Walk-in freezer repair and defrost troubleshooting

Frost and ice are the diagnostic

Where the ice forms tells you most of what you need to know.

• Ice on the evaporator coil. The defrost cycle is not running or not terminating. Timer, terminator, heater or control board.
• Ice around the door frame. A failed perimeter or mullion heater. Common through Utah winters, and usually ignored until the door will not close.
• Ice on the floor at the threshold. Failed floor heater wire, or a drain line freezing before it exits the box.
• Frost on product while the box holds zero. Usually a door being left open or an air curtain problem rather than a mechanical fault.
• Ice in the drain pan. Drain line heater failure. The pan overflows as it thaws.

How defrost works, briefly

A walk-in freezer cannot just run cold continuously. Moisture enters every time the door opens, condenses on the evaporator and freezes there. Once the coil is packed with ice, airflow stops and the box warms even though the compressor is still running. The defrost cycle exists to clear that ice on a schedule.

So when defrost fails, the symptom looks backwards: the unit runs harder and the box gets warmer. If your freezer is running nonstop and losing temperature, check defrost first. Refrigerant charge comes later.

Emergency response and product

Frozen product has more thermal mass than refrigerated product, so a full freezer holds temperature for hours with the door shut. Keep it shut and call. A half-thawed load that gets refrozen is the outcome to avoid, because the quality loss stays invisible until service.

Service area

We cover Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Summit and Weber counties. Same-day dispatch valley-wide, 2-hour target on refrigeration emergencies.

• Salt Lake City
• West Valley City
• Sandy
• Draper
• West Jordan
• South Jordan
• Murray
• Midvale
• Millcreek
• Taylorsville
• Lehi
• American Fork
• Park City
• Ogden
• Provo