# Fridge in the garage during winter **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337 "2004-09-21T15:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/21 "2013-01-06T01:30:14Z")
Y’know, I’m actually tempted to put this thread to the test since we’ve been debating it for going on 9 years. I happen to have a fridge with a freezer on top sitting in my garage that we’re planning on disposing. It’s old, but it works fine - we just happened to get a good deal on a really nice garage fridge, and this one is old and beat up so we jumped on it. I’ll see if I can convince Mr. Athena to cart it outside for a while, and put something in the freezer. I’ll have to look at the weather, though - we’re having a warm spell next week, not sure if it will be adequate for this experiment. ---
**Author:** ![grassynoel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/59ef9b/32.png) [@grassynoel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grassynoel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/22 "2013-09-28T19:04:11Z")
> [@Qwisp](#): > > I’ve only boughten[sub](is that a word?)[/sub] ;)) Only if you are in the late 18th century. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/23 "2013-09-28T20:33:57Z")
zombie or no older than this thread you’re saying. ---
**Author:** ![VFK44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ecc23a/32.png) [@VFK44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VFK44)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/24 "2013-09-29T00:22:28Z")
The answer to the freezer question is yes, they do defrost. And no, they don’t. The reason for the arguments is that fridge-freezers come in two types: those with two thermostats and those with just one shared between the two. I need hardly explain how this makes a difference. The reason for just one thermostat is simply cost, and I’m guessing that this sort is not sold much in very cold regions because they know there will be complaints! ---
**Author:** ![CHRIS860](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CHRIS860](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CHRIS860)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/25 "2015-05-05T23:30:44Z")
> [@jimmerz98](#): > > Well I would argue that answer! I have a brand new fridge in my garage and the freezer is NOT working, which would make sense since my garage is not heated and the thermostat is reading a cold temp thus not kicking on my freezer. > > I was hoping to find a quick fix, but I believe I recall the salesman at Lowes tell me that if this thing doesnt freeze for you in the winter, you will need to buy an add on thing for the thermostat so that it continues to freeze even if the temp in my garage is 20 degrees… Thank you for mentioning something about using a ‘‘thing’’ for the thermostat. I have a huge ham and pizzas in our refrig. freezer in garage. They were not frozen, but cold and soft. I’m scared to eat them… ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/26 "2015-05-06T02:21:16Z")
You may be running into “old, sloppy” vs “new, efficient” on the issue of freezer thaw in cold area. A high efficiency unit will not run any more than it’s well-insulated self requires. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/27 "2015-05-06T08:21:19Z")
I remember delivering cream to a dairy one bitterly cold morning. The dairy workers were all in the chill room keeping warm: +4 degrees in there and minus 10 outside. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/28 "2015-05-06T12:14:04Z")
I had a fridge outside on a rear deck. During the winter I would hotwire the switch to the interior light to keep it on and put a 40 watt bulb in it. Never had a problem with beer freezing or the freezer section not working properly. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/29 "2015-05-06T12:18:12Z")
One problem I’ve heard of is moisture in the compressor bearings freezing up and wrecking them. Despite that I still have a freezer that spent 10 winters in an unheated garage without a problem. Of course the food freezing in the freezer was not an issue. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/30 "2015-05-06T14:08:46Z")
Keep in mind that the insulation that would keep the insides of a fridge cold versus ambient temps will also work just as well to keep the inside “warm” vs colder outside temps. So if you were to graph the temp outside, in the unheated garage, and inside the unplugged fridge, the outside thermometer would show a pronounced night/day swing, the garage less so, and the fridge even less. It’s possible that the fridge wouldn’t actually fluctuate very much, depending on temps, and that you might need a VERY cold snap to actually freeze stuff within a fridge- enough so that the temp in the garage stays cold enough long enough for the in-fridge temp to go and stay far enough below freezing to actually freeze stuff in the fridge (BTW, beer’s freezing temp is somewhere in the mid-upper 20s, so there’s some leeway). Also, I’m pretty sure that fridges and freezers have separate thermostats, since they have separate temp setting abilities, and that implies the ability to separately cool the two chambers. ---
**Author:** ![Crafty42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90db22/32.png) [@Crafty42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafty42)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/31 "2016-04-07T15:07:01Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Y’know, I’m actually tempted to put this thread to the test since we’ve been debating it for going on 9 years. I happen to have a fridge with a freezer on top sitting in my garage that we’re planning on disposing. It’s old, but it works fine - we just happened to get a good deal on a really nice garage fridge, and this one is old and beat up so we jumped on it. > > I’ll see if I can convince Mr. Athena to cart it outside for a while, and put something in the freezer. I’ll have to look at the weather, though - we’re having a warm spell next week, not sure if it will be adequate for this experiment. Do the temperatures in your unheated, insulated garage get close to or below freezing for days, or is the garage attached to the house where it can get some minor heat through the walls? We have an insulated, unheated camp in Northern PA and I’ve shown up there in the winter and items in the freezer are unfrozen and items in the fridge section are frozen. I’ve been searching for a way to keep the freezer items frozen but also need to keep the fridge items from freezing. Which led me to this site from a google search. Cans and bottles have exploded in the fridge too many times, and people that leave things like fish or other items in the freezer where they have thawed have caused issues a few times. We try to tell everyone that anything that can spoil needs to go or get tossed before leaving, but certainly we like to leave some items there and not everyone always listens. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/32 "2016-04-07T15:31:42Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > [sub]Youse guys need to all move up North, where the proper use of ‘boughten’ and garage fridges are common knowledge[/sub] And what do you place in these refrigerators? Pop. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Crafty42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90db22/32.png) [@Crafty42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafty42)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/33 "2016-04-07T20:13:26Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > And what do you place in these refrigerators? > Pop. > :dubious: Loving that you used “pop” Where are you from? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/34 "2016-04-07T20:27:50Z")
> [@Crafty42](#): > > Loving that you used “pop” Where are you from? Arkansas, where we say “Coke ™” instead of soda. Yankees say “Pop”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/35 "2016-04-07T20:47:05Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Arkansas, where we say “Coke ™” instead of soda. > Yankees say “Pop”. 🙂 This Yankee says “soda”… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/36 "2016-04-08T01:53:25Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > This Yankee says “soda”… Well, hell. Who says, “pop”? ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/37 "2016-04-08T02:28:24Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Well, hell. > > Who says, “pop”? City folk, IME. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/38 "2016-04-08T02:42:25Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > City folk, IME. City folk in a canyon or a cavern? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/39 "2016-04-08T02:45:09Z")
Yankees driving to [Hot Springs](http://www.hotsprings.org/) have kids screaming, “Hey Dad! Let’s stop for pop!” Perhaps it is a subset, like people from Vermont or New Hampshire. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337/40 "2016-04-08T02:46:08Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > City folk in a canyon or a cavern? > > :dubious: They’re in a cavern that’s in a canyon. Digging for something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fridge-in-the-garage-during-winter/265337.md?page=3)