Commercial kitchens are often short on space. When you set up your restaurant, you probably wanted most of your real estate to be front of house. The more diners you can seat, the more food you can sell.
So, your kitchen may be compact. You have to be organised to get all your kit in there at once while allowing your staff to work and move around safely.
You may be at the stage where you need to get creative to add more equipment when you need it. For example, if you need an extra fridge or chiller, then you may not have an obvious spot for one.
However, you can look at products that are designed to sit under benches or worktops. This uses fallow space; it also enables people to access chilled food at their workstation. This increases efficiency.
Before you choose an underbench chiller, make sure to look for features that will help anyone working at the bench.
1. A Quiet Compressor
While nobody expects a busy restaurant kitchen to be quiet, you want to keep unnecessary noise to a minimum. If you're going to put a chiller under a workbench, then you don't want the machine to be too noisy.
A noisy compressor will make an employee's working life less pleasant generally. They'll have to put up with the noise as they work. Plus, they may also have to shout to be heard.
However, if you buy a model with a quiet compressor, then it won't disturb anyone working at the bench or add to their ambient noise levels. This makes their working life more comfortable and keeps the noise down in your kitchen.
2. Temperature Controls
While you want a chiller to keep its contents cool, you want this cold air to stay inside the machine. Some chillers blow out a lot of cold air when their doors are opened. Or, the chiller's external fans or evaporators might blow cold or warm air around the bench under which they sit.
This affects the ambient temperature for anyone working at the bench. They'll be happier and more comfortable if you look for a chiller that has controls that prevent these problems.
For example, some chillers automatically switch off their fans when their doors are opened. This keeps cold air inside. Some models use advanced air ducts to control the flow and temperature of the air around the machine itself.
To learn more about underbench chillers or other commercial kitchen refrigeration options, contact commercial refrigeration equipment suppliers.