Actually, frost on the suction line only indicates that at the location where the frost is present, the suction line piping is below the dew point temperature of the surrounding ambient air and at or below 32°F. That’s it. It is neither an indication of a properly operating system nor a system defect.

In late 2010, Sprouts Farmers Market set out to meet the EPA’s most stringent GreenChill standards with construction of its Thousand Oaks, Calif., store. Sprouts tapped Hill Phoenix to design a refrigeration system that not only would be environmentally friendly, but also energy efficient and cost effective to install and maintain.

A well-designed medium temperature refrigeration system will maintain both a proper case temperature and relative humidity (rh). The preservation of food depends not only on the temperature, but also on the relative humidity within a case.

Ammonia is both a friend to refrigeration contractors and a danger, too. When used properly in refrigeration units, its outstanding heat transfer capabilities can keep food cold for long periods of time, it does not harm the environment, and it is biodegradable. But exposure to ammonia does pose a danger to human health.

One of the basic components selected when installing a walk-in cooler/freezer or any field-assembled refrigeration system is the metering device, typically the thermostatic expansion valve (TXV). The TXV needs to be selected to match the Btu capacity of the system’s evaporator and compressor.

Perlick Corp., a maker of undercounter refrigeration, announced it has extended its residential products warranty to three years. The warranty is applicable to products built after Feb. 1. The warranty covers all parts and labor to repair or replace any part of the product, for three years from the date of the original purchase.

With ongoing refrigeration system problems, and no replacement parts available for its old Beacon systems, the McDonald’s owner in Godfrey, Ill., looked to the ingenuity of its service company, R.E.C. Service Corp., for a solution.

A complete line of Steel Isolation Valves (SIV) has been designed to provide flexibility and performance when used in any refrigeration system. The SIV products feature a unique design with a flexible three-port configuration that allows easy access to any service port, no matter where the valve may be mounted in the system.

A new Healthy Living Market opening today in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., features a Hillphoenix Second Nature® refrigeration system that runs on the natural refrigerant CO2 and food-grade glycol.