Do you have a refrigerator in your garage?


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Old 04-04-20, 11:01 AM
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Do you have a refrigerator in your garage?

We're considering getting a refrigerator for the garage but have heard about problems when temps. get lower than 50F or higher than 75F. We live in Connecticut and although the garage is insulated, it's not climate controlled so temps can get to below 32F or above 90F. I've read about "garage ready" units but can't tell if they're worthwhile or necessary.

I appreciate hearing from others who have refrigerators in their garages on their experiences.
 
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Old 04-04-20, 11:15 AM
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I have a regular fridge in my garage. It's not heated but I try to keep the outside doors closed to maintain some heat. I've never had a problem with it failing to keep cool.
 
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Old 04-04-20, 02:05 PM
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I have a beverage cooler in the garage, un-insulated, never been an issue!
 
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Old 04-04-20, 02:14 PM
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Had one in car port in NC and when temps got below 32 it would defrost freezer. Put a couple of light bulbs in compressor area and problem seemed to go away.
 
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Old 04-04-20, 02:48 PM
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I keep one of those dorm type fridge in the garage all year round. I usually defrost it maybe twice a year. I also found out that the weight of the door was causing the door gasket to not seal properly. Putting wedge under the door solved that problem. Now the ice build up is very slow. I'll only need to defrost once a year.
 
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Old 04-05-20, 04:55 AM
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I have a small dorm type fridge in my tool room. I do try to make sure that room never gets below freezing because I also store paint, caulking, etc. in that room. That fridge is about 15 yrs old and has never had any issues other than needing to be defrosted about once a year.
 
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Old 04-05-20, 06:28 AM
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The problem is with frost free (defrosting) units especially with freezer on top units.
When it defrosts and the ambient temperature is around or below freezing then the compressor does not come on after defrost so the heat from defrost builds up in the freezer.
Manual defrost units work just fine unless the temperature is very cold and then things in the fresh food section freeze.

 
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Old 04-05-20, 07:30 AM
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I've had several "regular" fridges in the garage/barn over the years with no problems. My side-by-side fridge works fine, I DO find that food keeps MUCH better / longer in the barn fridge. I think much of that longevity is because the doors are opened very rarely.

More important for this discussion, -stable temperatures for a garage fridge.
My "garage" is a bit weird, it's a 1 story stone base with 1 story of insulated area above and "loft" areas.. Masonry walls on the ground floor with insulated walls and roof above provide great thermal inertia; winter temps on the ground floor stay in the 30s-40s even during the cold snaps.
During summer the "chimney" effect in a 2 story building allows hot air to rise and vent, while cool air sinks to the ground floor- summer temps are usually in the 70s-80s even during heatwaves..

Also important for the discussion - you CAN also have a big effect from passive cooling/heating.
Example, in summer, I open the 2nd floor windows to let hot air out and draw cool air in from the shady north side of the barn. In winter, I open the south facing front door because the "microclimate" at the door is 10-20 degrees warmer that ambient air, because the small porch area is shielded from the wind, gets full sun, and is under an overhang.
 

Last edited by Hal_S; 04-05-20 at 07:54 AM.
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Old 04-05-20, 07:41 AM
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I think manden has a good point.
Consider a dehumidifier. Basically a refrigerator.
If below ambient temp, the coils freeze over.
For a garage it's better to have a manual defrost vs an self defrost.
 
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Old 05-05-20, 09:39 AM
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I have had both types in my unheated garage as well as a freezer and never had a problem.
 
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Old 05-05-20, 01:51 PM
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I can't think of anyone whose home I visit frequently who doesn't have a fridge in their garage. Seriously. Maybe the fondness for adult beverages has made us all too brain-addled to recognize the problems with that plan, I dunno ....
 
 

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