Freezers

[Jim]

Any concerns about a chest freezer being used in an unheated garage when winter temps can be -10 degrees F? Curious if any of the circuits could be damaged.

[m Ransley]

My frige states it is not to be run in a room below 55f. Yours wont be that far off, I dont recomend trying it . Call the mnfg.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

The manufactor will tell you they don't warrant the freezer if you run it in ambiants below +40ºF and say it can blow the valve plates out of the compressor by doing so.

Now i have seen 100's of freezers run on the back patio for years with freezing weather all the time and not mess them up. They are breaking the rules but the law of averages will catch up with you if you do it long enough.

TURTLE

[default]

I was under the impression that it was specifically referidgerator/freezer combinations that had issues, and that standalone freezers should be fine.

The whirlpool guide claims that their chest freezer operates most efficiently when used where temperature stays between 32 and 110F

[m Ransley]

If mnfg says 32F then go with what they say, but The Turtle knows

[Jim]

You might hope so. I called Whirlpool based upon your suggestion. NOTHING in the Use & Care Guide says they won't warranty a product if used below a given temperature. Instead their printed policy states: "Your freezer operates most efficiently when located in an area where the temperature is normally between 32 degrees F and 110 degrees F." Yet the customer service rep says use outside that range voids the warranty. When asked where that is written the song and dance routine began. Began with "the unit isn't insulated for that" My reply was the food was already frozen. My guess was she was reading from scripted answers.

By nature I like to see something definitive. Something that can be referenced to. But in the case of Whirlpool appliances evidently that isn't possible.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

I'm not speaking what a manufactor has to say today , but watching them screw up and working on them. I have not done warranty work on refrigerators and freezers for Whirlpool in about 10 years now. I use to attend Whirlpool service schools and get the latest scoope on freezers and refr. and this being 10 years ago. whirlpool stated and was showed that at 40ºF ambiant the compressor starts to having flood back of freon and evaperator coil goes below -20ºF which will start a flood back of freon and by the time it get to maybe +30ºF which then will blow the valve plates with liquid freon. The risk of blowing the valve plates out of the compressor starts at +40ºF and it can blow them at +40ºF or below. Now for sure with R-12 freon the valve will or should blow at +10ºF. Now this is all left up to the Lord to let it not blow or blow at any temperature under +40ºF .

Now all new freezers and refrigerators are run on R-134-A now and R-134-A could have a lower temp. before flood back starts to happen. This could be the reason for Whirlpool to say +32ºF [ 8ºF lower now ] is the low temp before they void the warranty because R-134-A seem to me to not flood back as bad as R-12 does.

I would not want to push the limit of screwing up so DO run refrigerators and freezers in ambiants of Less than +40ºF. This will blanket R-12 and R-134-a types and not push the screw up limit. Limits are to be avoided and not for you to run at for the norm.

I have a Lexus car and Lexus states not to exceed 75 miles per hours in low gear or first gear. Who in their right mine would want to drive in first gear at or above 75 M.P.H. or Run a refrigerator in ambiants of +40ºF or less ? Both are doing the same thing by testing the limits of the equipment.

Now you have called Whirlpool and got their limit. You may want to call the other 10 or so manufactor and find out their limits that they have set. Now the service tech's that work on them will see problems when you run in ambiants of less than +40ºF.

TURTLE

[Jim]

Thanks for the education regarding flood backs. With that knowledge the warranty in risk makes sense. Seems the manufacturer could have provided the customer rep with something simple along those lines. Or even somewhere printed in the user manual.