Will a fridge work in an unheated area like a garage?

[soupfiend]

I need a tall larder fridge to be kept in a side return which is not insulated but has doors either end and a roof. It can get warm in the summer.

I know with a freezer you have to have a particular operating range or get a freezer to be ok in a garage (we currently have a fridge freezer in the space that I want to change to a fridge)

But a fridge on its own, will it cause problems if the room becomes really cold?

We have problems at the moment with things freezing at the back of the fridge but I dont know if that is because its old or not maintained well or because its a fridge freezer

Plenty of Australian houses have the beer fridge in the garage. Or on the back verandah. And it can get hot here.

Then can work - look for an enclosed back and low ambient operating temperature
Last time we found Beko did both.

Yes the current fridge freezer is Beko for that reason

I dont think they do a larder fridge tall enough for me though.

Some roo... Search for fridges outbuilding.

Fridges are generally OK, it is freezers in the garage that can cut out at certain temperatures.

Bear in mind, however, that it is advised that the average fridge temperature is 5 degrees or below, give or take. So over Xmas the temperature is often low enough enough that you don't actually need the fridge in an outhouse.

This is interesting because Im not sure what the consequences will be if we get something that isnt suitable for outbuildings, what will happen?

Is it going to freeze stuff at the back of the wall of the fridge, because thats what happens at the moment, god help any cucumber or lettuce in the fridge part of our fridge freezer at the moment, it freezes and then gets ruined.

I'll be very upset if I pay about 500 quid for this new thing and end up with ruined salads

All the specs that Ive found so far say minimum room temp 10 degrees

The pipes at the back freeze and the fridge heats up internally... I speak from experience.

So if the fridge heats up internally, the temperature will go up inside? (sounds a stupid question)?

Is there anything that can prevent the pipes freezing, and why do they freeze? (we dont have freezing temps in the room, more like lowest would be around 3 or so I think, I will have to see.

A). You know that you can change the temperature inside your fridge to take into account the ambient temperature, don’t you?

B). Different parts of a fridge are different temperatures. It’s a matter of basic physics.

If your cucumbers are freezing, then A) reset the dial to be a bit warmer and B) put food with a high water content in a spot that isn’t the colder part.

And to answer your question, any fridge can turn into a freezer if you haven’t told it how to behave (set the dial).

Yes I have been fiddling with the dial to turn it up (get it warmer) but it doesnt seem to make any difference, we still get freezing, both in the salad drawer and on the top shelf, seems the same no matter where we put things

However my query is, is that likely to still happen with any fridge I put out there, is it because of where it is (unheated room - because it happens all year round) or because its old and possibly not working properly?

Im trying to establish if it would happen with something new, something that isnt a fridge freezer but just a fridge.

Apologies, I just remembering the issue now. I think there can be a problem with the location of the thermometer in a joint fridge freezer in a garage. Sometimes it is in the fridge so when the temperature gets to a certain level the whole thing shuts off which leads to the freezer defrosting. There's loads of information if you google.

It can be problem if you don't realise it happening and the food in your freezer can defrost and refreeze repeatedly. I had to chuck a whole freezer of food.

Fridges work on a heat differential created by a vacuum... So if it is colder outside the fridge it pumps warm air into the fridge. The fridges that work in cold temperatures are better insulated and recirculate the warm air around the cooling pipes to keep the outside warmer than the inside.

Thats helpful, so if it was a fridge, it shouldnt really make a difference to functioning.

Although in the summer I wonder if it would be too hot in there, most I have looked at say the maximum temp is 43, so I dont think it gets hotter than that.

Only certain fridges or freezers can be put in outbuildings and they usually list it in their description on websites. You could I suppose email the different manufacturers to ask if they make any and who their stockists are.

When I looked during lockdown only Beko made some (but not all) suitable for outside.

The trouble is I can only find fridge freezers (Beko) suitable for outbuildings and Its a tall fridge I need.

We have a larder Beko fridge in our brick garage and it works like a dream. It gets chilly in the garage but never below freezing so maybe it is a bit better insulated than your side return. In summer we tend to only use it for drinks and salad/ fruit (we are semi vegetarian) and I just make sure I don’t push food to the back wall so the air circulates properly. Seems fine!

I had a tall Beko fridge and freezer in my garage for 15 years? Both were fine, whatever the weather outside. We live within easy commuting distance of London.

We had the garage knocked down, gave the freezer away and brought the fridge in the house. It’s still working fine!

We have a Kenwood.. it is a tall fridge. They are out there

I did choose ones, that specifically said they could be put in a garage!

@soupfiend then it may be something as simple as a sensor needing replacing. I would be calling a service man first before going to the expense of replacing it.

I know I made a comment about the heat in a previous post but it does get very cold in our snow fields, too, and the fridge copes. Most fridges should be able to handle a garage without trouble.

Had a quick look but same as you I couldn't find just a fridge but could find just a freezer or a fridge/freezer but this might explain why from Beko site:

Beko larder fridges and static fridge freezers need to be placed in an environment of 10° C and above. Beko freezers and most Frost-free fridge freezers can be in an ambient temperature as low as -15° C.

I just cant find any fridges that say this, Im literally scrolling through hundreds this evening and have been for a few months, I realised I already started another thread about this a while ago!!!

For an outbuilding?

I literally had no idea there was any potential problem. We've always had a freezer in the garage, never checked it was suitable for outdoors. Never had any problems. Haven’t had a fridge out there tho.

Can you remember what model number the fridge was. I cannot find a fridge that says this