When to place a Service Call?

When you are faced with a challenge like a refrigerator, freezer, ice machine and/or HVAC unit not working, what do you do?

The commercial environment is especially tough!  As a business owner, chef, manager, researcher or other decision maker its important to make the right call.

Normally, its recommended to have a systems based protocol in place to aid one in deciding if the equipment needs professional service.  Sometimes that’s not the case and you have to rely on your instincts and smarts to quickly assess the situation and make the decision.

If that’s the case you can use these pointers.

1.  Check the electrical supply

Is the refrigerator, freezer, ice machine or HVAC unit plugged in?  Has the breaker tripped or been turned off?  Often times the unit may have been mistakenly unplugged or left off and all it takes is plugging it back in.

If the unit is tripping the breaker consistently turn it back off or leave it off.  The circuit breaker is a protective device designed specifically to activate to protect appliances from high amperage draw situations.  Although there is a chance the breaker could be defective, chances are the appliance needs service.  Call AJAX!

Remember to always use special care when it comes to electrical, we want you to stay safe.

2.  Has the unit been maintained lately?

Lately equals within the last three months.  The majority of manufacturer’s recommend quarterly maintenance or more on equipment such as refrigerators, freezers, ice machines and HVAC units.

For residential heaters and Air conditioning units, it may be as simple as replacing the air filter.  Usually found at or near the unit and/or the return air grill.  Turn the Thermostat or power off and pull out that old air filter and replace with a new one!

Pleated air filters are usually recommended but remember to consult your owner’s manual if you’re not sure!

For commercial refrigeration units:  If you are a DIY’er and know how to clean the condenser of your commercial refrigeration equipment then that’s your first step.  If there’s a sweater on that condenser, give the unit a break!  It’s probably over-heated so power it down and let it sit an hour or two, clean the condenser with a shop vac. or other method (make sure the inside of the coil is clean too, not just the outside!) and then fire it back up.  When it starts, does the condenser fan motor work?  Do all other systems seem to be functioning properly? If not, power down and call AJAX!  Again, please be careful when working on your commercial refrigeration equipment as the chance of injury or even death are possible!  If you are unsure, please call AJAX for a service call!  We want you to stay safe!

3.  Here’s the last one.

If the problem unit is an AC or Forced Air Unit (FAU = heater), residential or commercial application, many times the THERMOSTAT on the wall right there in front of you can be the problem!  Not necessarily the Thermostat itself, but rather the battery that is in there.  Again, this isn’t always the case, it depends on the type of thermostat but many times it is.  Check and see if the battery is dead.  If you’re not sure and it has been a while since you last replaced it (can’t remember when, eh?) then go ahead and replace it and retry your trusty air conditioner and/or heater.

Fresh battery, clean filter, power supply o.k. and no luck?  Well, then call Ajax Refrigeration and AC!  We’ll send a service technician who is a licensed professional!  We have our contractor’s license in both HVAC service (C20) and refrigeration service (C38).  You can do a license check too!  Our license # is 718494 and it can be verified on the contractors state license board web site of California!

Hey, even if you fix it yourself and you don’t need a service call, call us anyways!  Let us know you saved some money by reading this blog post!  You may want to sign up for one of our great preventive maintenance plans so you don’t have to go through the process mentioned above in the first place!  Also, we can get you great pricing on restaurant equipment like ice machines, freezers and refrigerators (cold side stuff).  Our full service refrigeration equipment and ice machine leasing program is great too!

We can’t wait to hear from you and remember:  be safe.  If you’re not sure how to work on the equipment then don’t do it!  Call us and we can help you decide if you need a service technician’s help or not!  Anyway you slice it, you’ll come out ahead and save some big bucks in the long run dealing with us!