Pubs and bars
Cask and keg cellars held at temperature through busy weekends, with servicing scheduled outside trading hours.
Cellar cooling
Cellar Cooling in Welshpool Installed, Repaired and Serviced — So Your Stock Never Becomes a Write-Off
Cellar cooling that holds temperature through a Friday night rush, fitted and maintained by F-Gas certified engineers with a 1–2 hour breakdown response when the cellar starts climbing.
F-Gas certified · REFCOM registered · 3-year labour warranty · Trusted by pubs, bars and restaurants across mid-Wales
- F-Gas certified
- REFCOM registered
- 3-year warranty
Multi-brand
Air conditioning, ventilation and cellar cooling, any major brand
F-Gas + REFCOM
Certified and registered refrigerant handling
1–2 hours
Emergency breakdown response, depending on location
3 years
Labour warranty, plus 3-year parts cover
Up to £1m
Public liability insurance, RAMS on request
What cellar cooling is and why it is not just air conditioning
A cellar cooling system is refrigeration built to hold a small, insulated space at a consistent low temperature around the clock — typically the 11–13°C range that cask and keg beer needs to pour and keep properly. It is not comfort cooling in a basement. The equipment runs continuously, the load changes every time a delivery comes in or the cellar door opens, and the consequence of failure is not discomfort but spoiled stock.
A system is normally a condensing unit outside or in a ventilated plant space, an evaporator inside the cellar, insulated pipework between them, and controls holding the setpoint. On top of that sits the detail that decides whether it actually works: how well the cellar is insulated, whether the door seals, whether the condenser can reject its heat, and whether anyone is servicing it.
Gear Bros Ltd installs, repairs and services cellar cooling for pubs, bars, restaurants and clubs across Welshpool, Shrewsbury, Oswestry and the wider mid-Wales and Shropshire area. Because we also cover front-of-house air conditioning and kitchen ventilation, one contractor and one visit can cover the whole building.
Who this is for, and when you need it
Restaurants and hotels
Cellar and cold storage cooling alongside front-of-house air conditioning and kitchen ventilation on one agreement.
Clubs and event venues
High-throughput cellars where deliveries and door openings load the system hard and consistency matters.
Breweries and taprooms
Temperature-critical storage where product quality is the entire proposition.
New fit-outs and refurbishments
Cellar cooling designed in with insulation and access considered before the space is finished rather than after.
Venues with an ageing system
Old plant that struggles in summer, ices up or runs constantly — assessed honestly for repair versus replacement.
The cost of leaving it
What a failing cellar costs a licensed venue
Cellar cooling failures have a uniquely bad habit of happening at the worst possible time: peak summer, when the ambient temperature is highest and the cellar is fullest ahead of a busy weekend. A cellar drifting a few degrees above range does not fail gracefully — beer goes cloudy and hazy, cask ale can spoil within hours, pours become foamy, waste climbs, and customers notice before you do.
The money adds up quickly. There is the stock written off, the trade lost while lines are unusable, the emergency call-out at short notice, and the reputational cost of a bar that could not serve a decent pint on a hot Saturday. Against that, a service visit and a working maintenance agreement are trivially cheap.
Warning signs are usually available in advance and usually ignored: a cellar that takes longer to pull down after a delivery, a condensing unit running almost continuously, ice on pipework, water pooling under the evaporator, or a temperature that used to sit at 12°C and now sits at 14°C on warm days.
Spoiled stock
Cask ale is unforgiving. A few hours out of range can write off the contents of a cellar you have already paid for.
Poor pours and waste
Warm beer foams. You lose product down the drain, and staff spend the shift fighting the lines instead of serving.
Lost trade at peak times
Failures cluster in the hottest weeks — precisely the weekends you cannot afford to have lines down.
Compressor failure
A system running continuously against a leak or a fouled condenser is destroying its own most expensive component.
Water and hygiene problems
Blocked drains and iced evaporators leave standing water in a cellar, which brings hygiene questions with it.
