My garage was missing something, but now it's not...Question though

[Tyson]

I got done doing the garage floor

http://www.zcarchat.com/stuff/garage/finished/PICT3258 (Large).JPG

But something was just missing....so I went on craigslist and found a brand new looking refrigerator for only $50, works GREAT! It really looks good in there too (ignore the car parts, they are being sold on ebay)

http://www.zcarchat.com/mary/Garagefloor/finished half.JPG


My question is this...I live in Minnesota and the garage does not have a constant source of heat yet and our winters are wacky, it will be -30F one day, and +40 the next day, and then back to -30. Is it safe to have the power on to the refrigerator all winter long? Obviously the refrigerator portion will become a freezer, but will the cold damage the refrigerator?

Thanks!

 

[iiibdsiil]

I would find ANY manual for a fridge, and it should have the operating temperatures in it, like most all electronics do. I've gotta imagine it will be close to the same for all fridges.

 

[iiibdsiil]

Just grabbed mine...

It says "Do not install where the temp will go below 60F (16C) as it will not run often enough to maintain proper temperatures."

But, that doesn't tell you if it will cause damage at -30.

 

[Der Bugmeister]

If it goes to -30 in your garage, just unplug the fridge and open the freezer door ;-P

 

[Ryan Wilke]

My question is this...I live in Minnesota and the garage does not have a constant source of heat yet and our winters are wacky, it will be -30F one day, and +40 the next day, and then back to -30. Is it safe to have the power on to the refrigerator all winter long? Obviously the refrigerator portion will become a freezer, but will the cold damage the refrigerator?

Tyson,
Yeah, that's cold.... But I can't believe that it gets -30* INSIDE your garage though. I'm no expert, but I can tell you that I run a frig and a freezer in my unheated (attached) garage (in mid-Michigan) year 'round without any problems. It doesn't get -30*F, but we will see -15*F OUTSIDE for a few days at a time, and that will allow my INSIDE garage temps to dip down to -10*F but it hasn't hurt the units. Remember, the frig is insulated - so it will also keep the cold OUT for a while. Frankly, I wouldn't worry about it. In fact, I'm more concerned about my frig & freezer during the 95+*F days that we see too many of during the Summer!

RW

 

[Matt Harwood]

If it gets that cold in your garage, you can open the doors and use the fridge as a heater!

 

[Tyson]

Haha

It actually does get very very cold here in Minnesota, we have seen as far as -60 WITHOUT accounting for windchill. A few times a year it's common to see around -40, and even in the garage it's damn damn cold. My garage only touches 1 side of my house, and it's insulated between so there really isn't a whole lot of heat transfer between the two.

 

[428]

We went to a family farm in WV a few years back around Christmas, it gets closed up during the winter. When we went in it was about 15 degrees inside, no heat either, just wood stoves. After building fires and turning the house power on, we notice the fridge wasn't running. Took a few minutes to realize it was because it was colder in the house than the set point of the fridge and freezer. Took several hours before it came on.
Not sure what would happen if you left it plugged in, other than the really cold days that might crack the plastic in it I'd think it would just sit there doing nothing.

How you people live up there baffles me. Coldest I've been in was minus 10 to minus 30 in Montana. That was to cold for me for just the few days I was there. Couldn't imagine living with that on a regular basis.

 

[Ryan Wilke]

Took a few minutes to realize it was because it was colder in the house than the set point of the fridge and freezer. Took several hours before it came on.

Not sure what would happen if you left it plugged in, other than the really cold days that might crack the plastic in it I'd think it would just sit there doing nothing.

How you people live up there baffles me. ...
Couldn't imagine living with that on a regular basis.

428,

You're correct. If the internal frig thermostat isn't calling for it to come on, it'll just sit there waiting. No biggie.......Don't hit the plastic and it'll be ok... But just like your car's plastic front fascia, if you hit a sizable snowdrift at 40mph, and it'll crack.

Living in a cold climate it's really any different than living in the South with day-after-day of 95 to 100*F heat. I was raised in upper Michigan & then lived for a few yrs in southern TX, so I can say you just do what you can and deal with the conditions:

-- Wear layers of warm clothes versus wearing light, breezy clothes.
-- Park your vehicle where it isn't in the wind/cold versus trying to park in the shade.
-- Keep the furnace tuned up versus keeping the A/C unit tuned up.
-- Seal the cracks around the doors & windows to prevent cold intrusion or to keep the bugs and such out...
-- Run a humidifier when the Winter outside air is so dry (< 20%RH) versus running A/C (a dehumidifer) when it's sooo dang humid (> 65%RH).
-- Don't stand naked out in the wind/cold elements versus don't stand naked out in the hot/glaring/direct sun
-- Etc, etc, etc.....

I've always said that the Law will only allow me to take 'so many' clothes off due to the heat; but the Law doesn't mind if I put more on when it's cold out!

One of the most frequent mistakes made by "newbies" who move to a cold region - is the consideration to their vehicle (or any equipment operated below -10*F, i.e., chainsaw, snowblower, tractor, etc). The easiest and best thing you can do for your car if you expect to operate it in the cold, is to outfit it so you can "plug it in" via an engine block coolant heater...

RW