What is fridge regassing?
A commercial fridge or freezer that is short of gas has a leak, and topping up the gas is not the fix. Fridge regassing is putting refrigerant back into the sealed circuit of a commercial fridge or freezer, and on its own it is rarely the right job. The F-gas rules ask the operator to take precautions to prevent leakage, and to have a leak that is found repaired without undue delay and the repair checked. The work that matters is finding and repairing that leak before any gas goes back in. Climate Flow Limited is an F-Gas certified refrigeration business covering London and surrounding areas. This guide sets out what fridge regassing and freezer regassing involve on a commercial unit, what the F-gas rules ask of the business that runs the equipment, and when to call an engineer.
The refrigeration circuit is the closed loop of pipework that links the compressor, the condenser and the evaporator. The evaporator inside the cabinet takes heat out of the stored food. The condenser outside the cabinet rejects that heat to the room or the open air.
Why does a commercial fridge or freezer lose refrigerant?
A commercial fridge or freezer loses refrigerant because the circuit has a leak somewhere.
F gas is short for fluorinated greenhouse gas. Commercial fridges and freezers often run on an F gas refrigerant, and the unit's label or the engineer can confirm which gas yours holds. The law treats losing that gas as something to prevent, not as a running cost: the retained F-gas Regulation requires operators of equipment containing F gases to take precautions to prevent leakage and take all technically and economically feasible measures to minimise it.
Is topping up the gas a fix?
Topping up the gas without finding the leak is not a fix. The gas can escape again by the same route, and the fault comes back. UK government guidance on leak checks says that if a leak is found during a check, you must repair it as soon as possible and repeat the test within a month to check the repair worked.
Behind that guidance sits the same retained F-gas Regulation. Where a leak is detected, the operator must have the equipment repaired without undue delay. Where the equipment is subject to leak checks, the operator must then have it checked by a certified person within one month of the repair, to confirm the repair has worked.
What does fridge regassing involve on site?
Done properly, fridge regassing is the last step of a repair, not the first. The sequence on site usually runs like this:
- Confirm the fault. The engineer checks that a low charge is the cause. Other faults, such as a blocked condenser, a failed fan, an iced evaporator or a controller fault, can often make a cabinet run warm in a similar way.
- Find the leak. The circuit can be searched in several ways, often with an electronic leak detector, a bubble solution on joints and valves, or a pressure test, depending on the system.
- Repair it. The leaking joint, valve or section of pipe is repaired or replaced.
- Check the gas. The engineer confirms which refrigerant the unit holds and whether it may still be used for a refill.
- Recharge. The circuit is charged with the correct gas and the unit is run until it holds its set temperature.
- Record and recheck. The gas added is recorded, and where the equipment is subject to leak checks, the repair is checked again within a month.
While the work goes on, the cabinet is out of use, so stock needs to move to another unit that is holding temperature. Telling the engineer beforehand what the unit stores helps the visit be planned around service.
Who is responsible for leak checks and records?
The business that uses the equipment is responsible for leak checks. GOV.UK guidance says that if you use stationary refrigeration equipment or stationary air-conditioning equipment, you are responsible for getting it checked for F gas leaks. Whether a particular unit needs checks depends on how much gas it holds, measured as a carbon dioxide equivalent. In the smallest band that needs them, checks happen at least once every 12 months, and larger charges need checking more often.
Larger systems also carry record-keeping duties. Where equipment contains F gas equivalent to 5 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide, the operator must keep records for 5 years. Those records include the quantity and type of gas added during maintenance, for example in leak repairs, and the dates and results of all mandatory leak checks. Many small plug-in cabinets fall below the threshold, so ask the engineer which side of it your system sits on.
Can any engineer carry out freezer regassing?
No. GOV.UK states that it is against the law to work with F gas if you do not have the correct qualifications. The certificates come in categories, and a category 4 certificate covers checking equipment for leaks only where the refrigeration circuit is not broken into. Fridge and freezer regassing means opening the circuit, so it needs a technician certified for that work. Climate Flow's engineers are F-Gas certified. Never try to add refrigerant to a unit yourself.
What if the unit runs on an older refrigerant?
Some older, larger systems cannot simply be refilled with new gas. GOV.UK guidance says you must not use virgin F gas to refill existing refrigeration systems that contain F gas equivalent to 40 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide, where the gas has a global warming potential above 2,500. Global warming potential, or GWP, broadly describes how strongly a gas can warm the atmosphere compared with carbon dioxide.
For an affected system, one permitted route is retrofilling: removing all of the F gas from the system and replacing it with an F gas of the lowest possible global warming potential, such as HFC 448A or HFC 449A. The engineer checks the gas and the charge before planning the refill, so the question comes up at the diagnosis stage rather than halfway through the job.
When to call an engineer
Call an engineer when a fridge or freezer cannot hold its set temperature, runs much longer than it used to, or ices up in a way it did not before, and especially if it has been regassed before. These signs do not prove a leak, because several faults look alike, which is why the visit starts with diagnosis. Ice on the evaporator can sometimes come from defrost settings instead; our guide to cold room defrost cycles and controller adjustments explains how defrost works. Do not open the refrigeration circuit or keep resetting a unit that keeps tripping.
The same rules apply to cold rooms and walk-in freezers as to reach-in cabinets. Climate Flow repairs and maintains the equipment listed on our commercial refrigeration services page, with 24/7 emergency callouts when a unit fails.
This guide is general information, not a survey or a quote for your site; every system is different, so an engineer needs to see yours before any work is priced.
Fridge regassing and freezer regassing are part of a repair: find the leak, fix it, recharge with the right gas and keep the record. Climate Flow Limited, 2 Engineers Way, Wembley, London HA9 0JS, carries out commercial refrigeration repair and maintenance across London and surrounding areas.