To turn my fridge off overnight?

[Fridgerson]

For various complicated and boring reasons, I am living with generator power only for the next few weeks.

The generator fuel tank won’t support it staying on all night. I’d have to get up every 5-6 hours to fill it.
The fridge is an expensive one and I don’t want to break it.

Do I…

Turn fridge off overnight then back on in the morning? (YABU)

or

Turn it off completely and live hand to mouth going to the shops every day? (YANBU)

Or any other solutions I may not have thought of! Thank you!

Is it cold enough to put stuff outside where you are? It is here at the moment especially if n a shady spot.

I don't think it'd the front any good being turned on and off.

Fridge freezers use very little electricity ( yes I have measured) even in summer, are you sure you would need to refill the generator?

If it's only for a few days switching it off at night won't do it any harm.

As suggested, put everything in a storage box and put it outside. You can buy cartons of long life milk.

It could damage the fridge to keep turning it off frequently. If you have access to a neighbour’s freezer, could you use cool blocks in a cool box for your milk, cheese etc during the day, and freeze others to use in turn during the night?

I bought milk on Sunday and I've just taken it out of the car, it's fine! In weather like this a fridge isn't really necessary at all if there's somewhere to store stuff where it's cool.

Good idea, but could tempt animals or human thieves, unless you have a shed or porch.

Turning it off overnight will make it work more when it’s back on as it will have to get back to its start point

Can you get a smaller fridge, counter top ones sell for under £100 - working on the logic that a smaller fridge would require less energy.

My mum spent 6 months of last year without a fridge. She used a cool box and shopped every other day.

In this weather I think you'd be fine but only if its just you and a temporary situation. I don't think it'd work for a family as the cool box would be opened too much.

Oh I did this when I had to wait for a repair - it was making a horrendous noise at unpredictable times and the flat was tiny so it was waking me and my poor neighbour! I turned it off at night for a week - didn't have any meat kept in there. Food was fine.

a large well insulated fridge shouldn't use much energy if you don't open the door. a small table-top one might use the same or more.

you could buy a power monitor to check how much energy different devices in your home are using to help you make decisions about what to turn off
www.amazon.co.uk/Power-Monitors/b?ie=UTF8&node=1938287031

Similar. I put energy monitors on all my big appliances, my large American-style fridge-freezer, it used a maximum of 13 kWh per week in summer months, closer to 11 kWh/week in winter.

Is 11 units per week really going to be that much of a draw on your generator?

a 4L mini fridge £30 in Argos , is big enough for a pack of butter and a bottle of milk. You could also try an electric cool box or in this weather just an insulated picnic bag with a frozen cool pack should work for a reasonable time

@Fridgerson people havent always had fridges you know??? use as much freezer food as possible over the next 48 hours it is cold enough outside to not need a fridge. My garden table still hold lots of drink etc from christmas. i remember why my mum and dad got their first fridge in 1968

@Fridgerson If you DO decide to just switch it off altogether and just shop every day/every other day, please remember to leave the fridge door open so that bacteria, mould and smells don't develop in it while it is switched off, as you say it will be several weeks of running from the generator

If you’re sure the generator won’t support it, I’d switch off and leave it off. I didn’t have enough fridge space over Christmas so have food (not meat) stored in large IKEA boxes in the garage, it’s doing fine.

At present it is cold enough, but im not sure how long it will stay that way!

Depends where OP lives !

I'd put things in the car boot if in UK, safe from animals & no need to buy cool boxes etc.

I live without a fridge. It's not as hard as many people seem to imagine.

Sadly the generator will only run for 5-6 hours max without being refilled.

It’s the length of time - generator runs out if petrol every 5-6 hours so I’d have to be up in the night and going out to the shed to start filling it, which I can’t see me doing for weeks.

Thanks I hadn’t thought of needing to leave it open!

Out of necessity or choice?

My fridge in the garage has switched itself off in this weather as it’s having to work to keep the fridge warmer than outside the door which confuses it. Put everything in boxes in a shed or similar I’m sure it willl be fine.

Its totally fine to turn off over night. It my old house we did this regularly as we were on solar power. We would place frozen bottle on the fridge over night too as air within the fridge warms fastest.