What to book when your unit stops cooling
If a fridge, freezer, aircon or cold room is not doing its job, send through a call-out request and we will arrange the next suitable visit. This page is for faults that need hands-on attention, whether the issue is weak cooling, icing, water leaking onto the floor, noisy operation or a room that is running warmer than it should.
We work from Montague Gardens in Cape Town and cover the wider Western Cape, including Stellenbosch, Paarl, Malmesbury and Vredenburg. If you are running a shop floor, packhouse, storeroom or farm cold room, it helps to book early and give clear notes on what the unit is doing. That lets us bring the right tools and parts where possible, and saves time on site.
- Refrigeration faults in display fridges, bottle coolers and storage units
- Aircon faults in offices, shops, staff rooms and homes
- Cold room problems such as poor pull-down, frost build-up or temperature drift
- Drain issues, dirty coils and units affected by dust or coastal air
Tell us the fault before the visit
When you book, please include the unit type, the make if you know it, the location, and what changed before the fault started. A short note like “not holding temperature after load shedding” or “fan running but no cold air” is enough to start with. If the unit is in a coastal area, near the West Coast or close to the sea, say so as humidity and salt air can affect coils, wiring and drainage.
Good fault notes help us work faster and reduce the chance of repeat visits. If the cold room stores food, flowers or medicines, say what is inside and whether the stock needs immediate action. For farms and shops in busy trading weeks, timing matters, so mention your operating hours and any access limits on the property.
- Send the site address, suburb and a contact number
- List the symptoms, error codes or unusual sounds
- Tell us if the unit stopped after a power cut or load shedding
- Share access details such as security gates, loading bays or farm roads
What happens after you send the request
Once the request comes through, our team reviews the fault and assigns the right technician. For refrigeration call-outs this may be a senior technician, while cold-room work may go to a specialist with the right test equipment and gauges. We then contact you to confirm the site, the likely timing and any basic checks you can do before arrival.
In many cases we may ask you to switch the unit off and keep doors closed until we get there, especially where the system is struggling or short cycling. If you have a temperature log, keep that ready. It gives a better picture of how long the fault has been present and whether product has stayed within the safe range. That record is especially useful for food storage and municipal compliance checks.
Our common call-out work
We carry out fault finding, repairs and servicing across refrigeration and air conditioning systems. Some jobs are simple maintenance visits, while others need deeper diagnosis for refrigerant loss, blocked drains, failed fans or electrical faults. If the issue turns out to need a larger repair, we will explain the options before any extra work goes ahead.
Typical call-out work includes:
- Leak detection and pressure testing
- Coil cleaning and drain clearing
- Seasonal start-up and shutdown preservation
- Planned maintenance for ongoing reliability
- Cold room servicing and temperature logging
- Aircon servicing for offices, shops and accommodation units
We also work on equipment that has been sitting idle over winter or through a shutdown period. Dust, damp and power interruptions can cause problems when systems are switched back on, so a proper check before the season starts can prevent a breakdown at the wrong time.
How to prepare the site before we arrive
A bit of preparation helps us get to the fault faster. Clear access to the unit, keep the area dry where possible, and make sure someone on site knows where isolators, distribution boards and key controls are located. If the unit is inside a cold room, remove anything that blocks the panels or doors. For aircon, please leave remotes and room access details ready.
If a power issue caused the fault, note whether the breaker tripped, whether other circuits were affected, and whether the unit has been on a generator. In the Western Cape we see a fair amount of load-shedding related strain on systems, so these details matter. If there is a strong smell, smoke, or water close to electrics, switch the unit off and report it straight away.
Where we send technicians in the Western Cape
We service Cape Town and surrounding areas from our Montague Gardens base, and regularly attend call-outs in Stellenbosch, Paarl, Malmesbury and Vredenburg. We also handle work across the Winelands and West Coast for businesses and farms that need practical support, not just a once-off fix. If your site is a bit out of town, tell us the exact route or farm gate details so we can plan the trip.
For contract clients, we can align a call-out with a planned maintenance visit where that makes sense. That often works well for shops with more than one cabinet, or farms running several cold rooms and aircon units. It keeps service records together and helps catch small issues before they become expensive downtime.
