Refurbished Commercial Fridges

Check the door gaskets first. Close the door on a sheet of paper and pull it out — if it slides free with no resistance, the gasket has gone flat and warm air is leaking in around it. Gaskets are cheap and they are the most common fault on a used cabinet, so budget for a replacement set either way.

Check the condenser next. It is the finned coil that carries heat out of the unit, and when it is packed with dust and kitchen grease that heat can't escape, so head pressure rises and the compressor runs for far longer to hold the same temperature. A proper clean usually fixes that.

Then ask how long the unit has been switched off, because a fridge that has stood idle for months needs different handling on the day it arrives.

An idle period matters, but it is not a reason to rule a unit out. A fridge that has been switched off for a long stretch can have compressor oil that has settled, gaskets that have taken a set where the door was closed on them, and a stale smell inside that a wash and an airing will clear. Always stand a unit upright for a few hours before you switch it on, particularly if it has travelled lying down or on a lean.

Watch the first day of running. A fridge that pulls down steadily and then holds temperature is fine, and usually needs nothing more than new gaskets and a clean. A unit that never quite reaches temperature, or that runs flat out and never cycles off, needs a refrigeration technician before you put food in it.

Bulk stock that gets collected a few times a service belongs in an upright fridge, which holds the most in the smallest footprint, in solid door for back of house or glass door where customers help themselves. Mise en place that a chef reaches for every couple of minutes belongs under the bench, at the section where they are already standing.

Prep fridges are the right choice when the food is held in gastronorm pans — pizza toppings, sandwich fillings, salad. You get a chilled well on top and refrigerated storage underneath in a single footprint. A prep bench costs more than a plain under bench fridge of the same width, so buy one only if you are building product off the top of it.

Buy your gastronorm pans from the same supplier as the fridge, because slight differences between brands mean a cross-brand pan may not seat properly.

Yes, as long as air can move across the condenser. Every fridge sheds heat through its condenser, and that hot air has to go somewhere. Box a unit into a tight run of benching with no clearance behind it, or stand it beside an oven or a chargrill, and the air around the condenser stays hot, head pressure climbs and the compressor runs far longer than it should. Leave the clearance the manufacturer specifies and keep the vents clear.

Doors held open while somebody decides what they want, warm stock loaded straight in, shelves packed so tightly that air can't circulate, and a layer of dust on the condenser will each add more running time than the age of the machine does.

Yes. The terms are shown on each product page and depend on that unit's condition, history and age. A low-hour cabinet out of a demonstration kitchen is not the same buy as a fridge that has worked several hard years in a busy kitchen, so read the terms on the model you want before you order.

Ask us whether a repair is carried out on site or whether the unit has to go back to a service agent, because freight on a heavy cabinet changes the sums. Ask about parts too. Gaskets, fans, thermostats and controllers for the current trade brands are readily available in Australia, and an older imported model can take longer to source.

The saving is not a fixed figure, because it depends on the model, its age and the work it needed. REO prices refurbished refrigeration sharply, and comparing a refurbished unit with the new equivalent is the quickest way to see the difference.

If the constraint is cash rather than price, Silverchef Rent-Try-Buy is the other way in. You rent the fridge, keep your cash for the rest of the fit-out, and claim the rental payments as an operating expense. Once you know the unit is the right size for the way you actually trade, you can buy it out or upgrade to a bigger model as the business grows.

Most under bench and single door fridges will, because they are single phase and draw under 10 amps. Larger upright cabinets, and glass door units carrying a lot of lighting, can need a 15 amp outlet, which has a wider earth pin and won't fit a standard socket until an electrician installs one. Power requirements are shown on each product page, so check them before you book a delivery date.

Give a fridge its own circuit if the switchboard allows it. A compressor draws a surge every time it starts, and sharing a circuit with a toaster, a microwave and a coffee machine will eventually trip a breaker overnight and leave you with warm food in the morning.

Stand the unit upright and leave it a few hours before you plug it in, particularly if it has travelled on its back or on a tilt, so the compressor oil can drain back. Then run it empty with the doors closed and let it pull down on its own.

Give it a full day empty before you load it, with your own thermometer inside rather than relying on the display. Load it with cold stock, not warm, and leave space around the shelves so air can circulate. If anything looks wrong in the first day or two, call us then rather than a fortnight later with the cabinet full of food.

For most models, yes. FED-X, Thermaster, Atosa, Skope, Polar, Turbo Air, Bromic, Williams and Anvil are all current trade brands with service agents in Australia, so door gaskets, hinges, fans, shelves and controllers are usually easy to get.

Gaskets are the part to plan for. They are a wear and tear component on any fridge, new or refurbished, and a fresh set on an older cabinet cuts running time and helps the unit hold temperature. If the model you want is unusual or discontinued, ask us about parts for that exact model before you commit to it.