Blog Post 2: How to Buy a Used Commercial Freezer or Refrigerator
I’ve owned two restaurants in my life, and many of my closest friends are restaurateurs. It’s gets in your blood… but if you’re reading this blog, you already know that. Here’s something many of us have in common: at the beginning of our entrepreneurial adventures, we didn’t know squat about refrigeration, other than what temperature the health inspector wants. Gradually, we learned more as we went along. Most of these lessons usually happened in the middle of a Saturday night pop, when the freezer goes down, you’re short staffed, in the weeds, and repair techs are charging their “emergency after-hours” rate. Nothing against the repair techs, they’ve saved my butt many times… if they want more money to come out at 9pm on a weekend, I’ll gladly pay.
Equipment failures are part of the job. The food service industry is not for the faint of heart. We run our equipment, and we run it hard. And since we’re not made of money, we probably bought it used, at auction. A choice which enabled us to outfit our entire kitchen for about 10 cents on the dollar. Publicly-traded, corporate restaurants may be able to spend a quarter million dollars on kitchen equipment, but we know better. We always negotiate the deal, or our dreams suffer what’s known as “death by a thousand cuts.”
If you’ve been in the business a while, you likely are familiar with the following tips. But if you’re new, or in the process of getting up and running in the food service industry, these simple tips can save you a lot of headache and money. Let’s get started!
1. Read The Data Tag: Most refrigeration will have a manufacturers data plate or sticker inside the unit. It will tell you a lot about the unit. What kind of refrigerant does it use? Refrigerators should be R134a, R290, or newer. And freezers should be R404a or newer. Avoid units running on R12, R22, etc. They stopped manufacturing those a decade ago, so supply and demand has driven the price of those gases to ludicrous prices. Also, if a unit runs on an older refrigerant, you know it’s a much older unit, and probably best avoided altogether. The data tag will also tell you the power requirements (you’ll probably want single phase, 120 or 240 vac). Lastly, the data tag will have a serial number on it. Some brands (like True Manufacturing) will have a serial-number lookup on their website. You can input the serial number and determine the age of the unit, which should play a huge factor in the price you’re willing to pay.
2. Check The Thermostat: We already know the unit is cold and maintaining the proper temperatures. But that doesn’t mean the thermostat is functioning properly. This tip also applies to ovens, warmers, holding cabinets, bain-maries, just about anything with a thermostat. Get the unit to the desired temperature, then slowly lower or raise the setting on the thermostat until you hear or feel a faint click. That clicking sound is where the thermostat setting meets the actual temperature of the unit. And you should be able to slowly turn the dial up and down, hearing the click, or the compressor and fans turning on and off. If nothing happens, it’s likely you have a thermostat issue, which will lead to the unit getting too hot, too cold, etc.
3. Check The Door Gaskets: Open the doors and inspect the gaskets. Run your fingers across every inch of them. Are they torn? Do they seat properly? If they’re magnetic, do they seal properly when the door is closed? Replacing them is usually simple enough, but they can cost over $100 each, if they’re still being made for that particular unit. A cost that should definitely be factored into the price you’re willing to pay. The same goes for shelving inside the unit. Needing $600 worth of shelves kills the deal in my mind.
4. Check The Casters and Legs: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a piece of equipment up for bidding that is missing a back wheel or leg, and the unit is kept upright by a brick or some other form of half-assed rigging. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the restaurant or bar owner doing this on the fly to keep his business running… but as a prospective bidder you should look for this kind of thing. It may not sound like much, but restaurant equipment is deceptively heavy. A typical double-stacked convection oven weighs over a thousand pounds. And refrigeration typically weighs in at four hundred pounds per door. If you buy one of these units, you have to get it out of the building, into your transport vehicle, and into your building. A missing wheel or leg can make that move far more difficult. And finding a replacement caster that matches the others can be difficult and expensive, because they’re usually proprietary (meaning the one at Home Depot or Harbor Freight probably won’t fit). A missing leg or caster shouldn’t preclude you from bidding on the unit, and it might even enable you to get an incredible deal because others don’t want to deal with it. Just be aware of it.
