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A Fort Myers restaurant contacted us after staff noticed an odd temperature pattern in one of their reach-in refrigerators.
Food on the left side stayed cold, but products on the opposite shelves felt warmer. The digital display still showed a normal cabinet temperature, so at first the problem did not look serious.
When I checked actual product temperatures with a probe, the difference between shelves was too large to ignore.
I started by checking the evaporator fan, cabinet sensor, airflow pattern, coil condition, and defrost operation.
The fan motor was running, but airflow across the cabinet was weak.
After opening the evaporator section, I found significant ice buildup across the evaporator coil, restricting airflow through the cabinet. Air could still move through one section, which explained why some shelves stayed cold while others warmed up.
Further testing showed the defrost control was not allowing the coil to clear frost correctly between cooling cycles.
The refrigerator had not completely failed. It simply could not distribute cold air evenly anymore.
I cleared the ice from the evaporator, corrected the defrost control problem, and inspected the heater, sensor, fan, and drain area.
After restoring the defrost operation, I ran the refrigerator through multiple cooling cycles and measured temperatures on different shelves.
Airflow returned across the full cabinet, and product temperatures became consistent from one side to the other.
Watch for:
A single temperature reading does not always tell you what is happening throughout the cabinet.
In a commercial refrigerator, uneven cooling can be just as serious as a completely warm cabinet.
The unit may appear to be operating normally while food in one section is already outside the temperature range you expect.
The longer airflow remains restricted, the harder the refrigeration system has to work.
Commercial Appliance Repair and Refrigeration provides commercial refrigerator repair in Fort Myers for restaurants, cafés, bars, hotels, markets, and commercial kitchens.
We diagnose airflow problems, iced evaporators, defrost failures, fan motors, sensors, controls, compressors, and other commercial refrigeration issues.
If one side of your refrigerator is warmer than the other, schedule commercial refrigeration repair in Fort Myers before an uneven temperature problem becomes product loss.
Enter your phone number, and we'll get back to you promptly to provide expert service for your commercial equipment needs.
