By Commercial Service Company · July 16, 2026
Central Arkansas winters are gentle on average and vicious in bursts — a January ice storm or a single-digit week finds every weak point a building has. The time to work this list is before the first hard front, because when it arrives, every service company in the region is answering the same calls at once.
Heating: test it before you trust it
The furnace or RTU heat that "worked fine last year" has been idle for eight months. Heat exchangers, igniters, gas pressure, and safety controls should be professionally checked each fall — a cracked heat exchanger is a carbon-monoxide hazard, not a comfort problem. If your first heating test of the year is the season's first cold morning with the dining room full, you've scheduled your emergency in advance.
Water lines: the classic Arkansas casualty
Ice machines, dish machines, coffee brewers, and beverage carbonators all drink from supply lines that often run through back rooms, ceilings, and exterior walls. In a hard freeze, uninsulated lines in unconditioned spaces burst — and a burst line above equipment turns one problem into three. Insulate exposed runs, know where your shut-offs are, and keep minimal heat in rooms that hold plumbing.
Outdoor refrigeration and condensing units
Walk-in condensing units outside need winter, too: some systems require head-pressure controls or low-ambient kits to run correctly in cold weather, and drain lines and condensate traps can freeze. If your walk-in misbehaves specifically in cold snaps, this is usually why — it's a known, fixable configuration issue, not a mystery.
The doors, docks, and drafts
Every worn gasket and misaligned door you tolerated in October becomes a heating bill and a comfort complaint in January. Back doors and delivery entrances that don't close flush also freeze the equipment nearest to them — we've thawed more than one beverage system that lived next to a leaky dock door.
Kitchens that idle over the holidays
Closing for a holiday week? Don't just lock up. Decide deliberately what stays on (refrigeration, minimum building heat to protect plumbing) and what gets shut down properly. A building left cold with water in its lines is the most expensive winter mistake there is.
One fall visit covers it
A fall preventative visit checks heating, protects the refrigeration configuration for low ambient temperatures, and walks the building for freeze risks — documented, scheduled, done before the rush. Commercial Service Company has winterized central Arkansas businesses since 1976. Book it at 501-548-2374.
Frequently asked questions
Do walk-in coolers have problems in cold weather?
They can. Outdoor condensing units may need head-pressure controls or low-ambient kits to operate correctly in cold snaps — a known configuration item. If your walk-in acts up specifically during freezes, have that checked.
What should I leave running if my restaurant closes for a week in winter?
Refrigeration stays on, and the building keeps enough heat to protect plumbing in walls and ceilings. Shut down cooking equipment properly. The costly mistake is leaving a building cold with water in its lines.
When should heating equipment be inspected?
Each fall, before the first cold front. Heat exchangers, igniters, and safeties should be professionally checked after a long idle season — both for reliability and because a cracked heat exchanger is a safety hazard.