Commercial freezer repair across London and the South East
A freezer that drifts above -18°C puts every kilo of frozen stock at risk, and the stock is usually worth more than the cabinet. Our F-Gas certified engineers repair upright, chest and under-counter freezers and walk-in freezers, with 24/7 emergency call-outs when it cannot wait.
- Upright, chest and walk-in freezers
- Defrost and door heater faults fixed
- 24/7 emergency call-outs
- F-Gas certified, Refcom registered
Certified, accredited and insured
Common commercial freezer faults
Freezers fail differently from fridges. They run colder, every defrost matters more, and a small fault turns into a warm freezer faster. These are the faults we see most.
Frost building up inside
A light dusting of frost is normal. Snow drifting off the ceiling panels or a growing ice slab is not. It means warm, moist air is getting in past a tired door seal or a failed frame heater, or the defrost system has stopped clearing the coil. Frost always has a cause, and it gets worse, never better.
Defrost heater or timer faults
Most commercial freezers defrost with electric heaters on a timer or controller. When a heater, timer or termination sensor fails, ice chokes the evaporator coil until air can no longer pass through it. The compressor runs constantly, the cabinet warms, and people blame the gas. Nine times out of ten it is the defrost system, and it is a very repairable fault.
Not reaching -18°C
The usual suspects are a choked condenser, failed fans, low refrigerant from a leak, or a compressor losing strength. Ice cream is your early warning: it softens at temperatures where meat still looks fine, so soft scoops mean the freezer is already several degrees high. Check with a probe and call before the rest of the stock follows.
Door heaters and seals
Walk-in freezer doors have heaters in the frame to stop them freezing shut. When a heater fails, the door ices to the frame, staff force it open, and the seal tears. Then warm air pours in and the ice problem multiplies. We replace frame heaters, door heaters, gaskets, hinges and closers, and we check the pressure relief vent that lets a sealed room equalise.
Alarms going off
Treat every high-temperature alarm as real until you have proved otherwise. Confirm with a probe thermometer, not the unit's own display. Some alarms are the controller crying wolf, a failed sensor or a badly set alarm delay, but some are the first notice of a failing compressor. Either way, a freezer that alarms needs an engineer.
What our engineer does on a visit
Freezer diagnosis starts with the defrost system, because that is where most freezer faults live.
- Step 01
Confirm temperatures
We probe product and air temperatures, read the controller, and check how long the cabinet has been off temperature. It tells us how urgent the situation is.
- Step 02
Test the defrost system
Heater resistance, timer or controller defrost settings, and the termination sensor all get tested. The coil is inspected for the ice patterns that show how the fault developed.
- Step 03
Doors, heaters and seals
Frame heaters, door heaters, gaskets, hinges, closers and, on walk-ins, the pressure relief vent. Air leaks undo everything else we fix.
- Step 04
Circuit check and report
Condenser, fans, pressures and compressor current draw, then a plain-English explanation of the fault and the cost before parts are fitted.
Who we repair freezers for
Frozen stock is money on a shelf, and some of it, ice cream, gelato, frozen fish, is unforgiving about temperature. We look after freezers for:
- Restaurants and hotels
- Ice cream parlours and dessert shops
- Butchers and fishmongers
- Convenience stores and supermarkets
- Food production units
- Schools and care homes
- Pubs serving food
- Wholesalers and cash and carries
Walk-in freezers: the room is part of the machine
A walk-in freezer is a refrigerated box built into your building, and the box matters as much as the machinery. Damaged panels, a failed threshold heater or a torn door seal let heat and moisture in constantly, and the refrigeration system has to fight the building as well as the weather. Iced floors at the door are a safety problem as well as a symptom, because meltwater refreezes where staff walk.
On a walk-in visit we check the room as well as the unit: panels, door, heaters, seals, the pressure relief vent, the evaporator and the condensing unit. If your room is showing warning signs, our guide to walk-in cooler failures is worth reading before it becomes an emergency.
Why an iced-up freezer gets warmer, not colder
It sounds backwards, but ice on the evaporator coil insulates it. Air cannot pass through a choked coil, so the fans push less and less cold air into the cabinet while the compressor works harder and harder. That is why a freezer can be thick with ice behind the panel and still be at -10°C on the shelf.