Emergency premium
Short-notice attendance and rushed stock replacement always cost more than planned maintenance would have.
Common mistakes we are called out to fix
- Treating cellar cooling as a fit-and-forget box in the corner.
- Ignoring a slow upward drift in cellar temperature over a season.
- Leaving the cellar door propped open or letting the seal fail.
- Blocking or enclosing the condensing unit so it cannot reject heat.
- Repeated refrigerant top-ups instead of finding the leak.
- Cooling a poorly insulated cellar harder rather than fixing the insulation.
Our process
A step-by-step system, so you always know what happens next
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01
Cellar survey
We measure the space, assess insulation, door seals, stock turnover, delivery patterns and the plant position, and calculate the actual cooling load — not a guess from cellar size alone.
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02
System design and free quotation
Condensing unit and evaporator specified for the duty with sensible plant siting, priced in a free written quotation returned the same or next working day.
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03
Scheduling around trading
Installation and servicing planned around your opening hours and delivery days so the cellar is never out of action when you need it.
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04
Installation
Plant mounted, insulated pipework and condensate run, electrics and controls connected, and the cellar left clean and usable.
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05
Pressure test, evacuate and commission
The circuit is pressure tested, evacuated and charged correctly, then the system is commissioned and the pull-down verified against setpoint.
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06
Temperature verification
We confirm the cellar holds range under realistic load rather than signing off on an empty, cold room on a mild day.
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07
Servicing agreement
Planned maintenance keeps condensers clean, charge correct and drains clear, backed by a 1–2 hour breakdown response depending on location.
What you get
Specific outcomes, not vague promises
Stable cellar temperature
Systems sized for the real load hold range through deliveries, door openings and a hot weekend.
Stock protected
Consistent temperature means beer that pours as it should and far less waste behind the bar.
Fast breakdown attendance
1–2 hour emergency response depending on location, because a warm cellar is an hourly cost, not a daily one.
Lower running costs
Clean condensers, correct charge and sensible setpoints stop the plant running longer than it needs to.
Fitted around trading
Installation and servicing scheduled outside your busiest hours so the bar keeps working.
3-year labour warranty
Plus 3-year parts cover, and matched extended labour cover if you upgrade the manufacturer's warranty.
Honest repair advice
We repair what can be repaired. Venues come to us after being pushed towards replacements they did not need.
One contractor for the venue
Cellar cooling, bar and restaurant air conditioning, and kitchen ventilation all covered by the same team.
In detail
Equipment, temperatures and the detail that decides performance
Cellar cooling is a small system with unforgiving tolerances. These are the factors that separate a cellar that holds range from one that struggles every summer.
Target temperatures and why they matter
Cask and keg products are generally kept in the region of 11–13°C. Too warm and cask ale deteriorates and pours foam; too cold and you risk chilling issues, unnecessary energy use and, at the extreme, product damage. Stability matters as much as the number itself — a cellar swinging several degrees between deliveries stresses both the stock and the plant.
Condensing units and siting
The condensing unit rejects the heat removed from the cellar, so it needs genuine airflow and service access. Tucked into an enclosed yard corner or boxed in behind stacked crates, it recirculates its own hot air and loses capacity exactly when ambient temperatures peak. Noise matters too — many pub cellars back onto residential boundaries, so siting is a practical and neighbourly decision.
Evaporators inside the cellar
The evaporator must be positioned to circulate air around the whole cellar, not just the corner it hangs in, and clear of stacked stock that would block airflow. Condensate from the evaporator needs a reliable route away — pooling water in a cellar is both a hygiene and a slip issue.
Insulation and door seals
The best plant in the world cannot compensate for an uninsulated cellar or a door that no longer seals. Heat gain through walls, ceilings and doorways is continuous, and cooling a leaky cellar means running the plant constantly and paying for the privilege. We assess insulation and seals at survey, because sometimes the cheapest fix is not a bigger compressor.
