been on a couple of times already and was helped out quite a bit.
I'm asking if anyone knows if there are any hazards to leaving a fridge on when I leave a country cabin, it gets cold and can easily drop to -20 if not lower. Would the fridge just hibernate at this temp or still try to maintain it's operating temperature? I heard of others who turn them off and leave the door ajar , for what reason?
Thanks to you all,
Gino
My fairly new Sears Kenmore energy star can not be run in a room below
50-55f. Yours may take a bit less but best is turn it off. I know running some AC units below 60f is bad also
When in doubt, check the instructions. Mine says you can damage the compressor running it below 40 (or some such temperature); so that is how I handle my cottage fridge. I suppose it would never run at -20, but it would at 20. It can smell odd if you don't leave the door open.
At -20 degrees, I would worry about something possibly failing in the compressor area, which is not in the insulated, inside part of the fridge. The fridge specs will give operating temp range. Of course, the room will be heated somewhat by the compressor running, increasing the temp. in the room. Another reason to shut it off: why waste electricity while you are away? And add a (albeit very small) chance of an electrical malfunction. Others prop open the doors to allow air to circulate inside, reducing the rate of mold formation, which is common in closed fridges, at ambient temperature.
Save money and the frig. Empty it and turn it off.
It can't be, or that isn't recommended because the freezer might thaw? In wintertime, I unplug the barn fridge and put a 100 W bulb in series with a Thermocube in a lower drawer of the fridge compartment that lights the bulb when the fridge compartment temp drops to 35 F to keep it from freezing.
If I used the freezer compartment, perhaps I could keep it from thawing by plugging the fridge back in with a thermostat that also turns on the bulb in the fridge part when the freezer compartment gets up to 20 F. Who makes a cheap "reverse thermocube" like that? An old fridge thermostat might work, if the setpoint could be adjusted that low.
Nick
Once the outside temp drops below the fridge setpoint temp. it won't need to run anymore but the frost free heater may continue to function using some energy. Unless it is a special garage refrigerator, the whole thing will freeze up freezing any food in the fridge compartment. The cold should not harm the unit since the compressor should not be called upon to run when it is very cold.
Opening the door on an off refrigerator is advised mainly to prevent trapping moisture which will breed mold and mildew making it necessary to clean when you return. Prop the door open securely so some varmint doesn't crawl in and die with the door closed.
It is Kenmore instructions that my frige not be operated in a room 50f or lower.
Pop
Thats because they cannot guarantee the temperature regulation of the interior compartments or the hot coil would be inefficient below that temp. It does not necessarily mean that damage to the unit would occur. Instruction manuals are written to the lowest common denominator. Rarely are the reasons for definative statements given.
It has no fancy electronics and is not a wart on the ass of progress, just the opposite, it is the most efficient frige made in its size 3 yrs ago, it compares to a Sun Frost in my tests and only costs 2.50 - 3.30$ a month to run. I think its the compressor and its efficient design which limit it to 50 as dehumidifiers can freeze at 65f and AC units should not be run below apx 60f, you can freeze the coil and damage things. It only pulls 95 watts running and is 19.5 cu ft.
This is Turtle.
Here is the country boy's rules for friges at camps.
It is best to turn the box off and prop open the doors to keep the moisture from forming inside the box to rust it apart. put a chair in the way of the door to keep it from not closing.
You don't let refrigerator run in sub-freezing weather because of possible freon flood backs when running and busting the valve plates in the compressor. There is only a 1 in 1,000 chance of this happening but if you have bad luck. Don't do it.
Also if you have any liquid items in the refrigerator section , they will freeze and bust and make a mess.
TURTLE
It won't even cycle on in sub-freezing weather since the stat is set somewhere between 36 to 42 deg. It would call for heat if it was able. Even if it did cycle on why would it flood back?
hvacrmedic
Cause, there is a 1 in 1000 chance it might.....LOL
I wonder if hes getting his numbers from GE on this one...
It might, with an old refrigerator thermostat in the freezer and a Thermocube in the fridge compartment that light a 100 W bulb in the fridge if the freezer rises to 20 F (to keep frozen food frozen) or the fridge falls to 35 (to avoid freezing the fridge contents.) Will this hurt the compressor?
Nick
If GE is what he calls his ass :)
hvacrmedic
That's pretty neat, but it won't help out with the subfreezing condenser air. Somehow I doubt that a fan cycle control is a viable option :)
hvacrmedic
So subfreezing condenser air might hurt the compressor, and controlling the fan duty cycle to keep the hot coil above freezing might avoid that?
A friend of mine is poor and lives in a 50 F house. Her fridge hasn't run for several months now, so she can't keep frozen foods frozen...
Nick
And that's probably the real source of the issue: If the temp-sensor is in the refridgerator section of a combined unit, then ambient temperatures BETWEEN the set temp of the fridge and the design temp of the freezer will cause the freezer section to not freeze.
One (british) installation guide I found online says the following:
Your fridge freezer must NOT be placed in a room where the temperature goes below 6°C or above 38°C for prolonged periods, as the internal fridge temperature will not be maintained.
By contrast, my chest freezer installation guide is adamant that I must adjust the feet so that the machine is dead-level, but doesn't say squat about installing it in an attached shed.
It might, that is, if you could insulate the coil from the ambient environment during the off cycle. It's doable, but it would be an engineering nightmare on a stock domestic refrigerator. Refrigerators take awhile to stabilize running pressures, so starting with a subfreezing condenser coil might mean that the cycle finishes before the head control even has a chance to takes control. Head Masters, or equivalent devices, are installed on commercial refrigeration systems in order to simulate higher ambients. Without head pressure control, when the condenser gets too cold the head pressure will drop to such a level that the evaporator will be starved of refrigerant, even with a TXV in place, and as a result and superheat will escalate. The evaporator and compressor are starved of refrigerant. Turtle had it exactly wrong; flooding back is assured not to happen.
hvacrmedic
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