Why "can't" you use ordinary chest freezers in your barn...?

[AJMD429]

We've always kept a fridge in the barn (unheated), and often a freezer or two, for deer-meat, extra beer, or whatever. Never any problems.

Went to replace a 30-year old chest freezer today, and the one I bought said NOT to operate it in temperatures below 55 degrees. Although the instruction manual was thick with lots of pages, instead of explaining the rationale for this edict, it merely reiterated it in seven different languages . Is this something due to new refrigerants, something that has always been true and I've unknowingly barely kept from blowing up my barn each winter, something just to make lawyers happy, or what...???

[Blaine]

Well....I can't endorse the practice, but I've kept a small chest freezer in my carport shed for years...I don't run it all the time, but, it sure seems to work ok. Eskimos use refrigerators to keep stuff from freezing....I don't know...

[DadsMod12]

My dad always had a frig and freezer in the unheated garage. I remember when the freezer went bad he had a hard time finding a replacement because he said a self defrosting freezer would keep defrosting when the temperatures in the garage stayed below freezing.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I have mine in an unheated garage. I see no reason for having to keep it at 55 Deg.+.

[hayabusa]

We put an 10 year old one in the unheated garage to keep beef & deer meat. Never had any problem until it quit after probably 10 or more years.

busa

[Tycer]

My dad always had a frig and freezer in the unheated garage. I remember when the freezer went bad he had a hard time finding a replacement because he said a self defrosting freezer would keep defrosting when the temperatures in the garage stayed below freezing.

That might be the deal.

[Hagler]

Doc,

I have read that starting a compressor, with thick, cold oil in it, could cause it to seize up. Some refrigerator/ air conditioning compressors have crankcase heaters to prevent this. This may be what your owner's manual is relating to you, without actually telling you the speciffics. Personally, I would try leaving a freezer outside, in a garage/ shed. In fact, I know someone who kept a small refrigerator on his covered carport, and he is a commercial A/C repairman.

Shawn

[Sixgun]

I have a dehumidifier in my basement that I use during the obvious months where the basement temps run around 75 or so. Dehumidifiers, like refrigerators and air conditioners, have compressors.

Once, during the fall we had a lot of rain and my basement was getting humid------it never leaks, very dry basement...just gets humid..................anyway, in the fall the basement temps will drop to the low fifties and after turning it on and running for several hours, I started hearing funning noises, so when I looked at it, the entire condensor?(thing that looks like a radiator) was all full of ice.

Maybe that has something to do with it.----6

[BenT]

I have a dehumidifier in my basement that I use during the obvious months where the basement temps run around 75 or so. Dehumidifiers, like refrigerators and air conditioners, have compressors.

Once, during the fall we had a lot of rain and my basement was getting humid------it never leaks, very dry basement...just gets humid..................anyway, in the fall the basement temps will drop to the low fifties and after turning it on and running for several hours, I started hearing funning noises, so when I looked at it, the entire condensor?(thing that looks like a radiator) was all full of ice.

Maybe that has something to do with it.----6

Same thing as Sixgun said. If I run my newer dehumidifier in the basement in the early spring or late fall the condensor becomes a block of ice. It has to get colder for my 20 year dehumidifier to freeze up . So find the radiator looking thing and make sure it doesn't freeze up when running when too cold.

[Blaine]

Looks like the second generation Freon Free stuff don't work all that good

[mark08]

We have a 1951 international harvester chest type freezer that has sit on the back porch unheated since 1951. There is a 1968 Frigidaire chest freezer sitting next to it and to keep them company there is also a 1993 sears chest freezer. In the barn unheated there are two refrigerators and a upright freezer, all over 15 years old. They all work without any excitement. Seems the 55F is something new. None of our units are self defrosting, could be the answer. The fridge in our kitchen is another story. It is controlled by a computer. Turned the water off one day and had to call Maytag to come and reprogram the silly thing. INFO: If you are going to turn off the water supply to a fridge then FIRST turn off the ice maker inside the fridge. If you don't it will blow it's mind.

[AJMD429]

The fridge in our kitchen is another story. It is controlled by a computer. Turned the water off one day and had to call Maytag to come and reprogram the silly thing. INFO: If you are going to turn off the water supply to a fridge then FIRST turn off the ice maker inside the fridge. If you don't it will blow it's mind.

In the good old days, I'll bet an engineer would have gotten fired over that kind of thing...