Controls, defrost and monitoring
Controllers hold setpoint and manage defrost cycles that clear frost from the evaporator. A defrost setting that is wrong for the cellar leads either to a frosted coil losing capacity or unnecessary temperature swings. Temperature monitoring — even simple logging — gives you early warning of a system starting to lose ground before the stock is affected.
Common faults and repairs
Cellar not reaching temperature (low charge from a leak, fouled condenser, failed fan, iced evaporator), plant running continuously (heat gain, poor insulation, undersized or degraded system), ice build-up (defrost or airflow problems, low charge), water on the floor (blocked condensate or melting ice), and electrical or control faults. Each is diagnosed by measurement, not assumption.
Where refrigerant is low we find and repair the leak rather than repeatedly regassing — a temporary fix that keeps costing you every few months.
Servicing a cellar cooling system
Because it runs continuously, cellar cooling benefits from more frequent servicing than comfort cooling. Visits cover condenser cleaning, evaporator and airflow checks, refrigerant pressures and charge, defrost operation, condensate clearance, electrical connections, controls and door seal condition. It can be covered by the same servicing agreement as your air conditioning and kitchen ventilation.
Cellar cooling versus general refrigeration and air conditioning
Cellar cooling sits between comfort air conditioning and commercial refrigeration: lower temperatures and continuous duty compared with air conditioning, higher temperatures and different control requirements than cold rooms and freezers. Specifying a comfort cooling unit for a cellar is a common and expensive mistake — it is not designed to run continuously at low ambient return temperatures and will not last.
Questions
Cellar cooling — your questions answered
How much does cellar cooling cost in Welshpool?
It depends on cellar size, insulation quality, stock turnover and where the plant can be sited. We survey the cellar, calculate the real cooling load and provide a free written quotation, usually the same or next working day.
What temperature should a beer cellar be kept at?
Generally in the region of 11–13°C for cask and keg products, and consistency matters as much as the setpoint. We commission systems to hold range under realistic load, not just on a mild day with an empty cellar.
How quickly can you attend if my cellar is warming up?
We offer emergency and breakdown call-outs with a 1–2 hour response depending on location. Call as soon as you see the temperature drifting rather than waiting until stock is at risk.
How long does a cellar cooling installation take?
Most installations are completed in one to two days, scheduled around your trading hours and delivery days so the cellar is not out of action at a bad time.
How often should cellar cooling be serviced?
More often than comfort cooling, because it runs continuously. Most venues are best on a planned agreement with regular visits covering condenser cleaning, charge, defrost, drains and door seals.
Can you repair my existing cellar cooling rather than replace it?
Usually. Leaks, fan failures, control faults, defrost problems and fouled condensers are all repairable. We diagnose first and only recommend replacement when the numbers genuinely justify it.
How long does a cellar cooling system last?
A well-installed system that is serviced regularly gives many years of service. Continuous duty means maintenance has an outsized effect on lifespan — neglected plant fails years earlier.
Will you work around our opening hours?
Yes. Installation and servicing are scheduled around trading and deliveries. We know a cellar out of action on a Friday is not an option.
Is the work guaranteed?
Yes — a 3-year labour warranty and 3-year parts cover, backed by F-Gas certification, REFCOM registration and up to £1 million public liability insurance.
Can you cover the whole venue, not just the cellar?
Yes. We handle cellar cooling, front-of-house air conditioning and kitchen ventilation, and can put all of it on one servicing agreement with one point of contact.
Next step
Protect your cellar and your stock
Whether it is a new system, a struggling one or a full breakdown, tell us the venue and we will get an engineer on it — free quotes, 1–2 hour emergency response.
Call 07530 674866- F-Gas certified and REFCOM registered
- 3-year labour warranty and 3-year parts cover
- Up to £1m public liability, RAMS on request
- Free quotes returned the same or next working day
Request your free quote
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