Resist the urge to attack the ice with a knife or a steamer. A punctured coil or warped panel turns a defrost repair into a written-off freezer. Switch off, leave the door open, move the stock to another freezer if you have one, and let it defrost naturally while you wait for the engineer.
Areas we cover
Our engineers cover Greater London, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Berkshire. If you are close to the edge of those areas, call 020 3488 1889 and we will tell you straight away whether we can get to you.
Read up before you book
Plain advice from the people who fix these units, written for the people who own them.
We repair all the major commercial refrigeration brands
- Williams
- Foster
- Gram
- True
- Polar
- Precision
- Hoshizaki
- Scotsman
- Electrolux
- Adande
What Be Cool Group customers say
Commercial Fridge Repair is part of Be Cool Group. These are reviews from the group's customers.
Great Cold Room!
We had a small but difficult installation of a coldroom in our restaurant. Ali helped us minimise the downtime of our restaurant and installed a great coldroom for us!
Best Advice & Service!
I have known Ali from ‘Be Cool Refrigeration’ for the past year and he is a committed individual running a business that provides exceptional service. I had no hesitation to recommend one of my clients to him and not only did Ali deliver on a promise of great service but also recommended the right solution for the new showroom we had acquired for my client. This solution comprising of multiple units was not only effective given the size and format of the showroom it also has reduced the cost base and carbon footprint long term. Overall Be Cool Refrigeration has the right attitude and competence to be a trusted partner for whatever A/C, refrigeration, heating or similar systems you require. You are sure to be in the best hands with the best advice and service. I cannot recommend them highly enough.Read more
Knowledgeable! Professional!
Fridges, cold rooms, air-conditioning, ice machines, electric ovens, ice makers and MANY MORE…Be Cool have supplied and maintained our equipment since our restaurants, pubs and hotels opened (since 2010) and we have never look further…they have always responded to our calls and breakdowns. Knowledgeable! Professional!
Work to high quality
Be Cool have been working for us for over 5 years (since 2011), they install and maintain all the commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment for our projects. Our trust has always grown in Be Cool and because of this we always follow their recommendations…. “They have simply never let us down attending emergencies immediately and undertaking the work to high quality”.Read more
The professionalism and quality of work was second to none!
We used BeCool Ltd. to install new air conditioning in one of our 800sqm London venues. Top class! This was a big project but took little over two weeks. From the initial consultation to the handover, nothing was too much. The professionalism and quality of work was second to none. Following that, we used them to upgrade the air conditioning in our second London venue. Could not fault Ali and his team and BeCool Ltd is now our go-to place for AC and refrigeration. Thanks!Read more
Huge thank you to Be Cool!
Huge thank you to Be Cool after picking up the phone on a Sunday and providing good fast advice which other companies had completely failed to do. Thank you.
Commercial freezer repair FAQs
My freezer is at -10°C. Is the food still safe?
Keep the door shut and check product temperatures with a probe. Food that still has ice crystals and feels fridge-cold can usually be refrozen or used, but anything that has fully thawed and warmed should be treated with caution, and high-risk food that has been warm for hours should go. Record what you find and when, because that log is your due diligence if an EHO asks.
Why is there a puddle in front of the freezer?
Usually meltwater that cannot drain: a blocked defrost drain, a cracked drain tray, or ice at the door threshold melting. On walk-ins it can also be a failed threshold heater. It will not fix itself, and standing water in a kitchen or store room is a slip hazard, so it is worth a visit.
Can you repair walk-in freezer doors and panels?
Doors, yes: we replace frame and door heaters, gaskets, hinges, closers and handles. Panels, sometimes. Minor damage can be sealed, but badly crushed or delaminated panels may need a panel supplier, and we will tell you honestly when a repair stops making sense.
Do you work on chest freezers?
Yes. Chest freezers are simple, tough machines, and most faults, lid seals, thermostats, controllers, start components, are inexpensive repairs. We also repair the display chest freezers shops use for ice cream and frozen food.
The alarm goes off at night but the freezer is fine in the morning. Why?
Often it is a defrost cycle running longer than it should, a door left slightly open at close, or an alarm delay set too short. But it can also be a compressor that struggles overnight. Log the times and temperatures for a few nights, then call us, because the pattern tells the engineer a lot.
Freezer warming up?
Call us with the make, the fault and your postcode and we will give you a realistic arrival window, or send the form and we will ring you back.