Know when to maintain em’…
“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run”
– Kenny Rogers, The Gambler
Not maintaining your refrigeration or air conditioning equipment can be a huge gamble. What’s the cost of being broken, rejected and unwashed? Most of us aren’t really sure and can’t put a number on it. So why, when it comes to some of the most expensive equipment we own, we are willing to take the risk on that investment failing.
“And the night got deathly quiet
And his face lost all expression
He said, If you’re gonna play the game, boy
You gotta learn to play it right ”
Play it right, be prepared. A clean here and a check there can leave you with a solid hand. Your chance of losing a bucket load of money on an expensive breakdown is awesomely reduced.
So many times we go out to a breakdown service and find the root cause to be a lack of care. An analogy frequently used in our industry is the one about the car. If you buy a car, whether it’s worth $13,000 or $300,000 you get it frequently serviced to maintain its integrity and reliability. But on the flip side, our commercial equipment, more often than not (worth more money) is neglected and left to burn…
Below is a photo of a small display fridge that’s been operating for 6 months. You can see the accumulation of dust has blocked about 30% of the condenser. If left, this will grow to 50, 60 or 70%, leaving the system exposed to failure, Failure of the compressor, condenser motor or pipe work.
All breakdowns can be costly. The cost of repairs, the cost of stock loss, the cost of human comfort.
So before summer hits “and the dealin’s done”, now’s the time to fold ‘em and get your equipment serviced, maintained or up-graded. Service rates are still low, and companies will be fighting for your business. You’ll also get the added bonus of being prepared for the next endless heat wave and even save some energy costs along the way!
We asked one of our service techs for a couple of ‘this could have been avoided’ pics. He did not disappoint. Thanks Chris!
