[bluedog]

So my garage fridge is dying a slow death. When I grabbed a beer the other day, it seemed warm so I did what any brewer would do. I got my lab thermometer and took a reading. 50F was a little high for my drinking enjoyment. The controller was all the way down. I could get the fridge checked out but I paid $50 for it and it would cost twice that to get someone over to look at it. Here's the thing I live outside Chicago and if I understand it right some new refrigerators don't work well in the garage with the temperature extremes we have in the midwest. Apparently the freezer doesn't work if the outside temp goes below 10F or something like that. The fridge I have now has separate thermostat settings for the freezer and the fridge. It seems the new fridges have only one controller and could cause a problem. Anybody out there know about this and could shed some light on the subject?

[ccarlson]

If it's a newer style, with the coils underneath, you probably just need to clean them. Happened to my garage fridge (side by side) just last week. After cleaning it took almost 2 days to bring that freezer back down to under 0, where before it was in the 20's. It was also very full of food.

be sure and turn it off before cleaning so you don't hit the fan. Also, make sure the fan is even running.

[tschmidlin]

ccarlson makes a good point about cleaning it, but why does it matter if the freezer doesn't work below 10F?  Things will be frozen anyway.  It's not ideal, but it's still cold enough.  I'd worry more about the beer in the refrigerator freezing.

[bluedog]

I agree about the 10F with the freezer - I read it somewhere and it didn't make sense to me except maybe something to do with the oil in the system.

[tschmidlin]

That makes sense, I would just turn it off though.  And maybe add a light bulb to the fridge on a temperature controller to keep it above 30F.

[ccarlson]

Oil is a real concern at very cold temps. My heatpump has a heater wrapped around the compressor for that reason. Are you sure it actually gets that cold in your garage?

The light bulb is a good suggestion, but I'd put it at the bottom close to the compressor. The heat will still rise and somewhat cool the fridge, plus it will warm the oil in the system.

[oscarvan]

That makes sense, I would just turn it off though.  And maybe add a light bulb to the fridge on a temperature controller to keep it above 30F.

Not a light bulb..... one of these:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/TEMPCO-Edison-ScrewIn-Infrared-Heater-Bulbs-4TDD2?Pid=search