Garage fridge not working well when it’s cold?

[Engineman1960]

I have a Frigidaire refrigerator/ freezer with just one thermostat, it reads in the operating instructions, that it will not work very well if the outside temperature is under 40’ F, it will cause the items in the freezer to melt — the 40’ outside temp will cause the compressor to shut off. Frigidaire has a thermostat heater kit ( just a wrapped heating element ) to trick the thermostat to keep the compressor running, I installed a switch to turn the heater off when the temperature is above 40’

There are YouTube videos about this, one video said to detach the switch for the light inside the fridge, to keep the light on. According to the YouTube poster, this is enough to fool the thermostat, I have not tried this solution.

The garage heating element and switch ( guess you could disconnect the element during the summer) seems to work for me.

Hope this helps !!!

 

[GeneW]

I was looking at new refrierators on the home depot dot com website and noticed that some said "garage ready" or garage safe or something like that.

I'll be buying a new fridge soon. Thanks for complicating things, lol.

 

[twocan]

There are YouTube videos about this, one video said to detach the switch for the light inside the fridge, to keep the light on. According to the YouTube poster, this is enough to fool the thermostat, I have not tried this solution.


Hope this helps !!!

This^^^^^^
I remove the door switch in the winter so the light stays on. Make sure you have a very low watt bulb and it is insulated away from the plastic surrounding. Most already come with the aluminum around the bulb but make sure! Aluminum tape or foil works well if it doesnt have any.

 

[jakeman]

The upright freezer does

It’s likely a garage freezer. Not 100%, but likely.

 

[enuf]

So, this whole thing was interesting. I just checked the fridge/freezer, and it only has one stat in the fridge part. I have never changed it and it is set to the middle temp range. Even a couple years ago during that killer cold snap that killed all our bushes, it did just fine through all of that too. I dunno.

 

[enuf]

It’s likely a garage freezer. Not 100%, but likely.

This one is only a couple years old. it has exterior digital temp reading for the inside temp and alarms if it gets below what I have it set at, which is what the Hahns boys set it at after installation. If the door is open too long it starts yelling and screaming - it's a pretty nice one, I admit.

 

[dkojnik]

You may need something like this:
Ultra Durable 5303918301 Refrigerator Garage Heater Kit by BlueStars- Refrigerator Garage Heater Kit for Frigidaire Kenmore Refrigerator, Replace PS900213 AP3722172 AH900213 (1 Pack).

Maybe they have one for your brand. Installed one a few years ago with no issues.. i got creative and added a switch to turn off in the summer

 

[Catt57]

Some quick Google results...


"Refrigerators work by starting to cool whenever the room temperature rises above a set point – typically around 36 degrees – and stays running until the temperature returns to normal. This means that if the temperature in your garage drops and stays below this set temp, your refrigerator stops working"

"The majority of refrigerators are only designed to work in environments that are between 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Some manufacturers will offer a garage kit, but that'll still only let your fridge work down to ambient temperatures of 35 degrees Fahrenheit."