Owner-operated, based in Zephyrhills, serving Tampa Bay commercial kitchens and homes. True is in more of the Tampa kitchens we service than any other reach-in brand — and we repair the residential line too.
- $129 commercial diagnostic100% applied to your repair
- $69 residential diagnosticTrue Residential units at home
- Same-day or next-dayCalls before 2 PM have best chance
- 90-day labor warrantyOn every repair we complete
- EPA 608 certifiedSealed-system refrigerant work
- No fix — no chargeNo labor, no parts, no diagnostic
Every True unit we repair — commercial kitchen or home
True Manufacturing has built refrigeration since 1945 — family-owned for four generations, headquartered in O’Fallon, Missouri, and the largest commercial refrigerator manufacturer in the country. That history shows up in Tampa Bay every day: True reach-ins, merchandisers, and prep tables outnumber every other brand in the kitchens we service.
Our repair service covers both sides of the True lineup: commercial refrigeration — refrigerators and freezers, glass-door merchandisers, prep tables, undercounter units, worktops, back-bar coolers — and the True Residential line of wine cabinets, beverage centers, and column refrigerators. Same technician, same honest diagnostic, two clearly different fees: $129 commercial, $69 residential. We specialize in the True lineup more than any other commercial brand — and Tampa Bay kitchens trust us with it because the diagnosis always comes with evidence.
What fails on a True — from our own repair data
This isn’t a manufacturer brochure. These are the shares of every repair on True refrigeration units in our own Tampa Bay service records — and each failure type has its season in the unit’s life.
Share of all True service calls in Perfect Appliance Repair Tampa’s own repair records. Florida heat, humidity, and power quality shape these numbers — your climate may vary.
Slide to your True’s age — see what usually fails, and what warranty is left
The verdict updates from our own failure-share data and True’s published warranty terms (7-7-7 on foodservice units shipped on or after October 1, 2023; 5-year labor / 6-year parts / 7-year compressor for late 2021–2023; 3-year parts & labor plus 5-year compressor before that). Confirm your unit’s exact coverage with its serial number on True’s warranty lookup — or we’ll check it during the diagnostic.
Why do electronics and sensors account for a full fifth of True repairs here? Florida. Summer brownouts, storm outages, and the surge that follows every restart are brutal on control boards and thermostats. It’s also why we check supply voltage and start components before we ever condemn a compressor: a surge-stressed relay can mimic a compressor failure that isn’t there.
The True models we see every week — and how to read yours
True model numbers actually mean something, which makes phone estimates faster. Find yours on the serial tag inside the cabinet, text it to us with a one-line symptom, and we can often arrive with the right part on the first visit. The families below cover the True refrigeration models we handle most — and their durability is exactly why so many are still worth fixing at fifteen years.
T‑Series
T-23, T-49, T-72 · T-23F, T-49F, T-72FSolid-door reach-in refrigerators and freezers. The number is the nominal cubic feet; an F means freezer.
The reach-in we see most across Tampa restaurant lines.
GDM
GDM-23, GDM-26, GDM-49, GDM-72Glass Door Merchandiser — the lit display coolers in convenience stores, cafés, and markets.
Glass fogging, door seals, and anti-sweat heaters add to the usual list.
TSSU
TSSU-27, TSSU-48-12, TSSU-60-16Sandwich/Salad prep table. First number is length in inches, second is how many sixth-size pans the rail holds.
A warm rail over a cold base is its own diagnosis, not a thermostat tweak.
TUC / TWT
TUC-27, TUC-48, TUC-27F, TWT-48Undercounter refrigerators and worktops. The number is length in inches; F for freezer, G for glass door.
Blocked air intake in tight bar and prep spaces is the first thing we check.
TBB / TDD
TBB-2, TBB-3, TDD-1, TDD-2Back-bar coolers and direct-draw beer dispensers. TDD number is half-barrel keg capacity.
Bar workhorses — door hinges, gaskets, and condensers take the abuse.
-HC suffix
T-49-HC, GDM-26-HC, TSSU-48-12-HCHydrocarbon models running R290 refrigerant — True moved the lineup to R290 around 2015–2017.
R290 units need different service practice than older R134a/R404A systems. EPA 608 rules still apply.
From a 1945 St. Louis garage to the largest commercial refrigerator manufacturer in America — and we keep Tampa Bay’s True equipment running.
Commercial True equipment — restaurants, bars, and stores
For a working kitchen, downtime is the real cost — not the part. That’s why commercial True calls get same-day or next-day scheduling when available — response times decide how much product you lose when a chef is watching the line temperatures climb — plus a $129 diagnostic that’s applied to the repair, and a technician who verifies pull-down and full recovery before leaving. We can often fix your True in a single visit, because the van stocks the parts these cabinets actually consume. We repair True reach-in refrigerators and freezers, GDM merchandisers, sandwich and salad prep tables, worktops, undercounter refrigerators, back-bar coolers, and direct-draw dispensers.
