For food businesses, a commercial freezer is an essential appliance. It keeps your food frozen so you can take it out when required without fearing risking spoilage. To keep the food frozen and fresh, your commercial freezer should work in optimum condition. Carry out maintenance and perform commercial freezer repairs whenever required.

One of the common reasons for commercial refrigerator and freezer problems is the thick layer of frost that can block evaporator coils. Most freezers have an auto-defrost feature that removes this frost, but you may still need to defrost your freezer. Learn how to defrost your commercial freezer.

Prevent Frost Build-Up

If you use the ways that can prevent or reduce the rate of frost build-up, the risk of evaporator coils’ blockage is reduced. You should make a habit to enter and leave the freezer as quickly as possible and suggest your restaurant staff do the same.

Once you limit the amount of warm air entering the freezer, the compressor won’t need to overwork for keeping the freezer cool.

Auto Defrost

Most commercial and household freezers come with an auto-defrost system that is triggered when too much frost builds up around the evaporator coils.

There are different kinds of defrost systems. Many freezers defrost by triggering the compressor to run an off-cycle. Some other freezers have a frost timer installed and set. The timer turns off the compressor but keeps the evaporator fans running. The warm air melts the ice.

Some other commercial freezers have special defrost heaters. At a set time, the freezer will turn off the evaporate fans and turn on the defrost heater. The heater will effectively remove ice from the coils. Once the process is completed, the refrigeration will begin. When the freezer is cool enough, the evaporator fans will turn on and begin functioning.

Make Sure The Defrost Cycles Are Working

Refer to the owner’s manual to know how many defrost cycle your walk-in freezer performs. Keep an eye on the defrost cycle and check if the freezer is missing any defrost cycles. Check the coils if they are not frozen. Moreover, take look at the drain and make sure water is coming out of it which will the defrosted ice. Additionally, perform proper maintenance of the freezer to avoid problems.

Manually Defrost Your Commercial Freezer

If you’re noticing ice build-up in your walk-in freezer, you should take some actions to ensure proper defrosting.

Move The Food Items To Help It Defrost

The owner’s manual will show you how many defrost cycles your freezer performs. If it’s performing its defrost cycles as usual and you spot a thin layer of ice in the freezer, move some food items from the freezer to the refrigerator. Make sure to move the items that won’t spoil when placed for a few hours or a day in the refrigerator. Plus, ensure the items are tightly packed.

Once the freezer has a lesser amount of food, its defrost cycles may remove the thin layer of frost as well.

Keep It Turned Off Overnight To Defrost

When you notice a thick layer of ice that is blocking the evaporator coils, you should avoid trusting the auto defrost and take matters into your hand.

Empty the freezer and turn it off and leave the doors open. Keep it off overnight to let the frost melt naturally.

Defrost A Freezer Quickly

If you need the freezer to function properly without waiting for a whole night, follow the below tips. Be careful when using blow dryers, scrapers, and other tools in the freezer, and avoid damage to the gaskets and sealants.

• Fill some buckets with warm water and place them in the freezer. The warm water will speed up the melting of ice in its surroundings.
• To remove the thin layer of ice, carefully use a blow dryer by avoiding damage to the gaskets.
• Scrape off big pieces of ice with a wooden scraper.
• Increase the flow of warm air into the freezer by keeping the freezer’s doors open and placing a large fan in front of it.

Conclusion

Check the auto defrost feature of your walk-in freezer first before performing a manual defrost. If the freezer is heating up or the defrost cycles are not working, consult commercial refrigerator services Fairfax to perform inspections and repairs.