[usernamevf0101]

I have a few questions about avoiding premature wear on a refrigeration system. Below is the physical size of the rooms and the temperatures they are set to.

Freezer: 1900 square feet, set at 5 degrees but does not reach temperature, is usually 12-15 degrees.
Cooler: 1900 square feet, set at 36 degrees and reaches temperature.


Meeting Temperature Set Points: We currently have our freezer set to 5 degrees but it doesn't reach that temperature, it usually hovers at around 12-15 degrees which is fine for our needs. We have a man door between the cooler and the freezer. Obviously if this is open it will make it harder for the freezer to drop in temperature. The temperatures reached are not an issue for us but will having the set point at 5 degrees or will leaving the man door between the cooler and freezer cause premature wear on the equipment? Will the system be over worked by doing this?

Air Flow: Our freezer is pretty packed at the moment and we have product around the evaporator coils. I understand that this may affect air flow which will affect the temperature of the room but will this cause premature wear on the equipment?

Besides having preventative maintenance done on the system including yearly cleanings and leak checks, does anyone have any tips on taking care of the equipment?

 

[Restaurant Mech]

The system is obviously undersized. I deal with mainly restaurants and meat processors.
Will you be putting more wear on the compressor running full bore all the time? Yes you will.
But having said that I deal with units that only shut down for defrost cycles and some of those compressors are over 20 years old and still running strong.
It really comes down to head pressure and superheat for compressor longevity.
Running constantly is much better than short cycling.

 

[Pnasty]

It could be undersized or it could be low on refrigerant. If it’s never reaching a 5° set point, and 12-15° is adequate for your operation why not turn the thermostat up? Maybe you have a defrost heater that’s energized. There’s a lot that can be going on with it. You need a refrigeration tech to give it a good look over.

 

[usernamevf0101]

The system is obviously undersized. I deal with mainly restaurants and meat processors.
Will you be putting more wear on the compressor running full bore all the time? Yes you will.
But having said that I deal with units that only shut down for defrost cycles and some of those compressors are over 20 years old and still running strong.
It really comes down to head pressure and superheat for compressor longevity.
Running constantly is much better than short cycling.

What does short cycling do to equipment?

It could be undersized or it could be low on refrigerant. If it’s never reaching a 5° set point, and 12-15° is adequate for your operation why not turn the thermostat up? Maybe you have a defrost heater that’s energized. There’s a lot that can be going on with it. You need a refrigeration tech to give it a good look over.

I've been considering that we should just turn the thermostat up but I'm not sure if it makes a difference. We do have a large refrigeration company come and do monthly PM's on the equipment but we get different techs and they give me conflicting information at times. The freezer evaporator coils have heaters, I assume that means the same as being energized.

I am leasing the premises and the landlord hires the maintenance company so basically I'm looking for confirmation on if the last tech is correct when he says we are putting undue stress on the system.

Currently, one tech is saying that we will put more wear and tear on the equipment if we leave the door between the cooler and freezer open and that we need to leave 2 feet of space around the evaporator coils for proper air foil, otherwise that also will put more wear and tear on the system. Currently we have about 1 to 1.5 feet of space around the evaporator coils.

Since I get different answers from the techs I'm hoping I can get some more clarification here.