Here's a question for you geniuses... Refrigerator in the garage in winter?

[Casper]

I have a refrigerator in the garage. This is the first winter I have it out there. I was under the impression it would be fine in the garage, as it wouldn't run much at all during the winter when below freezing. Well, I was out there tonight. It's 12 degrees in my garage. The fridge was running. I opened it to find most everything frozen. So, the frozen drinks weren't really a surprise seeing as how cold it is. However, the fact that it was still running definitely boggles my mind. So the question; for those of you with fridges in your garage, do you unplug them during the winter?

[max power]

Mine works ok as you have seen. Can beer does go flat in it in the winter which I havent figured out yet. Havent had any freeze in there yet, at least not that I remember.

[Earache]

My garage is about 60F right now - so the 'fridge is still running.

[C-bus]

I turn the temp way up so it insulates from the weather. My garage is not heated and it does just fine.

[Casper]

I turn the temp way up so it insulates from the weather. My garage is not heated and it does just fine.

I had it turned all the way up.

[buildit]

I don't know about genius, but I do know at low temps the freon will freeze or solidify and cause the compressor to run harder than it should. It is also possible the thermostat in your fridge is frozen or broken, which would explain why it keeps running. As for carbonated beverages going flat, freezing will do that too. Ever had a previously frozen coke?

[hue jass]

Even if you turned it off, wouldn't the temps eventually equalize and everything in there be 16°? If it's below freezing, unplug it. 32° would feel balmy right now.

[Bad324]

I want my beer cold' date=' not frozen.[/quote']

back in the day we had a mini fridge that if you put beers on the back ledge, it would create a slushie beer. Those were my absolute favorite on hot days or after playing whatever intramural sport was that season

[Gump]

just because the lights on doesn't meen it's running. j/k

I know outdoor pop machines must have a heater installed to run in the winter. Speaking of light bulbs you could rig it so the light stays on if it's big enough to heat inside a little bit.

[buildit]

Or put a space heater in there to get the ambient temp above 32 for a while.

[ReconRat]

The disturbing part is that the compressor is running at those low temps. It's not a heat pump, it shouldn't be running at all.

Rig one of those cheap clamp lamps with a bulb, and set it where it shines on the compressor. The extra heat should possibly fix up the problems. Or unplug it when it's below 40F out in the garage.

Some fridges don't work well below 40F. The compressor oil can gel up and kill the compressor. Certain brands work ok. It's usually listed in the manual for the fridge. There should even be a temp sensor that shuts off the compressor below 40F.

The standard problem: Temps between freezing and whatever the thermostat is set at. It will cool down to the outside temps, not come on, and the freezer will warm up and melt stuff. The rest of the fridge is ok, but the freezer will have the same temps as the fridge.

[cfd37buckeye]

I have a friend that I ride with occasionally that owns an appliance shop, and he told me that the newer refrigerators need the heat to keep the freezer frost free. older refrigerators are better for garages because they are not self defrosting freezers.

[Gump]

DING DING DING Winner!

[flounder]

I don't know about genius, but I do know at low temps the freon will freeze or solidify and cause the compressor to run harder than it should. It is also possible the thermostat in your fridge is frozen or broken, which would explain why it keeps running. As for carbonated beverages going flat, freezing will do that too. Ever had a previously frozen coke?

+1 Yup

[ross]

put a heater in your fridge

[Dubguy85]

put a heater in your fridge

[SAMBUSA]

Why isn't your gheyrage heated? Aren't your bikes in there?

[max power]

I went out and checked mine tonight. My car wax is frozen, but everything in the fridge is liquid. Very cold, but liquid.

[AOW]

I don't know about genius, but I do know at low temps the freon will freeze or solidify and cause the compressor to run harder than it should. It is also possible the thermostat in your fridge is frozen or broken, which would explain why it keeps running. As for carbonated beverages going flat, freezing will do that too. Ever had a previously frozen coke?

modern refrigerant (R-22) BOILS at -60F, R-502 at -50〫 . Even if this fridge is 20 years old and using the now banned R-12, that has a boiling point of -20〫F. So we're looking at a Freezing point of -150〫F. I just refuse to believe that the latest winter storm has dropped temps even close to that.

I've always had a beer fridge in my garages back east, and have never had a problem leaving them plugged and running through the winters. Ben, sounds like you have an underlying issue with that fridge. Most likely the T-stat is toast. It would be an easy enough DIY to replace and fairly inexpensive.

You could always try moving it to the common wall with the house, as that would be warmer to see if that fixes the problem, but doesn't seem likely.