Bottom-mounted condensers collect floor-level dust, grease, and box debris fast — True’s own manual calls for condenser cleaning every 30 days, and skipping it is the single biggest cause of the “warm cabinet, running compressor” call. Restaurants, bars, convenience stores, property managers, and multi-location operators: ask about scheduled maintenance so the cleaning happens before the failure does. Walk-in equipment is its own service — see walk-in cooler repair — and for after-hours emergencies we keep an emergency line. True ice machines exist only on the residential side — the True Residential clear-ice models, which we repair at the $69 home rate — while our commercial ice-machine work covers Hoshizaki, Scotsman, and Manitowoc.
True Residential — the luxury line, at the $69 home rate
True also builds a premium residential line — True Residential, now part of True Caliber after its 2025 partnership — and Tampa Bay’s waterfront kitchens are full of it: 42-inch and 48-inch side-by-sides, column refrigerators and freezers, 15-inch and 24-inch undercounter refrigerators, wine cabinets, beverage centers, and clear ice machines. The build is commercial-grade; the diagnosis discipline it deserves is too.
These units book under our standard $69 residential diagnostic — same as any home refrigerator — and pair naturally with our wine cooler repair and refrigerator repair services. A True Residential wine cabinet holding 55°F on the display while the bottles read warm gets the same multi-zone temperature mapping as a restaurant prep rail — because it’s the same physics and the same honest diagnosis.
Check True’s warranty before you pay anyone — including us
True’s factory coverage changed dramatically in late 2023, and a lot of Tampa Bay owners don’t know it. If your unit is new enough, the repair you’re about to pay for may belong on True’s warranty tab — through its network of preferred service companies — not on your card. We check the serial number as part of every diagnostic and tell you which side of the line you’re on.
Shipped on or after October 1, 2023
True’s current “7-7-7” foodservice warranty. If your unit is this new, a failure should almost certainly be a warranty claim through True — not an out-of-pocket repair. We tell you when that’s the case before any money changes hands.
Shipped November 2021 – September 2023
The transition-era coverage. As of 2026, these units still carry meaningful factory protection — worth checking the serial tag before approving any repair bill.
Older True foodservice units
The classic terms most Tampa Bay True equipment was sold under. Both windows have closed on anything older than about five years — which is exactly when honest repair-or-replace math matters most.
True Residential
A different, tiered structure from the commercial side. Compressor, coils, and the rest of the sealed system carry the long coverage; check registration status before paying for sealed-system work.
Two warranties, two jobs: True’s factory warranty covers the equipment on True’s terms — and it excludes failures caused by skipped maintenance, including the 30-day condenser cleaning its manual requires. Our own 90-day labor warranty covers every repair we complete, on any True unit, in or out of factory coverage. Warranty support questions? Bring us your True product’s model and serial number and we’ll sort out which path applies — or run True’s serial number lookup yourself on its warranty page. True’s own technical support publishes manuals and work instructions for every model, its Service Company Locator lists preferred service providers by ZIP code, and you can contact True directly to register a unit. For everything on the repair side of that line, we’re ready to help.
The 7-point True inspection, on every diagnostic
The most expensive mistake in refrigeration is diagnosing off one pressure reading or one display number. A dirty condenser mimics a capillary restriction. A weak evaporator fan looks like low suction. A plugged drain refreezes and passes for a defrost failure. Every True diagnostic runs the full sequence:
Condenser and heat-rejection audit
Coil depth — not just the visible surface — plus fan operation, airflow, clearance, and signs of prolonged high-temperature operation. True’s own manual calls for condenser cleaning every 30 days.
Electrical and start-component test
Voltage, amperage, relay function, overload, capacitor where used, wiring, and any post-storm surge damage before we ever condemn the compressor.
Multi-zone temperature map
The controller reading compared against precision-calibrated temperatures at the upper, middle, and lower product zones — or across the prep-table rail and base.
Evaporator airflow and frost-pattern analysis
Fan operation, blade condition, and the exact shape of the frost tell us whether the real issue is airflow, defrost, charge, or restriction.
Defrost and drain verification
On freezers and applicable coolers: heater circuits, termination controls, fan delay, and the complete drain path from coil to floor.
Door, glass, and anti-sweat inspection
Gaskets, hinges, self-closing action, glass fogging, and mullion or perimeter heat on GDM and other glass-door units.
Repair-or-replace longevity plan
Age, refrigerant type, cabinet condition, parts availability, warranty status, and the real cost of downtime — not just the sticker price of one component.
True T-49 running warm? Call or text (813) 522-0014 — same-day or next-day scheduling when available.
Why Tampa Bay businesses come back to us
Perfect Appliance Repair Tampa LLC is BBB Accredited with an A+ rating and has more than 200 five-star reviews across major platforms — read them on our reviews page. You work directly with Mark: the person who answers the phone is the person responsible for the diagnosis, the written estimate, and the repair being done right. For restaurants, bars, retail stores, and property managers, that continuity is exactly what matters when refrigeration equipment fails at the worst possible time.