5. How To Get It Out of The Building: This may sound obvious, but it’s an easy thing to overlook when you get caught up in the excitement of an auction, or a good deal. Look at the unit, then before you buy it, walk the route it will have to go to get outside of the building. Are there stairs? Will it go through the doorways without having to be taken apart? If you have to lay a unit down to get it through a door, is the ceiling on the other side high enough to stand it back up? Do you have enough manpower to safely lay the unit on the side or back?
6. Tipping Refrigeration Over: This is a task that’s best avoided if possible. The reason is that the oil inside the compressor will percolate into the lines when it’s tipped over. Not a deal killer, but not ideal. If you must tip it over, take a look at the compressor. Some compressors you will notice all the copper lines come out of the same side… if you’re lucky and this compressor is configured that way, tip it over on the opposite side. That way the oil won’t pour into the lines. But either way, once you tip it over, be sure to wait at least 48 hours to plug it in so you give the oil plenty of time to percolate back into the compressor. IMPORTANT: Before tipping over a refrigerator, inspect the mounts on the compressor. Many times, you fill find units with the bolts removed. This means if you tip the unit over, the compressor will fall over inside the unit and likely cause expensive damage to the unit. If this is the case, don’t tip it without securing the compressor in place. You can do this on-the-fly with wire-cutters and a metal coat hanger, or heavy-duty zip ties, or even a ratchet strap. Just be careful, the copper lines are easy to break or kink. Also, be sure to remove the shelves, and any covers.
7. Check The Condenser Fan and Coils: Take a good look at the condenser fan coils. Are they blanketed and choked up with dust? Here’s a basic description of how refrigeration works: Refrigerant is compressed, then allowed to decompress as it flows through the evaporator inside the unit. Decompression of refrigerant is endothermic reaction, meaning it absorbs heat and thus cools the temperature inside the unit. The refrigerant must then circulate out of the evaporator, and back into the compressor to be re-compressed… and that process is a continuous loop. During the compression stage, the process becomes exothermic, meaning it produces a lot of heat. This heat energy must be removed as it passes through the condenser coils. That’s why fans are blowing directly on the coils… it’s to draw out the heat via forced-air convection. Over time, those coils will build up dust, which restricts airflow and makes the entire system work much harder to keep up. The dust is easily removed with a brush. Therefore, if the previous owner allowed the coils to get choked up with dust, you know the compressor is tired and more prone to future failure. You also know that the owner wasn’t keeping up with preventative maintenance.
8. Duct Tape Is Your Friend: Ok, you’ve done your due diligence and bought a great unit for a great price at auction. You’ve even moved the unit out of the building and onto your truck or transport vehicle. Now what? Obviously, you’ll want to use ratchet straps to safely secure the unit during transport. But is that all? Nope. You’re almost done, but there’s another critical step. Can you move or wiggle any part of the unit? Will wind move any part of the unit? Will doors open, or covers fly off while you’re driving down the road? The answer is probably yes. The easiest fix is duct tape (provided it’s not raining, and your unit is not greasy). I found that the “Gorilla Tape” brand works best and leaves less glue behind when it’s time to remove the tape. I use a lot of it. Tape the doors shut, remove the panels, or covers, or tape them securely in place. Remove the knobs and secure them somewhere they won’t get lost, or tape them in place (they’ll vibrate right off the unit if you don’t). If it’s raining, or the unit is greasy, the tape probably won’t stick. It’s probably best in this case to remove every moveable part and secure them inside the vehicle. If this is not possible, bungee cords are incredibly useful. Whatever it takes. Don’t drive away until your entire load is secure. Pieces that blow away on the highway are expensive to replace. But even worse, they could kill someone driving behind you. And if a cop sees it, you’ll surely get fined.
I hope these tips are helpful to you. As a prior restaurateur, I understand what you’re going through, and am truly excited for you. I wish you nothing but success. Hopefully these tips, in some small way, contributed to that. Thank you for reading!
Mark Busby - Principal Auctioneer/Founder
BidTender Auctions, Inc., Fairfax, VA
www.bidtenderauctions.com
