How Often Should Commercial Refrigeration Be Serviced?

If you run a cafe, restaurant, convenience store or pub anywhere from Bexhill-on-Sea to Hastings and Eastbourne, your refrigeration is not just equipment, it is stock, food safety and takings. Here is how often it should be looked at, and what the law expects of you.

The short answer

For most food businesses we recommend a professional service every 6 months, with monthly in house checks by your own staff. Equipment working hard in hot kitchens, or older kit, benefits from quarterly visits. A walk in cold room failing on a Saturday in August costs far more than a year of servicing.

What your staff can check monthly

• Door seals. A torn or loose gasket leaks cold air constantly and forces the compressor to overwork.
• Condenser grilles. Dust and grease build up restricts airflow. Keep grilles clear and vacuum them gently.
• Temperatures. Log fridge and freezer temperatures daily. A slow upward drift is the earliest warning sign you will get.
• Ice build up. Frost where there should be none usually means a defrost fault or a failing seal.

What the law requires: F-Gas leak checks

Under the UK F-Gas Regulation, businesses operating refrigeration equipment have legal duties based on the refrigerant charge of each system, measured in tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Systems at or above 5 tonnes CO2 equivalent must have documented leak checks at least every 12 months, larger systems more often. Checks must be carried out by F-Gas certified engineers and records kept for at least 5 years. Our engineers are F-Gas certified and we handle the paperwork as part of every commercial maintenance plan.

What a professional service covers

A proper visit goes well beyond a wipe down. We check refrigerant charge and pressures, inspect for leaks, test electrical connections and controls, clean condenser and evaporator coils, confirm defrost cycles, check door seals and hinges, and verify the system holds its set temperature under load. You get a written record for your food safety file.

Planned maintenance beats emergency call outs

We offer maintenance plans for businesses across East Sussex that bundle scheduled visits, F-Gas compliance records and priority response if something does go wrong. Our emergency line runs 24/7, but the best emergencies are the ones that never happen.