We give you top 9 tips not to miss while buying commercial freezer

Summers are here and so is the urge for cooler options to keep all us on the move. Be it home or a trading area, to keep food and drinks at an optimum temperature becomes the only mantra to deal with the Australian scorching heat. This gives us the energy and drives us to be on the go in warmer months.

Our refrigeration appliances work hard to keep us cool through the refreshing drinks and meals stored and stacked inside. They are designed to facilitate optimum temperatures and maintain them while the essentials are stacked inside. But when we talk about commercial freezers, the functionality increases.

Your food business will see a high support system in a commercial freezer. According to your trading criteria, you need to store and freeze foods to keep them afresh and usable for a longer time. It facilitates the preparation of menu items you sell or you might need to store inventory for large volumes of orders you have booked in advance. All your restaurant needs can be fulfilled by installing a high-quality and efficient performing commercial freezer. Just a little more degrees of temperature can not only save your food from turning into profits, it is one of the most highly dependable and reliable business equipment.

If you wish to own a cabinet that provides your heavy-duty functionality for your food inventory, pick the following tips while purchasing and you will surely thank us later:

 1.      Measure and calculate space in your commercial kitchen 

First and foremost, you should have concrete knowledge of the space available in your kitchen for a business-grade freezer. This will help you to decide on the size of the commercial freezer that you can pick. The length, breadth, height and depth of the freezer will be required to assess how much space is needed. This will also help you in fixing a spot in your food work area. For eg., if you have a small kitchen space in your trading place, an upright freezer is an ideal option for you. It will serve your storing needs without occupying too much floor space. We recommend restaurant business owners to keep budget and space for extra cold storage as it is a good idea when your business starts to gain momentum.

2.      Which type is the right type?

Under this header there will be various pointers which needs to be touched while deciding the type of the commercial freezer:

• Volume- Several variants are available in volumes to cater to the business demands of restaurant owners. For eg., If your trade requires to store large volumes of frozen foods to serve guests in rush hours, you will be requiring a 22 cubic feet volume of a commercial freezer in your kitchen.
• Design- Usually commercial fridges are designed to aid ease of movement in the business kitchen. Refrigeration experts who design such types of equipment have dense experience and understanding the plight of the kitchen staff that uses such types of equipment and the shortcoming technicians face while maintenance work. Designs not only cater to the ease of usage but they also provide enough storage space adding to the versatility quotient. For eg., handles of the chest freezers are sleek and elongated to facilitate easy and proper opening and closing of the freezer. Another example of design is the walk-in style freezer or the reach-in style. If your business operations require huge capacities to store while your staff need to access the storage spaces closely, you should go for a walk-in commercial freezer.

• Exterior- Many commercial freezers are manufactured in variants like panels, single door, double door, top and bottom mounds, and many more. Make sure you choose an exterior that will not block the trips of your staff or injure them and at the same time should not be an interruption to the busy kitchen tasks.
• Door design- The suppliers or distributors of commercial kitchen equipment rest with a variety of inventory to cater to the needs and requirements of businesses. Door designs like the swing style, slide style, glass door and chest door are available in commercial freezers. For example, if you own a supermart and want to display frozen food to your customers where they can help themselves, a display door style will be the best pick. It will showcase the variety of frozen stuff you sell and customers can reach for themselves to explore and choose from the options.
• 3.     The appetite of the commercial freezer- As responsible business owners, it is a prime responsibility not to harm the environment while doing our business. How much energy does an appliance consume is one of the vital pointers to consider while buying a piece of equipment. Manufacturers and suppliers of commercial types of equipment constantly work on designs and engineer such types of equipment that are energy efficient and consume less power. Do indulge in an activity where you can research on several brands and then decide on the most efficient commercial freezer. This will save you both energy and money.

• 4.      Eena mena maiyna mo...For which brand should I go? – If you have a specific brand to go for, research well about it. You need to look for the experience which the brand comes with in the field of refrigeration. This will be a deciding factor for a good reputation in refrigeration, consistent quality, warranties, innovative technology and services.
• 5.      Your reliable kitchen buddy- Commercial freezers are designed to chill food and other storage items 24 hours of the day. Failure to do this will invite huge losses of business and inventory and further delay the smooth running of your kitchen. Suspiciously low priced types of equipment are to be kept at bay. Even if you are grabbing a deal, do not compromise on this factor.
• 6.      Make friends with a good technician- Any equipment requires troubleshooting while it is functioning in your commercial kitchen. Faults and failures come with any appliance as machinery is unpredictable to a limit. A good technician on hand can save you from small halts and regular glitches that disrupt your food business and make your customers unhappy.

• 7.     The power of power- Usually a typical commercial freezer requires a 115-volt power system to freeze stocks inside its storage space.  If you have picked up a commercial freezer that does not have enough power to function for what it is meant, you will have to reap huge loss. The capacity in terms of power reaches up to 230 volts. Your choice of the appliance should be efficient enough to freeze and continue maintaining at the optimum temperature.
• 8.    Perfect location of the compressor- A top or bottom mounted compressor is usually manufactured for a commercial freezer. You can decide on this while completely understanding that the compressor has enough space for ventilation. Air circulation is prime for such types of equipment as the atmosphere of the kitchen is to be kept neutral. In warmer months, compressor tends to heat up. A regulated air space will help to neutralise the temperature of the food work area. Both come with their set of pros and cons. Let's take a quick look:

Fact points of a Bottom-mounted compressor:

• Easy service
• Top of the fridge can be used to place extra items
• Easy to maintain the temperature of the kitchen as the temperature close to the floor is low.
• Ideal to a place near cooking areas

Fact points of a Top-mounted compressor:

• Can’t place extra items on the top
• Ideal to a place where food job tasks that are dry
• Have lower shelves that aids easier access
• The heat generating from the top will be easily neutralised as it is easily sucked by the ventilation systems of the commercial kitchen.
• 9.   Easy mobility- Wheels like casters are fixed to the bottom of heavy-duty equipment for easy mobility. Types of equipment like commercial fridges, curved glass cake displays, upright storage fridges and freezers, commercial gas ovens and commercial freezers can be easily moved while the cleaning process is on or if you plan to move to a different location. Height of the freezer is vital as you need to consider clear space and regulated airflow around your unit.

Australian summers are hot and Aussies love to hit pubs, bars and restaurants for refreshing drinks and sumptuous food menus. If you are looking to expand your list of commercial kitchen types of equipment, then check out our online inventory of high-quality and reliable commercial appliances at www.simcogroup.com.au.