater and timer function.
- Deep clean of evaporator and condenser.
Warning signs: call a technician
- Temperature creeping up through the day or not recovering after service.
- Compressor running non-stop, or clicking on and off every few minutes.
- Heavy frost or ice on the evaporator coil.
- Water pooling under or inside the unit.
- New noises — rattling, grinding, loud humming.
- The outside of the cabinet or the compressor area feeling unusually hot.
Is an annual maintenance contract worth it?
An AMC turns ad-hoc breakdown calls into scheduled visits. It usually makes sense when you run several units, when downtime costs you stock or sales, or when nobody on site has time to keep up with the monthly tasks. Compare what each plan includes — number of visits, parts, labour, response time — rather than the headline price.
