Freezer in unhgeated garage over winter?

[Huey]

I plan on buying a chest freezer soon and leaving it in an unheated garage year round. If I leave it plugged in and run through the winter, even during below freezing temps, will it hurt the freezer?

[Big Buck Buster]

NO.

[psepuncher]

no x2

I keep a thermometer in the garage.

seen it down to +10 in there many times.

[mikey1685]

well it may or may not work,some do ,some don't,it will probably void the warranty on it,the problem is the oil gets to thick when its cold and can take the compressor out,i repair them for a living.and well a lot of them do work im not sure id recommended ,you would be taking a chance w/ a brand new one,

[CJH]

Seems like all the ones I see sitting in the garage are ancient, not brand new. However I believe there are some models made specifically for it, but they aren't cheap.

[psepuncher]

I have 2 out there. Ones is a box freezer, the other is a fridge with freezer.

[Big Buck Buster]

Here's a question for ya. If you put the freezer in the garage that is going to be freezing cold in the winter, why would this hurt the compressor any? If the freezer stays cold enough, the compressor won't even be running, correct??

[Big Dave2]

Seems like I have heard where the freezer stays in defrost and ruins the contents of the freezer. I'm not too sure about this but it seems like I have heard of this.

[#fishhunt#]

I have a regular refrigerator with a frost free freezer in my unheated but insulated garage. The coldest it get in there is 25 degrees on the coldest night. I have had meat in the freezer crystalize and become soft. It is almost acting like it is keeping it warmer than the garage temp. I have actually had freezer pop for the kids unthaw in the freezer to a liquid. I will not put any meats in my outside refrigerator again. It may be different with a chest freezer that is not frost free.

[Big Buck Buster]

That part would make some sense. It is thinking that it is getting too cold and trying to defrost it.

[harvey lee]

Going on 30 years with a freezer in my garage. Never had one issue yet.

[echotrail]

Same as harvey lee. 30+ years without a problem. (I know I'm gonna regret bragging about this)

[backtroller1]

Before you purchase, look at the owners manual. Some models are ok in garage applications some are not. Local made freezers are the ones that are ok. You will loose food in the ones that are not built for colder situations. I have been selling these things for along time, and have seen the models change throughout the years. Just look at the manual and it will tell you.

[Huey]

Same as harvey lee. 30+ years without a problem. (I know I'm gonna regret bragging about this)

LOL.

Thanks for the info, guys.

[psepuncher]

Local made freezers are the ones that are ok. You will loose food in the ones that are not built for colder situations.

Huh?....

Both of mine came with me from Texas and still work fine.

If I put milk in the fridge it freezes solid in the winter. The meat has no issues in the freezers along with all the berries we pick.

[slurpie]

there is two types of freezer auto defrost and manual defrost. To put in your garage you would want the manual defrost freezer. Thats what i was told when i purchased mine and it has worked for 2 years in the uninsulated garage, not a long time but hopefully it goes longer.

[mtheis]

mikey1685,

In my refrigeration course they said the same thing. Good job for bringing this up correctly.

[BobT]

I'm sure it depends a lot on the design of the refrigerator/freezer. Some freezer actually do use heat to defrost and if this is the case, I could see where keeping it in an unheated area could be a problem. It could take too long to warm the interior enough to defrost properly and in the mean time your frozen goods are thawing. Not a good thing to do.

As far as refrigeration goes, if the situation Mikey mentioned isn't a problem and it doesn't have to go through a defrsot cycle, thre is another risk. The refrigerator is not designed to keep things warm, it's designed to keep things cool. Insulation does not generate heat, it only slows down the transfer of heat from one place to another. If the room temperature remains below freezing for an extended time, you stand the risk of freezing everything inside the refrigerator as well.

[BobT]

Quote:

Local made freezers are the ones that are ok. You will loose food in the ones that are not built for colder situations

So why would manufacturers build freezers and refrigerators for climate conditions? These items are interior appliances where the ambient temperature is constant within about a 10-15 degree range. There wouldn't be a big enough market for this to justify the cost of design and manufacture and so to do this would drive the price through the roof.

[3pronghook]

ive had a haier chest freezer in my unheated uninsulated porch on the outside north wall for 6 years and there has never been an issue. My uncle was in appliance business for 40 years and did say the older compressor oils would/could gel and cause problems. But anything newer - 20 years or so there should be no issues.

[reinhard1]

i have had a large chest freezer in my garage for years with no problems. it's been through many years of deer proccesing and storage and general storage with family items and never skiped a beat. good luck.

[DANR]

My mother had an old chest type freezer in her unheated storage shed for 25+ years. When she decided to downsize freezers this summer, they told her the new freezers can't be outside like that anymore.

[chris63]

If it is a frost free fridge/freezer there is only one compressor for the cooling.If the ambient(outside)temperature drops below about 45f the re fridge section no longer requires the compressor and this will cause the frozen section to start to thaw.If the temperature drops below freezing the food in the fridge section will start to freeze.Also you could void the warranty and/or cause damage to the compressor due to sluggish start ups due to the cold ambient temperatures.c63

[Tom7227]

I'm not sure that I've read a thread on this HSOforum that has more opposing answers. For my money if you have a need for a fridge in the garage you're buying too much stuff.

[LightningBG]

For my money if you have a need for a fridge in the garage you're buying too much stuff.

It just means we are successful hunters and like to drink beer....

Just get a manual defrost freezer and you'll be fine in the garage. I've been doing for many years with zero problems.

[BobT]

We don't have a second fridge necessarily because we over-fill our other one. The second fridge is handy for keeping things like beer, soft drinks, juices, extra milk, bait (wife won't have it in the other one), horse medications, etc.