Keep garage refigerator/freezer cold in winter

Where do you keep the fridge? If you keep it outside then most likely the condensor coils in the freezer may be freezing over and the only way to fix that is to keep it above 40 degrees outside the fridge.

If you need further help, reach me via phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/steven_a67ead41eb5fc62a

There is only one source of cold in many refrigerators. If yours is a top freezer, then most likely it is in the freezer.
But the thermostat that you set temperature with is in the refrigerator, not the freezer.
In the cold garages, what can happen is that the refrigerator stays cold enough that it does not call for cold. So the freezer does not get enough cold.
The freezer control works by diverting cold air into the freezer WHEN THE RERIGERATOR HAS TURNED ON THE COOLING. If it is not turned on, oh well.
The best you can do for this is to put both on max cold. Then the refrigerator will call for more cold at a lower temperature, and the freezer will get it more often and will divert more when it is cooling.
This can result in the refrigerator freezing things too. You can try raising the refrigerator setting JUST A LITTLE and see if both work, but keep freezer on max cool.
This works for my situation, but ambient temperature fluctuations in the garage make this dicey. We don't put things like lettuce in the refrigerator in the garage in the winter because freezing damages them.
Good Luck

It could be a problem depending on how cold your garage gets in the winter. Most refrigerators depend on the compressor turning on to cool the freezer section and that cold air is used to cool the refrigerator section. If your the temperature in your garage gets in the 30-40 degree range in the winter. The compressor may not turn on sufficiently since the refrigerator is typically around the 35-40 degree range. This will cause the freezer to warm up to the fridge temperature and your freezer items will defrost.

It maybe too cold in your garage in winter check your owners manual and see what the recommended room temperature is.

He is correct. The temp in the refrig controls how often and for how long the refrig runs. Lets say the temp in your garage is 34 degrees, and you have your refrig set to 36 degrees: The refrig will never run, the fresh foods section will cool to 34, and the freezer will warm to 34. Even if the temp is 45 in the garage and you set the fresh foods to be 33, the refrig will not need to run long enough and often enough to keep the freezer temp cold enough. You will most likely need to have the ambient room temp at least 55 degrees to get satisfactory refrigerator performance. Insulating the refrig will not help. (by the way, outdoor beverage vending machines use an internal heater in cold weather to prevent liquid beverages inside from freezing,..... so using that info, you could put a low wattage heater in your refrig to make your refrig run enough to make the freezer section work. The %&#* with that, just move it into the house!)

Yes there is a solution. You need to install a garage Thermostat Heater. This will trick the thermostat into thinking it is in a warm environment. This article will tell you why this is happening and the solution as I described. Sorry but for some reason I cannot post this as a link. Copy & Paste into your browser. http://applianceparts.wordpress.com/2009/01/12/why-won’t-the-freezer-in-my-garage-refrigerator-freeze/

I know the minimum operating temp for many refrigerators is around 33 F (about a degree above freezing or so). This is due to the refrigerant gas within the compressor and the fact that it is not stable at low temps. Typically, a refrigerator's minimum ambient temp should be 50 degrees F (10 degrees C).

I don't know if there is a whole lot you can do. The refrigerator really wasn't built to work in such cold weather. You may either have to relocate it, put a heat source near it or look into a special freezer that is *supposedly* able to operate in much colder ambient temps.

Domestic refrigerators nowadays are designed not to operate at temperatures less than 45 degrees. First, if it's 45 degrees in the house, people probably are not living there. 2nd, 45 degrees keeps food refrigerated. 3, if people are not living in a space, then they don't need to keep frozen food.

This is a result of the changes in refrigerants we've been going through since 1992.
If you want an outdoor freezer, buy one, and make sure it's designed to be used in a non conditioned space.

probable reason for this is that the thermostat controls freezer temp and freezer follows suit.
if temp in your garage is low ie in winter, then the fridge doesn't need to switch on and the freezer temp rises.
i know this sounds barmy but it is true

hi there the problem you have is that the temp in the garage is to low, the fridge part of your fridge freezer has priority and will only activate the compressor when req'd ie. in cold weather the fridge may not need to switch on the compressor for days at a time this is when the freezer will defrost.
All you can try doing is having some very low heating in your garage in the cold weather

hope this is of help.