Almost every household we visit in Bergen, Passaic and Nassau counties has a second refrigerator or a chest freezer in a garage or a basement. Every winter, some of them appear to fail. Most of them are not faulty at all.
The thermostat is in the wrong compartment
On a conventional top-freezer refrigerator there is one thermostat and it sits in the fresh food compartment. When the garage drops to 38 degrees, that thermostat is already satisfied, so it never calls for cooling. The compressor stays off. The fresh food side is fine, because the garage is doing the work. The freezer, which depends entirely on that same compressor running, slowly thaws.
So the classic winter symptom is the opposite of what people expect: the fridge is cold and the freezer is soft.
Ratings you have probably never read
Most appliances carry a climate class specifying the ambient range they are designed for, and a good number are not rated below about 55 or 60 degrees. Below that, the oil thickens, the refrigerant behaves differently and the controls stop making sense of the room.
What to do about it
- Buy a garage-ready model if you are replacing anyway. They exist precisely for this and they are not expensive.
- Fit a garage kit to an existing unit. Many manufacturers sell a small heater that warms the thermostat area enough for it to call for cooling normally. It is an inexpensive part.
- Use a freezer rather than a refrigerator in an unheated space. A dedicated freezer has its thermostat in the freezer, so the problem does not arise.
- Move it inside if none of that appeals. A basement that stays above 60 degrees is fine.
The summer version of the same problem
An unventilated garage in August runs far above the rated ambient too, and then the compressor never stops. That is what shortens these units. If the appliance is against a wall, pull it out a few inches and clear the condenser coils twice a year.
If your garage appliance is behaving strangely, describe the season and the symptom when you call (973) 226-1000. It often saves you a visit.