Like others have said, if it's freezing or below, just unplug the thing or at the very least turn the dial all the way to off so you still have a light when you open it.

Edited December 15, 2010 by AOW

[Gump]

I was thinking that my car has freon and the temps don't bother it at all.

I'm betting it's the defrost thing. Get a schematic for it and clip a wire to get rid of that.

This is informational:

There is no problem with leaving a refrigerator in an unheated garage. The only problem that you will have is trying to keep frozen things frozen in the freezer unless the thermostat is located in the freezer.

If the thermostat is located in the fresh food section it is controlling temperatures between 35 degrees F. and 45 degrees F. . If the temperature in the garage is at or below 35 degrees .F. the unit will not run because the thermostat senses that it is cold enough in the fresh food section. The freezer however relies on the unit running to obtain below freezing temperatures and will not be able to freeze anything.

If the thermostat is located in the freezer there will be no problem whatsoever keeping both the fresh food and freezer sections at a proper temperature.

If the temperature in the garage gets below freezing for too long the things in the fresh food section could freeze so the temp. should be monitored during a cold period.

Source(s):

40 years major appliance repair.

MORE:

A. The short answer to the question is that the thermostat in a frost-free refrigerator is reading the 38º to 40ºF temperatures in the fresh food section. That means when the ambient temperature in the garage drops to below 40ºF and thereby cools the ref rigerator to that temperature, the thermostat no longer calls for cooling and any food stored in the freezer at 0º to 5º F begins to thaw.

Worse yet, when the temperature in the unheated room drops below about 55ºF, there's not enough compressor run time to keep the freezer cold enough.

You’ll want to keep this in mind if you’re using a frost-free refrigerator as a backup in an unheated garage or porch. You’ll be able to store fresh food and beverages in the refrigerator section if you need the ‘overflow’ room, but I recommend you empt y the freezer section of perishables in the fall to prevent frozen food loss.

Also a "frost free" freezer actually warms up every now and again (90 minutes to 2 hour intervals) to melt accumulating frost and if the thing isn’t cooling then the defrost heater is thawing the food as well as the long slow thaw at 40º. That feature is on a timer not a thermostat.

They do in fact make refrigerators designed for garage or unconditioned room use. Your friends may have one. Sears sells one called Freezerator-- a 21 cubic foot model that sells for about a eleven hundred dollars and Chillerator, another brand, sells a smaller one for about $900. so I would have to disagree with that person who told you you couldn’t get there from here.

I have to mention that it amuses me to see the old refrigerator go out to the garage or down in the basement after a kitchen remodel complete with new appliances. If you think buying stuff on sale and keeping it in the second refrigerator is anything li ke economical, you’ve got another thing coming. A refrigerator is second only to the water heater (not counting heating and cooling) in electricity usage at your house and the older they are the more they require.

Edited December 15, 2010 by Gump

[AOW]

I'm not so sure the "defrost thing" explains why the fridge is freezing everything. Would explain why the freezer is still frozen and the fridge is warm, but that's not the issue Ben is having.

IF you cut the defrost wiring, it would only be a matter of time before the fridge & freezer iced over. Replacing the defrost timer is not complicated at all. Hell, you could take a 2 buck light timer from Wally World and wire it in to the defrost.

If the fridge is freezing everything and running non stop, that tells me it is trying to meet temperature but is never able to meet it as the t-stat/thermometer is faulty and not registering the correct temps.

[Gump]

I'm not so sure the "defrost thing" explains why the fridge is freezing everything. Would explain why the freezer is still frozen and the fridge is warm, but that's not the issue Ben is having.

IF you cut the defrost wiring, it would only be a matter of time before the fridge & freezer iced over. Replacing the defrost timer is not complicated at all. Hell, you could take a 2 buck light timer from Wally World and wire it in to the defrost.

If the fridge is freezing everything and running non stop, that tells me it is trying to meet temperature but is never able to meet it as the t-stat/thermometer is faulty and not registering the correct temps.

Unless it was running trying to get the freezer to the correct lower temp. I dunno

[ross]

12 degrees seems a little cold to me for an attached garage

[kawi kid]

No shit ross.... tell bens cheap ass to turn on the Damn heat already!!

[AOW]

12 degrees seems a little cold to me for an attached garage

The OH building code only requires the "common" wall(s) (the walls between the house and the garage) to be "insulated". I don't recall the specific R value, but I do know it is LOW. So if it's 12〫outside, it will only be a matter of hours before the garage is 12〫.

If memory serves correctly, Ben only has the one common wall which is along a hall area, so that leaves 2 uninsulated walls and the zero insulated garage door.