A boutique Napa Valley winery with 12,000 cases of inventory in cold storage was preparing for harvest season when their existing refrigeration vendor delivered an alarming verdict: the 14-year-old glycol-chilled storage system was "failing" and would need a full rebuild at a quoted $40,000–$48,000, with a 6–8 week lead time that would put their entire harvest at risk. The vendor cited inconsistent temperatures (54–62°F observed versus the 55°F target) and frequent compressor short-cycling as evidence the system was beyond repair.
The winery called Coolrite for a second opinion before signing the rebuild quote. Our EPA 608-certified senior tech spent four hours on-site: pressure/temperature logging at every accessible point, IR thermography on the evaporator coil, glycol concentration testing (found dangerously low at 28% — should be 35–40% for the application), and compressor amp-draw analysis. Root cause: degraded glycol concentration causing flash-freezing on the evap coil, plus a fouled brazed-plate heat exchanger and three failing solenoid valves. We restored proper glycol mix, replaced the BPHE and solenoids, and installed CoolriteEMS sensors for ongoing temperature monitoring.
Total Coolrite intervention cost: $4,820 — versus the original $40K+ rebuild quote. The system has now held a stable 55°F (±1°F) for 11 consecutive months. CoolriteEMS sensors log every minute; the winery's GM gets a weekly trend email. The avoided capital expenditure freed $35,000+ for the winery's planned tasting-room expansion. Harvest came in on schedule with zero refrigeration incidents. The vineyard now refers every neighboring winery's refrigeration questions to Coolrite.
"Another company told us the entire system needed to be replaced — quoted us $42K. Coolrite spent 90 minutes diagnosing and saved us $38,000. We will never use anyone else."
— Production Manager, Boutique Napa winery
Free site assessment — we'll quote honestly and never push replacement when a repair will do.