SMC Discussion Areas

I've got a fridge in the garage, and now that it is getting cold, its not really keeping food frozen. The fridge is cold, but the freezer isn't as cold as it should be. My garage temp gets down into the 30's, but nothing more than that. My soda machine sitting next to it is still cooling fine. I have the fridge on a carpet so its not directly on the cement. Anything I can do to make this thing cold?

Clean the condensor coils & check for lil' critters that like to build nests near the lower cooling fan ( if equipped with one) that would block it from spinning. also remember that most home freezers aren't really designed for use outdoors in temperatures lower than 40 degrees-F, other than that, make sure the inside isn't coated with a thick layer of frost. and finally, if your themostat is located/built into the outside cabinet of the freezer, this may cause the unit to short-cycle due to the fact that it's sensing the lower ambient temperature.

My freezer started crapping out on me a while back and I found that the drain tube was frozen solid. I unplugged it and let it thaw until I could clear it. As Johnnie said, make sure your fans are working and the coils are clean - just like a soda machine. Also make sure that nothing is blocking the fan and air can circulate freely in the freezer. All the heat escapes from the top - make sure you don't keep a bunch of stuff up there. If you do, put a couple of 2x2 rails with a piece of wood as a platform to keep stuff off the top and allow the heat to escape.

Why do you have it on carpet? Is that something recommended in cold climates?

I dunno.. my coils are on the bottom and I figured the extra cold from the cement may be hindering it. I was actually trying to warm up the cooling system to make it cool better. I read somewhere else that I should try to put a drop light next to the compressor to keep it warm.. We had an older fridge in the same spot for years without trouble. Apparently, the new compressors are not as strong...

On all my manuals (for old soda machines), it says to have an inch of space. I have all my feet on each machine cranked up so the machine is an inch off the floor. I would think you would be restricting air flow is all.

That was the next thing to try was to put the fridge on blocks. Guess I'll give that a shot a see what happens..

It is called planned obsolescence Bubba....

My garage refrigderator never seems to work as well in the winter.  My garage has some insulation but when the temps drop below 20 (and the boys leave the garage door open all the time  :darn: ) it seems that the fridge just does not cycle as often due to the cold.  Runs fine the rest of the year.

Oh well, the beer is cold regardless!  :drinking: