Commercial Refrigeration Guides

Decision guide

How Commercial Refrigeration Repair Is Priced (Hourly, Flat, PMA)

Hourly versus flat-rate versus maintenance agreements, what actually drives the final number, and the questions to ask before a technician is dispatched.

Preventive Maintenance Agreements for Commercial Kitchens

What a refrigeration preventive maintenance agreement covers, how often visits should happen, and how the cost compares against emergency repair and product loss.

R-22 Phase-Out & Low-GWP Retrofits: What Oregon Businesses Must Know

R-22 and R-404A are phasing down. What EPA Section 608 requires, how Oregon rules fit in, and how to decide between retrofit, repair, and replacement.

Repair vs. Replace Commercial Refrigeration Equipment

A practical framework for deciding whether to repair or replace commercial refrigeration: age thresholds, refrigerant obsolescence, repair-cost ratios, and downtime risk.

Signs Your Commercial Refrigeration Needs Repair

Catch commercial refrigeration failures early. The warning signs that show up weeks before a breakdown, and what each one usually means.

What to Do When Your Walk-In Freezer Temperature Alarm Triggers

A step-by-step protocol for the first hour of a walk-in freezer alarm: protecting inventory, documenting temperatures, and knowing when to call emergency dispatch.

Why Is My Walk-In Cooler Not Cooling?

Walk-in cooler not cooling? The likely causes, the quick checks you can safely do yourself, and when to stop troubleshooting and call for emergency repair.

Construction & Installation

Choosing the Right Size Walk-In Cooler or Freezer

Size a walk-in by product volume rather than seat count: the cubic-footage math, cooler-to-freezer split, growth headroom, and urban footprint limits.

How a Commercial Walk-In Cooler Is Designed and Built

Site assessment through commissioning: how a commercial walk-in cooler gets designed, permitted, and built, and what decides the timeline.

Pre-Purchase Inspection Before Leasing a Commercial Kitchen

What a refrigeration inspection covers before you sign a lease or buy a restaurant, the red flags it surfaces, and how it becomes negotiating leverage.

Remote vs. Self-Contained Condensing Units for Urban Kitchens

Compare remote and self-contained condensing units on heat, noise, footprint, energy, maintenance access, and install cost for tight urban kitchens.

Walk-In Dismantling, Relocation & Reassembly

When moving an existing walk-in beats buying new, how dismantling and reassembly actually works, and how to plan the downtime around your operation.

What a Commercial Refrigeration Build-Out Costs and Includes

The variables that drive commercial refrigeration build-out cost, what belongs in a full-scope quote, and the line items operators most often forget to budget.

Gas Delivery

Beer Gas Mixes Explained (CO2, Nitrogen, 75/25 Blends)

Pure CO2, nitrogen, and 75/25 blends: which pour needs which gas, how blend choice changes foam and carbonation, and how regulators fit in.

CO2 Delivery for Bars, Restaurants & Soda Systems

Where CO2 gets used behind the bar, why food-grade matters, how cylinder sizes and refill cadence work, and how to store cylinders safely.

Cylinder vs. Bulk Gas Delivery: Which Is Right for Your Business

Where the crossover point sits between high-pressure cylinders and bulk gas: usage thresholds, storage and siting, cost per unit, and delivery logistics.

Emergency Gas Delivery: What to Do When You Run Out

Out of CO2 or beer gas mid-shift? Immediate steps, what emergency delivery involves, and the safety-stock setup that stops it happening again.

How Commercial Gas Delivery Scheduling & Pricing Works

Scheduled versus on-demand delivery, how gas pricing is structured, what an account involves, and where our Portland-area coverage reaches.

Nitrogen, Argon & Specialty Gas for Commercial Use

Nitrogen, argon, and oxygen for commercial, lab, and industrial use: what each does, how purity grades work, and when to move from cylinders to bulk.

Ice Machine Repair

Commercial Ice Machine Cleaning & Sanitization Schedule

How often a commercial ice machine needs cleaning and sanitizing, what each step involves, what health inspectors expect, and the signs you are overdue.

Portland Water Hardness, Scale & Ice Machine Filter Care

How local water conditions cause ice machine scale, which filter types address what, how often cartridges actually need changing, and what scale costs you.

Why Your Commercial Ice Machine Stopped Making Ice

The most common reasons a commercial ice machine stops producing, the checks you can safely run yourself, and when it needs a technician.

Warranty Service

Brands We Service Under Factory Warranty (True, Manitowoc, Traulsen, Beverage-Air)

The commercial refrigeration brands we hold factory authorization for, how to confirm coverage on your equipment, and where to find model and serial data.

Warranty Repair vs. Out-of-Warranty Repair: What to Expect

How to check warranty status, what coverage usually includes and excludes, and how out-of-warranty repair differs on parts, pricing, and decision-making.

What Factory Authorized Warranty Service Means for Your Equipment

What manufacturer authorization actually is, why it protects your coverage, and how authorized service differs from a general refrigeration repair company.

Glycol Chiller Service

Glycol Chiller Maintenance & Fluid Line Care

A practical maintenance routine for brewery glycol systems: concentration testing, fluid replacement, line insulation, leak prevention, and pump checks.

Glycol Chiller vs. Direct-Expansion Cooling for Your Brewery

Compare glycol and direct-expansion cooling for brewing on precision, scalability, install cost, energy use, and maintenance, and see which fits your production size.

How Glycol Chillers Keep Breweries and Taprooms Cold

How a glycol loop works, what each component does, and why one chiller can hold a dozen different tank temperatures at once in a working brewery.

Parts & Filters

Choosing the Right Water Filter for Your Ice Machine

Match filtration to your water condition and machine capacity: what each filter type removes, why sizing matters more than brand, and how to set a change interval.

Common Commercial Refrigeration Replacement Parts

The commercial refrigeration components that fail most often, what each failure looks like from the outside, and how to identify the right replacement part.