Diagnostic checklists for commercial refrigeration
By Vimal Bhaya, Founder and Lead Systems Architect · Last reviewed 18 October 2026
Pick your equipment, pick what you see, and answer a few yes or no checks. Each checklist names the most likely reason, says how urgent it is, and takes you to that reason in its troubleshooting guide.
There is one checklist for each kind of equipment below. They run in your browser, with nothing to sign up for, and nothing you tap is stored or sent anywhere.
One checklist for each kind of equipment
Walk-in cooler checklist
A warm box, wet walls, ice on the coil, frozen produce, water on the floor and a unit that trips or will not start.
Walk-in freezer checklist
Ice on the coil, a box stuck at 10°F to 20°F (-12°C to -7°C), defrosts that go wrong, frost round the door, a box that warms on cold nights and a unit that trips on hot days.
Reach-in cooler checklist
A warm cabinet, an undercounter on a hot cookline, frozen food, ice behind the fan guard, a door that will not seal and water on the floor.
Reach-in freezer checklist
A warm freezer, ice on the coil, defrosts that go wrong, a door that freezes shut, ice in the bottom and a cabinet that sweats.
Prep table checklist
Warm pans, a warm base, frozen lettuce, frost on the well walls, weak air at the vents and water under the table, on forced-air and cold-wall rails.
Display case checklist
A case that will not hold, warm readings round its defrosts, warm top rows, weak air from the honeycomb, water on the floor and glass doors that fog.
Reefer checklist
A load that will not hold, defrost alarms, a box that warms at each stop, a unit that will not restart and a parked trailer warming on shore power.
The checklists follow the troubleshooting guides, in their order
Each checklist is built from its troubleshooting page, from the same file, so the two always match. The questions come in the order the page lists its reasons, which is roughly the order the makers' own troubleshooting tables put them.
The first yes is the most likely reason. You can keep going to check the rest. If nothing fits, the checklist says which reasons only a technician can check, and what to look at before you call.