Cool room repairs in Mirrabooka, done by Sam himself
If your cool room or freezer room in Mirrabooka has stopped holding temperature, Sam Celesti is the technician who answers the phone and the one who turns up. Mirrabooka sits about 10 km north of the Perth CBD, and most of Sam's work here is for small, owner-run food businesses: butchers, grocers, bakeries and takeaways. He has more than 20 years in commercial refrigeration, holds an ARCtick licence (AU55592), and never hands a job to a subcontractor.
Start with a call. Describe the symptoms and Sam will tell you, at no charge, what he thinks is going on, then give a fixed price on site before he picks up a tool.
Mirrabooka Square and the shops around it
Mirrabooka is one of Perth's most multicultural suburbs, and its food trade shows it. Mirrabooka Square shopping centre and the shopping strips and plazas close by hold a cluster of independent food retailers you will not find in many other parts of the city:
- Halal butchers with walk-in cool rooms near 0°C for carcasses and cut meat, plus freezer rooms for bulk lamb, goat and chicken.
- African, Asian and Middle Eastern grocers holding frozen fish, imported frozen vegetables, dairy and specialty products.
- Bakeries and sweet shops keeping cream, dough and finished trays chilled behind the counter.
- Cafés, restaurants and takeaways with compact walk-ins and display fridges serving food from across the world.
The faults Sam sees in these shops follow a pattern. Door gaskets and hinges wear out quickly when staff are in and out of the room all day. Evaporator coils ice up when warm, freshly delivered meat goes straight in. And older second-hand condensing units, often inherited with the lease, lose refrigerant through tired joints until the room can no longer keep up on a hot afternoon.
Festival weeks put Mirrabooka cool rooms under pressure
For many Mirrabooka businesses, trade is not spread evenly across the year. Ramadan, Eid, Christmas, Lunar New Year and other community celebrations each bring a surge in orders, and butchers in particular may take on several times their usual stock in the days beforehand.
That is exactly when a marginal cool room gives up. A room packed to the ceiling has less space for air to move, so the evaporator works harder and the stock at the back warms first. Doors open far more often. If the condensing unit was already low on gas or its condenser coil was clogged, the extra load tips it over, and a failure in a festival week costs far more than the same fault in a quiet month.
Until Sam gets there
Shut the cool room door and leave it shut. Tape a note on it if several staff are working. Each opening lets in warm shop air, and in a packed room that is the last thing it needs.
Look at the controller. Is it showing a temperature, an alarm code or nothing at all? A blank screen suggests a power or breaker fault, which is worth checking at the switchboard. Pass the reading and any code to Sam.
Then decide what to do with the food. FSANZ guidance says potentially hazardous food should be held at 5°C or colder. The total time it spends between 5°C and 60°C is what counts: under 2 hours and it can be chilled again, 2 to 4 hours means it should be used straight away, and 4 hours or more means it has to be thrown out. Write down when the room started warming so you can make that call with confidence.
Other ways Sam helps Mirrabooka shops
This page is the Mirrabooka part of cool room repairs across Perth. Grocers with glass-door drinks fridges and display cabinets on the shop floor can book commercial fridge and freezer repairs on the same visit. For butchers heading into a big trading season, scheduled refrigeration maintenance is the cheapest way to avoid a breakdown when the room is fullest. Sam also works in neighbouring Malaga.
