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Commercial refrigeration repair for businesses

In short

Need an existing cold room, commercial fridge, freezer or ice machine repaired at your business? Start with what the equipment is doing, its make and model if known, the temperatures you have observed and the stock affected. This guide helps you describe a repair or service, with a tool that writes an editable request.

Build your requestAll guides

A repair, a service, or equipment to buy?

A useful repair request usually starts with the equipment already on site. Say 'cold room repair', 'commercial freezer repair' or 'ice machine repair', then describe what changed. This guide and its builder are for work on business refrigeration equipment.

  • For a repair, describe the fault you observe and when it began. For servicing, say what equipment needs attention and whether you want one visit or a regular arrangement.
  • If you want a cold room or fridge supplied, write a supply request that describes what you want to buy. Add the capacity, intended use, delivery site and whether installation is included. That is a different request from repairing existing equipment.
  • Name the business site: for example a shop, kitchen, warehouse or processing plant. For a household appliance, use a household repair route.

Start with the equipment you have

Hoshizaki's instructions for its KM ice machines ask for the model, serial number and a detailed problem description when requesting service. Include those details in your request if available, or offer a photograph of the nameplate.[2]

Heatcraft's condensing-unit manual specifies qualified personnel for installation and maintenance. Describe what you observe; leave diagnosis and work on the refrigeration system to the person attending.[1]

What to describe when it stops working

A useful fault description usually records what changed, rather than guessing which part failed. Heatcraft's condensing-unit guidance and Hoshizaki's ice-machine instructions provide examples of the information a technician needs. These are observations for your request, not instructions to open or repair the equipment.[1][2]

What to describe when it stops working
What you observeDetails to recordExample wording
Not holding temperatureThe displayed temperature in °C, the required temperature and when the change began.The cold room shows 8 °C; our site requires 2 °C. It changed this morning.
Ice building upWhere the ice is visible, when it appeared and whether cooling changed.Ice is visible around the evaporator and the room is warmer than usual.
Stopped or unusually noisyWhat stopped, the displayed alarm if any, and whether the noise is new.The unit stopped overnight. The controller shows an alarm; we can send its wording.
Ice machine output changedMake and model, the change in output and any displayed indication.Our kitchen ice machine produces less ice than usual. We can send the model and a photo.

Stock, access and planned servicing

A repairer usually needs your site's practical details as well as the fault. Write the business's own storage requirements and urgency; do not substitute a generic temperature for the one your site needs.

  • Say what is stored, what is affected and what action your site has already taken. If the work is urgent, ask the supplier to state when they can attend.
  • Give the town or suburb, access hours, an available shutdown window and any induction or hygiene requirements. Add any recent service report or known repair history.
  • For regular servicing, ask the supplier to use the manual for your equipment when proposing the scope. Hoshizaki notes that maintenance frequency depends on water quality, the operating environment and sanitation requirements for its ice machines.[2]

Build your refrigeration repair request

Answer a few questions and this tool writes a clear request you can send to a repairer, or post on Headcore. You can change every word.

Describe the existing equipment and the work you need. Say whether stock is affected, what temperature the site requires and when someone can reach the equipment. If you do not know a detail, leave it out and describe what you can observe.

What work do you need?
Which business equipment?
How soon?

Free to post. Your request goes to companies that handle business refrigeration work. Your company stays hidden until you choose who to talk to, and you review it before anything is posted.

Or go straight to the request form

Why each detail helps

  • The equipment: Cold room, freezer, display cabinets or plant, and the make and model on the unit.
  • What it is doing: Temperature, ice build-up, noise, leaks or alarms, and since when.
  • What it holds: The product and the temperature it needs, so suppliers can judge how urgent it is.
  • Where and when: The town, access to the site, and when the work can be done.
As often written
Cold room broken. Need help.
With the questions answered
We need a repair for our business cold room. It is not holding temperature. Current temperature: 8 °C. Required temperature: 2 °C. Contents or affected stock: dairy stock. The site is in Wadeville. This is urgent; please say when you can attend.

Refrigeration registration and paperwork

The Department of Labour's 2017 guidance on the Pressure Equipment Regulations says that installation, repair, modification or maintenance of a refrigeration system within those regulations requires a Certificate of Conformity issued by a SAQCC Gas registered practitioner.[3]

  • The guidance allows certification for the particular repair or maintenance scope performed. Ask the supplier which work falls within that scope and who will issue its Certificate of Conformity.[3]
  • Ask who holds the applicable registration for the work. The guidance defines a registered person's competence in relation to the relevant scope, so a registration should cover the work being undertaken.[3]

Questions to ask before someone attends

Before arranging the visit, buyers usually ask what is included and what the supplier needs from the site.

  • Can you work on this equipment, and what photographs or nameplate details do you need before attending?
  • What does the first visit include, and how will you report the fault and proposed work?
  • Who will arrange access and any shutdown, and what stock-handling arrangements does our site need to make?
  • If parts are needed, when can you confirm availability and the expected return visit?

How Headcore helps with this repair

Keep your usual repairer in the mix. Headcore helps you find additional companies that can do this work.

  1. 01

    Describe the fault

    Start in your own words. You review the request before anything is posted.

  2. 02

    Reach companies that do this work

    Companies that repair commercial refrigeration and serve your area see the job. Each decides for itself whether to respond.

  3. 03

    Choose who to speak with

    Compare how they would approach it, reveal your company only to the ones you choose, and deal with them directly.

Questions buyers ask

Who sees my request?

Companies that do this specific work, within reach of your site. They see the job. Whether they also see your company name is your choice: you can stay anonymous until you pick who to talk to.

What if nobody responds?

Your request reaches companies that do this work within minutes. Each decides for itself whether to respond, so we cannot promise responses. If the work cannot wait, contact your usual suppliers as well.

What does it cost to post a request?

Posting a request is free. A supplier pays one token when it decides your request is worth answering. What you agree about the work is between you and the supplier.

What if the work is urgent?

Say so in the request, with the date it must be done by. Suppliers say in their response when they could do it, and you choose who to speak with.

Does Headcore do the work?

No. Headcore is a matching system: it puts your request in front of companies that do this work, and you deal with the supplier directly. Keep your usual suppliers; use Headcore when they cannot help, or when the job is outside what they do.

Can I start without knowing the model?

Yes. Describe the business equipment, what changed and where it is. Add the make and model later if you find them, or say you can provide a nameplate photo.

Start with what you know.

Answer a few questions and get a request ready to send, to your own repairer or on Headcore.

Build your request