Stay cool this summer
As cellar cooling breakdown soars in the heatwave, technical services company Innserve has issued 10 tips to help licensees reduce the risk.
"Most cooling systems are designed with hot weather in mind and the maximum throughput of the pub - but only if the equipment is working in optimum conditions," says Innserve director of strategy Dan Unwin. "These tips will not only help you get through hot summer weather, they will also reduce energy bills all year round as the equipment will run more efficiently.
"Just like a car, if you look after cooling equipment with common sense and keep up to date with your basic maintenance, you will minimise the problems."
1 Planning
If hot weather is on the cards plan your deliveries, stock and preventive actions by using the tips below to make sure your bar keeps dispensing cold.
2 Deliveries
Plan stock and deliveries so that beer has a chance to cool down in the cellar. Kegs and casks will take time to cool down from ambient (possibly low 30s storing full containers outside the cellar as these will warm up.
3 Container size
Make sure you have the right stock in the right size containers. This can mean upsizing kegs and casks to make the most effective use of space in the cellar, for instance from nine or 11 gallon containers to 18, 22 or even 36 gallons.
4 Rotate stock
Also make sure you use stock in correct date rotation to ensure the beer has had the longest cooling time before serving.
5 Cellar cooling
Check your cellar cooling is working properly. It should give a cellar temperature of 10 to 12 degrees centigrade and run for a maximum of 16 hours out of every 24 hours. Make sure fan grills are free from dirt and if there is a fan or "heat dump" outside the pub make sure nothing is stored nearby. Leave it switched on at all times - the control system will call in the cooling when required. Remember, anything apart from beer in the cellar is extra cooling load - fruit, vegetables and other food should be kept in a separate refrigerated area wherever possible.
6 Keep the cold air in
Cellar cooling is designed to keep the cellar space cool. It is not designed to cool the rest of the pub! Keep doors and windows closed as much as possible.
7 Remote cooling
Remote coolers are the real workhorses of pub cooling taking the beer down from 10 to 12 degrees (cellar temperature) to dispense temperature. Keep the area around the remote free from stored items such as crisps, nuts and bottled drinks. Space is there for a reason - to enable air to circulate around the unit. Half covering the grills on the side means half the cooling capacity. They are designed to run all the time so make sure they are kept switched on.
8 Remote cooler care
Check the remote is topped up with water. There is a top-up point on the top of the cooler with an overflow. The water should just cover the ice bank and coils. If there is a glycol top-up point make sure the unit is topped up with the correct strength of glycol. Keep the cooling grills on the side of the unit free from dust and dirt. Above all keep the unit clean just like a domestic fridge.
9 Shelf coolers
Some outlets have additional shelf coolers behind the bar for extra cold products. These units normally have a fan grill in the front (facing the barstaff). These grills can easily become blocked up by dust and spillages. They should be kept clean with a soft brush or, ideally, a vacuum cleaner. Check the unit is topped up with water - there is a topping up point in the top and an overflow. Again, they are designed to run all the time so make sure they are kept switched on.
10 Glass care
Glass temperature is critical to serving temperature. Where possible keep enough clean spare glass in a cool dry place. This will avoid excessive recycling of glasses and pick-up of heat. Avoid filling glasses directly from the glass washer as it can add several degrees of heat to the beer temperature.
