True Refrigerator Repair

True Manufacturing has built commercial refrigeration in O'Fallon, Missouri, since the Trulaske family started it in 1945, and you will find its glass-door coolers in a great many convenience stores. Locally we see True in three places: stainless reach-ins and prep units in restaurants, merchandisers in shops and bars, and True Residential columns and undercounters in homes.

Nearly all of them share one cooling approach. An evaporator fan drives air hard around the cabinet so temperature drops back quickly after each opening, the compressor and condenser live in a separate compartment, and the refrigerators clear their coils during the compressor's off time rather than with a heater. Much of the current line runs on a small R290 charge, so a minor leak shows up fast as weak cooling.

A warm True cabinet is usually an airflow problem at one of two points. On the condenser side, grease or dust on the coil drives head pressure up, and a condenser fan that drags or locks up cooks the compressor compartment. Inside, a failed evaporator fan or product stacked against it creates warm zones. On merchandisers, gaskets torn by carts let humid air in and frost the coil.

We take our own cabinet temperature reading, then check both fans, compressor amps and how much the air cools across the coil. Merchandisers also get their door heaters and lighting checked, which add heat when they misbehave. Before calling, turn the unit off, brush the condenser face, and test the seal by closing the door on a slip of paper; if it slides out easily, the gasket is weak.

True equipment is built for a long life, so almost any repair other than sealed-system work is an easy decision, and even that work often makes sense on a solid cabinet. Tampa summers push humidity in with every door opening, which makes healthy gaskets and a clean coil worth more here than in drier places. We also tell you whether a part is on the van or has to be ordered.