Fridge Freezer in garage question

[JDLDIY]

Hi there, we have an old fridge freezer in the garage and we're finding it isn't' keeping food frozen in this cold spell. I've read the manual and searched here and I've found that this is commonplace. The manual states that if the appliance is run when the ambient temp is less than 14C, for a prolonged period, it will encounter problems!

My question really is whether this is standard for all fridge freezers or whether some makes are better in this respect than others? Many thanks for any advice. The one we have is an Indesit.

 

[Terox]

The refrigerator is cooled by the operation of the compressor pumping refrigerant around the fridge and freezer.
The thermostat decides when to run the compressor.
The thermostat operates on the fridge temperature only, so if the fridge is down to temperature, eg between 3 & 8 degrees, the stat will not turn the compressor on so your freezer wont get any refrigerant pumped around it.

They use this methodology based on the idea that you will be opening and closing your fridge door more than your freezer. The refrigerant gets pumped through the freezer section first, so initially the freezer will be cooled down before the fridge is. Under normal conditions, eg in a house the ambient temperature is much higher than 3-8 Deg C which is why you don't see this side effect. Todays temperature outside is -2, therefore the stat will not turn the compressor on at all.

There are Refrigerators that run 2 compressors. One for the freezer and one for the fridge. These will work okay in the garage, because the Freezer compressor will be controlled by a freezer thermostat and is seperate from the fridge.

 

[JDLDIY]

Thanks Terox, makes sense.

 

[captaincaveman1]

Beko now have a range of fridge/freezers with electronic's that enable them to work in upto -15c ambient .

 

[JDLDIY]

Blimey, really? Fantastic, they're cheap too aren't they - will have a look thanks.