Walk-in cooler and freezer repair in Ottawa

If you run one of these and need a walk-in back in service as quickly as possible, tell us what is at risk when you book:

• Restaurants
• Cafés and bakeries
• Hotels
• Retirement homes
• Catering and commissaries
• Bars and pubs
• Grocery and specialty retail
• Butcher shops
• Ice-cream and gelato shops
• Property managers

Whether your kitchen calls it a walk-in fridge, a walk-in cooler or a cold room, the same few systems keep it cold, and these are the faults we find in them:

• Not holding temperature: temperature climbing, a freezer cycling but not freezing, or a cooler above the safe-food threshold (4 °C for refrigerated food, −18 °C for frozen).
• Evaporator fan failure: loud bearings, a motor that won’t turn, or frost spreading over the evaporator coil because of poor airflow.
• Condenser issues: a dirty condenser coil, condenser fan failure or head-pressure problems.
• Defrost system: failed defrost heater, defrost timer or defrost termination switch, and ice building up on the coil.
• Door and gasket failures: door sweep, hinges, latches, heated frame and magnetic gasket replacement.
• Controller and electronic faults: temperature controller, alarm board, display panel, wiring and sensors.
• Condensate drain blockages: drain line freeze-up, drip pan overflow, P-trap and heat-trace inspection.
• Lighting and signage: LED retrofits, failed ballasts, low-voltage transformers and lit signage.

During a July heat wave, the condensing unit on the roof or behind the building has to push heat into hot air. A dirty coil or a weak condenser fan shows up first as a box that can’t keep up through the afternoon rush, so summer is when a clogged condenser usually shows itself. Summer humidity also exposes a failed heated door frame or threshold heater on a walk-in freezer: frost and ice build at the door until it no longer seals.

Deep cold causes the opposite problem. Outdoor condensing units rely on head-pressure controls to keep working at −25 °C; when those controls fail, a walk-in can short-cycle or stop cooling properly even though it is freezing outside.

Sealed-system work (refrigerant recovery, recharging, brazing of refrigerant lines and compressor replacement involving the closed circuit) is quoted separately. Every quote shows up front which items are box and cabinet repairs and which are refrigerant work, so there are no surprises.

1. Phone diagnostic and booking. When you call, we note the make and model, what the box is doing, your hours and your loss-mitigation priorities: which product to triage first and whether you can move stock. We then lock in a time window by call or text; when the schedule allows, that can be the same day.
2. On-site assessment. A full diagnostic of the box, controls, evaporator, condenser, defrost, drain and door systems. The written quote lists parts, labour and any refrigerant work as separate lines.
3. Repair, on the first visit when possible. Controllers, evaporator fan motors, defrost heaters and door hardware are common walk-in parts, so many repairs are finished the same day; a less common part may have to be ordered first.
4. Paperwork and warranty. You keep a written record of the work for insurance, HACCP and chain-account audits, and the repair is warrantied for 3 months on parts and labour.

Diagnosis on a commercial service call costs $129 + tax. A night visit (9 PM to 7 AM) adds $100 flat to regular rates, and for sites more than 30 km from downtown Ottawa a travel charge may apply, quoted before the visit.

We service the equipment, not the badge, including coolers and freezers from:

• True
• Norlake
• Master-Bilt
• Kolpak
• Imperial Brown
• Foster
• Polar King
• Bally
• Continental
• Beverage-Air
• Turbo Air
• Hoshizaki
• Delfield
• Atosa
• Migali
• Custom builds

• More than 30 years across Ottawa-Gatineau, with factory-authorized repairs, plus TSSA certification for gas work in Ontario.
• Written documentation for landlord-tenant, insurance, HACCP and chain-account auditors.
• 3-month warranty on parts and labour on every commercial repair.
• Clear scope: box repairs and refrigerant work are listed separately before billable work begins.
• After-hours visits from 9 PM to 7 AM through the same number, with the $100 flat fee stated up front.

• Downtown Ottawa
• ByWard Market
• Vanier
• Westboro
• Bayshore
• Nepean
• Kanata
• Orléans
• Barrhaven
• Gloucester
• Stittsville
• Manotick
• Gatineau
• Hull
• Aylmer
• Chelsea
• Rockland
• Casselman
• Embrun
• Carleton Place

Beyond 30 km of downtown Ottawa (Carleton Place, Casselman, Embrun, Rockland), a travel charge may apply. For Quebec-side businesses, see commercial appliance repair in Gatineau; household appliances are covered on appliance repair in Ottawa and appliance repair in Gatineau.