Freezer won't work in garage in cold weather

Many residential refrigerator / freezers are designed to work at temperature considerably above above freezing. Most modern refrigerator / freezer have a single electric thermostat - located in the fresh food compartment. This lone thermostat will control the compressor to keep the fridge (fresh food) section at the desired temperature (usually between 34 - 38 degrees F). The freezer will get colder regardless of how cold it is already whenever the fridge thermostat turns the compressor on.

Now that you see how the thermostat works, let's look at what happens when the fridge is placed in an unheated space - like a garage. In winter time, the temperature can drop considerably below 38 degrees. If the outdoor temperature remains cold enough, for long enough - it will affect the thermostat in the fridge. The temperature inside the fridge could drop below 38 degrees, preventing the thermostat from telling the compressor to turn on. Meanwhile, the temperature in the freezer compartment slowly rises from the normal -10 to 0 F degrees. It will continue to rise until it is the same temperature as the fresh food compartment or until the thermostat in the fresh food compartment tells the compressor to turn on again. This means the freezer contents will thaw.

If the temperature in the garage is even in the 40 to 50 degree range, the loss of cold in the fridge may not happen often enough to keep the compressor coming on often enough to keep some freezer items frozen solid - such as ice cream. Remember, water freezes at 32 degrees F, other products may require lower temperatures to remain frozen, and could thaw at 28 or other temperature.

Good luck!

Lack of freon isn't an issue. Check the internal fan between the freezer and fridge. It is usually located behind the back panel in the freezer. If not there, check upper back of fridge. The internal fan blows the cold air from the freezer to the fridge. When it goes out, the freezer will freeze but the fridge won't cool.

The problem is with the garage temperature. The temperature sensor for the refrigerator is in the fridge compartment, but the evap coils are in the freezer. Refrigerators were designed to work in an air conditioned space. When they are put into unheated spaces, it does not work well. The fridge thermostat typically is set to 40 deg F. If the outside temperature is close to that, then it does not turn on the compressor as much so the freezer will have a hard time staying below freezing.

There are garage refrigerator kits for people who put fridges in un heated garages in the winter. They just simple electric heaters that warm the fridge's thermostat to cause the compressor to run more often. This helps the fridge to maintain temperatures better in the freezer compartment. The same thing can be accomplished by putting a small wattage bulb in the refrigerator compartment. Just remember to remove it during the warm weather otherwise you will pay a large electricity bill in the summer months.

That is normal since the cold control is on the refrigerator side and is satisfied. It needs to be in a heated environment and not in an unheated garage.

Good day,
GE recommends minimum ambient air temp above 55 degrees,
and that's pushing it.
Move it inside.
As an example. If the garage temperature was 10 degrees and the machine was left unplugged. What would the temp be in the fresh food section. If you said 10 degrees, you would be right.

P.S. Insulation does not prevent an area from getting cold, it just delays the time.

why not then when its down to zero shut the unit off and open the lid and free freezing...no electricity required....remember pop machines sit out in all types of weather

Sears is technically correct. It wouldn't work with the old coolant either. The principle is simple. The refrigerator is the same temp as your garage - it is not running. It must be in a 60 degree room to work properly. The sensor to turn it on is in the fresh food compartment, and it never calls for cooling; therefore it appears you freezer only is out - but they both work together. Hope this helps!

This might sound stupid, but I had a similar problem. A few years ago when I was renting I noticed that suddenly my freezer stopped working well. I eventually had to call my landlord to check it out. It turned out that there was a knob to adjust the freezer temp and I had turned it to the warmest setting somehow. If it isn't that, I would return the freezer.

Hope that works for you

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.

Unless specifically made for use in a garage most units won't work properly. The owners manual should say what the temp range for proper operation is (usually 55F is the low range). This is because the refrigerator section doesn't need to be "cooling" to maintain 37F if the temps on the outside are below 55F. These things are made to work in a 70F room and will not work properly if under 55F. Stupid thing thinks it's cold enough so it will never turn on, the refer section will stay cold/cool due to outside temps but since the compressor never runs the freezer will just be the same temp as the refer section (at best). Sorry, but in order for a freezer or refrigerator to work in an unheated space it must have the temp control device controling the freezer section NOT the fresh food section. In other words, that model will not work in a garage unless the temps are above 55F always.