Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Sandgate — HVACR upgrade and service program

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company has required a combination of planned upgrades and reactive service across refrigeration, air conditioning and ventilation. The work demonstrates the value of one contractor being able to move between cold rooms, keg-room refrigeration, HVAC, drains and exhaust systems without the venue coordinating separate suppliers.

Major project scope

The main upgrade program combines new refrigeration, major air-conditioning replacement and relocation works, and new exhaust ventilation across the venue.

Cold-room and freezer-room construction and refrigeration

HVACR Group supplied and constructed the cold-room and freezer-room enclosures and supplied and installed the refrigeration systems serving them. The cool-room system is rated at 3.2kW at -5°C SST and 38°C ambient, while the freezer-room system is rated at 2.7kW at -25°C SST and 38°C ambient.

As part of the refrigeration works, technicians pumped down the cold-room and freezer-room systems, removed both evaporators, made the electrical components safe and stored the disconnected wiring in junction boxes.

Air-conditioning upgrade works

Additional air-conditioning upgrade scope includes replacement and relocation of several Panasonic systems across dining, retail, office and bar areas.

• Removal of an existing 2.5kW unit and installation of a new Panasonic 2.5kW system, with relocation of an existing dining-room outdoor unit
• Three upstairs dining-room air conditioners replaced with 7.1kW Panasonic wall-hung units
• Two additional Panasonic 9.4kW wall-hung split systems proposed for the internal dining room
• One Panasonic 7.1kW wall-hung system proposed for the retail shop
• Existing Theme 7 dining-room system proposed for replacement with a 14kW Panasonic ceiling cassette using existing outdoor location, electrical circuit and pipework
• Existing office indoor unit proposed for relocation while retaining the outdoor unit
• New Panasonic 7.1kW wall-hung split system proposed for the upstairs bar
• Existing air-conditioning systems to be run-tested, serviced and reported, with old wine-room unit removed and disposed of

Exhaust ventilation

Ventilation works include a new toilet exhaust system and a Halton exhaust canopy to the Cushway and Blackford design drawing MO1.

Ongoing service support

Alongside the larger upgrade program, HVACR Group has continued to support the venue with refrigeration and air-conditioning repairs, cleaning and fault diagnosis.

• Replaced 2 × 350mm evaporator fan motors in the existing keg room
• Replaced 1 × 300mm evaporator fan motor in the deck-mounted existing coolroom
• Diagnosed a failed condensate drain pump on a leaking Mitsubishi air-conditioning unit, installed a new pump and confirmed correct drainage to the rooftop gutters
• Serviced three existing Mitsubishi Heavy indoor air-conditioning units, including filters and fan barrels, working around restricted access and a camera obstruction
• Inspected the cassette air-conditioning system, identified incorrect remote operation and provided instructions on the correct wall controller
• Tested the air-conditioning systems and confirmed correct cooling operation
• Reset controllers to 22°C cooling mode

One venue, several interacting systems

The work at Bubba Gump spans evaporator fans, cold-room and freezer refrigeration, indoor and outdoor air-conditioning equipment, condensate drainage, staff controls, exhaust ventilation and associated mechanical interfaces. Keeping that work within one commercial service relationship reduces repeated diagnosis and makes follow-up easier for the venue.