- Owner-operated: you speak directly with the technician, not a call center.
- $129 on-site commercial diagnostic ($69 for True Residential units at home), applied in full to your repair if you approve the work. If the unit can’t be reasonably repaired, you pay nothing — no labor, no parts, no diagnostic charge.
- Same-day or next-day scheduling when available — calls before 2 PM have the best chance.
- We test the root cause before recommending parts or replacement — and we tell you when a failure is a True warranty claim instead of a repair bill.
- Licensed and insured, EPA 608 certified technicians, original or model-correct, high-quality parts when available.
- Written estimate before any repair begins. No unknown subcontractors.
Pricing, plainly
True questions, answered honestly
Who owns True Refrigeration?
True Manufacturing is family-owned and has been since 1945, now into its fourth generation, headquartered in O’Fallon, Missouri. It’s the largest commercial refrigerator manufacturer in the United States, and the equipment is designed and built in its Missouri facilities.
Who services True refrigerators in Tampa?
True’s own guidance is that any licensed commercial refrigeration company can work on the equipment, and True maintains a locator of preferred service companies familiar with its cabinets. Perfect Appliance Repair Tampa is an independent company that handles True appliance repair across Tampa Bay — contact us or call (813) 522-0014.
How long do True refrigerators last?
In our own Tampa Bay service data, condenser and evaporator fan motors are the most common repair at 5–7 years, while compressors typically reach 13–15 years before replacement. The cabinets themselves routinely outlast both — which is why an older True with a straight cabinet and good insulation is often worth repairing rather than replacing.
Why is my True refrigerator not cooling?
The first suspect on any True is a dirty condenser coil — True’s own manual calls for cleaning every 30 days, and a blocked coil mimics far more expensive failures. After that: evaporator fan motors, defrost problems, door gaskets, and low refrigerant from a leak. Our not-cooling guide walks through the pattern.
Is my True still under warranty?
It depends on the ship date, and it changed recently: foodservice units shipped on or after October 1, 2023 carry True’s 7-year parts, labor, and compressor warranty; late 2021 through September 2023 units carry 5-year labor, 6-year parts, and 7-year compressor; older units had 3-year parts and labor plus a 5-year compressor. We check the serial number and tell you when a failure should be a warranty claim through True’s network instead of a repair bill from us.
What’s the difference between the $129 and $69 diagnostic?
$129 is the on-site diagnostic for commercial True equipment — reach-ins, merchandisers, prep tables, bar coolers — at a business. $69 is the diagnostic for True Residential units in a home: undercounter refrigerators, wine cabinets, beverage centers, and full-size columns. Both are applied in full to the repair if you approve the work.
Do you service True Residential (True Caliber) units?
Yes. True Residential — now part of True Caliber after the 2025 partnership — builds 42-inch and 48-inch side-by-sides, column refrigerators, 15-inch and 24-inch undercounter refrigerators, wine cabinets, beverage centers, and clear ice machines. We repair them across Tampa Bay under the $69 residential diagnostic.
Can you repair older or discontinued True models?
Usually, yes. Parts support for True equipment is unusually good, and where an original component is discontinued we look for model-correct alternatives. Some shops condemn an older True the moment a part looks hard to find — we price the actual repair against the actual replacement and show you both numbers.
Why does my True keep tripping the breaker or losing its settings?
Florida is hard on refrigeration electronics: summer brownouts, storm outages, and the surges that follow restarts are the main reason electronics and sensors make up about 20% of our True repairs. True also requires a dedicated circuit for its coolers and freezers — a shared circuit causes nuisance trips and low-voltage compressor stress. We test supply voltage on every electrical diagnosis.
Do you offer maintenance plans for True equipment?
Yes — scheduled condenser cleaning, gasket and drain checks, and temperature verification for restaurants, bars, and stores. True’s warranty excludes failures caused by lack of basic maintenance, so regular maintenance protects both the equipment and the coverage. Annual maintenance on your True equipment — on top of the 30-day coil cleaning — helps ensure small problems are caught before they become product loss. Ask about scheduled service when you book online.
Where we service True equipment
Based in Zephyrhills — no zone fees anywhere in the service area. Serving Tampa, South Tampa, Zephyrhills, Dade City, Wesley Chapel, St. Petersburg, and the surrounding Tampa Bay communities. Contact us or book online.
Tampa & South Tampa
T-49 and T-23 reach-ins running extended hours in restaurants, bakeries, bars, and commissary kitchens, plus TSSU prep tables and TUC undercounters squeezed into tight lines where air intake gets blocked. GDM merchandisers in convenience stores add glass fogging and door-seal wear that builds until customers notice.
Zephyrhills & Dade City
Home base. Older True T-Series and GDM units that have run for years without deep condenser cleaning or drain service — cabinets that are often worth saving even when the first estimate someone got said “replace.”
St. Petersburg & the coast
Salt air corrodes connectors and fan motors faster near the water, and storm-season outages are hardest on controls. A coastal True diagnostic always includes a corrosion and surge-damage check.