A cool room is often the most important piece of equipment in a food business. When it’s working, nobody thinks about it. When it isn’t, everything else stops. LJ Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning designs, builds, repairs and services cool rooms for businesses across Adelaide and surrounds, covering both the panel room and the refrigeration that runs it.
We’re a local Adelaide business based in Angle Vale, with licensed refrigeration technicians who fault-find properly and give you a clear price before work starts.
Cool room playing up? Call 1300 553 744.
New cool room builds and installation
A good cool room starts with getting the sizing right. Too small and the system runs flat out every afternoon; too big and you’re paying to cool empty space. Before we quote, we look at:
- What you’re storing — produce, meat, dairy, drinks, flowers or prepared food all behave differently
- How much, and how often it turns over — warm deliveries put a lot of load on a system
- Door traffic — a kitchen cool room opened every two minutes during service needs more capacity than a storeroom
- Insulation and panels — the room has to hold the cold the system makes
- Where the plant can go — condensing units need airflow and access, and placement affects noise and efficiency
- Power supply and drainage on site
From there we design, supply and install the complete cool room (the insulated panel room and the refrigeration system), commission it, and hand over with a clear run-down on how it all works. Already have a room that’s in good shape? We can also replace or upgrade just the refrigeration.
For a deeper look at planning a new install, see our cool room installation guide.
Cool room repairs
Most cool room problems show up as one of these:
- The room isn’t holding temperature, especially on hot afternoons
- The system runs constantly and never seems to switch off
- Ice building up on the evaporator coil
- Water leaking or pooling on the floor
- Door seals torn, or the door not closing properly
- Unusual noises from the fans or condensing unit
- Alarms or the controller showing faults
We find the actual cause — a refrigerant leak, failing fan, dirty condenser, faulty controller, defrost problem or compressor issue — and fix it properly instead of patching it until next time.
If your room is warming up, start with our guide: cool room not holding temperature. If stock is at risk now, see urgent commercial refrigeration repair or just call us.
Cool room servicing and maintenance
Cool rooms work hard all year, and Adelaide summers push them harder. Regular servicing helps catch problems before they turn into a breakdown. A typical service includes:
- Cleaning condenser and evaporator coils
- Checking refrigerant and system pressures
- Checking fans, motors and electrical connections
- Testing the controller, sensors and defrost
- Inspecting door seals, hinges and strip curtains
- Clearing drains
- A short report on condition and anything to watch
For businesses with several units, a refrigeration maintenance contract keeps it all on a regular schedule.
Who uses cool rooms
We build, repair and service cool rooms for all sorts of Adelaide businesses, including:
- Restaurant, café and hotel kitchens
- Pubs and bottle shops
- Butchers, delis and grocers
- Florists
- Food production and catering businesses
Hospitality operators: see hospitality refrigeration. Retail: see supermarket & retail refrigeration.
What a good cool room build includes
- A panel room sized and laid out for what you store and how you use it
- Refrigeration sized to the room, the product and how it’s used — not just whatever’s on the shelf
- Plant positioned for airflow and service access
- Tidy, properly insulated pipework
- Correct drainage
- Controller set up and temperatures checked during commissioning
- A clear handover so your staff know what normal looks like
Need a freezer room as well?
Many businesses run a cool room and a freezer room side by side, and we can design and build both. See walk-in freezers and freezer rooms.
See all our commercial refrigeration services in Adelaide.
Frequently asked questions
What temperature should a cool room run at?
It depends on what you’re storing, but most food cool rooms run a few degrees above freezing. Standard food-safety guidance is to keep cold food at 5°C or below. We’ll set your controller up to suit your product, and you should follow your own food safety plan.
How long does a cool room build take?
It depends on the size of the room, whether it’s a complete new cool room build or a refrigeration upgrade on an existing room, and site access. We’ll give you a realistic timeline with your quote so you can plan around trading.
How do I get a quote for a new cool room?
Call 1300 553 744 or email info@ljrefrig.com.au. We’ll ask what you’re storing, the size you have in mind and where it’s going, and usually arrange a site visit. New cool room builds come with a free, no-obligation quote.
Why is my cool room not getting cold enough?
Common causes include dirty condenser coils, a refrigerant leak, failing fans, a faulty controller, iced-up coils or worn door seals. Some are quick fixes, some aren’t — the right answer is a proper fault-find. Call us and describe what it’s doing.
Do you service cool rooms you didn’t install?
Yes. We repair and service existing cool rooms across Adelaide and surrounds, whoever installed them.
Talk to us about your cool room
New build, repair or regular servicing — we’ll give you straight advice and a clear price.
Call 1300 553 744 (Mon–Fri 7am–6pm) · Email info@ljrefrig.com.au · Contact us or request a quote