supermarket refrigeration

[fazzamouse]

could anyone please give me abit of advise on the above,i'am 34 years old and have been in the trade since leaving school.I have been working in the commercial side of things but have never worked in the supermarket side of things,my work has covered service and installation of split a/c mitzi,daiken etc coldrooms in cash and carrys shops restaurants,service work on foster,sadia,gram,ice machines etc.What are the differences between the 2 and have i left it too late in the day to get into this side off things,advise please guys

[Porkington]

It's never too late as they say. The problem you have is getting an employer to give you a go.

City Faicilities Management - ASDA
Space Engineering Services - Sainsburys
WR - Tescos
Carters.

Try giving any of those companies a go.

The obvious difference between what you have been doing and what you want to get into is the size of the plant. Do you have any kind of experience of Packs in any way?

[fazzamouse]

very limited come across a few at some petrol station sites,have an interview with one the companies above next week but abit worried i'am going to look out of my league

[tony--1]

When i started on the supermarkets sum 10 yrs ago i hadint worked on them b4. As long as your basic refrigeration is good then its easy to do.

[Porkington]

Ohhhh which one Fazza?

Ive worked for all 4. I wont say which i enjoyed the most.

[coolhibby1875]

rule out space as you dont want to be involved with sainsburys as they are enough to drive you to drink although its wr who cover sainsburys in the oldham area and space who do tesco in oldham

[IceMan08]

Hi Fazza,
Just to let you know I came from the same sort of background as yourself and then went into supermarkets. I'd agree if your basic fridge is good then you should be ok (just dont panic at the size of the gear!)
Good luck!

[Porkington]

Also don't lie regarding your pack experience, you'll get found out very quickly.

[fazzamouse]

interview is with city covering asda stores,thanks for the advise chaps

[Porkington]

Well City are a nice company to work for imo. They had serious management issues in my cell due to the merging of the Asda ACE managers (the cleaners) into the facilities role. Having a manager chase you for not signing into a store but saying f'all when you order 400kg of R404a was mildly ammusing for a while. At least you get store ownership, a nice car and good benefits. Most of the stores are pretty new and Pack wise they are mostly on Linde which are top notch.

All i'll say is, dont lie or exagerate your experience or knowledge because you'll rapidly get found out. If you're honest and say you have good refrigeration knowledge but lack experience but are a fast learner, it will set you in good stead.

Good luck with the interview, lets us know how you get on

[750 Valve]

best of luck mate, my opinion is that having a sound knowledge of general commercial fridge is (in the long run) a lot better than starting your career in the supermarket game to begin with. You will not find it that hard to pickup racks/packs operation, the harder thing to get used to is the controllers - which at the end of the day (should) make life a bit easier for you once you get to know your way around them.

As long as you have a good understanding of the work you are currently doing then I wouldn't fret at all about the change.

If you get the job, keep an open mind, enjoy yourself and make some ca$h.

[Chunk]

And if you get stuck with anything,dont be afraid to start a few thread`s as the supermarket forum does not get used that much.

[petewa]

are you ready to work 23-26hrs straight?
do you love driving?
do you wanna get paid to unblock drains?
do you love money?
welcome to supermarket refrigeration...
its a piece of piss mate, you'll be right.

[fazzamouse]

thought you might like to know i got the job today,thanks for the advise.Now i head into the unknown wish me luck

[750 Valve]

nice work mate, best of luck and if you get stuck or want to know stuff don't be afraid to ask on here

[Porkington]

Congrats Fazza, like 750 said... just shout if you're stuck, i'm sure you'll be fine.

I haven't looked at a pack all week, its been probes and drains week

[NIKK38]

Fazza,

If you understand the principle of refrigeration, then you have a headstart on some of the engineers already out there in the field.

ps, members of this forum are excluded from the above statement

[Fridge in Focus]

Hi Guy's, who's best to talk to in the midlands area if you're looking for work in City / ASDA? also what Supermarkets are Carters covering these days? again, in and around the Midlands?

A little rusty this end.

Many thanks
FIF

[Fridge in Focus]

Looking for Supermarket works around Leicester and Surrounding areas.. Brum / Notts etc (please not Space, not been these , not going)

Any one with their ear to the ground?

Again thanks
FIF

[Porkington]

Hi Guy's, who's best to talk to in the midlands area if you're looking for work in City / ASDA? also what Supermarkets are Carters covering these days? again, in and around the Midlands?

A little rusty this end.

Many thanks
FIF

Erm... you could try City?

As far as i know City aren't taking anyone on in the Midlands as we speak. As you've ruled yourself out of Space, i work for them atm, they are just the same/as bad as everyone else, that only leaves WR who last i heard were desperate for people.

Space - Sainsburys
WR - Tesco's
City - ADSA
Carters - Morrisons?

Rumours are rife that Space will lose Sainsburys to Carters come the contract renewal in the new year, looking at Carters setup atm, i can't see it happening myself.

[kooler]

If you're not in the habit, then make it a new one; actually read the paperwork that comes with reefer parts... I've run across more than a couple of 'techs' who could've saved so much time if they only had read the TXV info that came in the box... That and get to know the model numbers of parts/compressors and what all the characters represent; voltages, connection sizes, etc... It's basic stuff but makes life easier when dealing with day to day repairs...

[Fridge in Focus]

thought you might like to know i got the job today,thanks for the advise.Now i head into the unknown wish me luck

Hi Fazzamouse, hows it going at City?

Would you recommend them? Are you fitting in ok?

[rafet]

hello, ı need PI diagrams and basic knowledge about supermarket refrigeration systems. where can ı find it ?. could you help me? thanks in advance.

[750 Valve]

what do you want to know?

A basic intro is something along the lines of:

We engineer, manufacture, install, commission, service and maintain stuff that makes food cold in supermarkets