Chest Freezer in Garage in the Winter - Is this OK?

[Jlems]

THANK YOU all for the information. I feel a lot more confident it will be ok. Definitely grabbing a sensor and alarm though! Kind of due diligence in my opinion...

 

[TravelingJ]

I lost a freezers worth of food when the SensorPush gateway failed on me, so while they might have some use, they don't help me sleep any better at night, that was in my basement, and not my garage.

We are a bit gun shy since we have a fridge/freezer mess up in the winter for us before. Fridge froze and freezer thawed.

We do have a similar fridge/freezer in the garage and it had issues when the ambient temp dropped below 45, and the fridge didn't need to kick on, so the freezer started to warm up. I ended up having to put a light into the fridge, run by an external timer, to raise the temps in it enough to kick on the compressor, so the freezer will kick on.

Since this thread is about a freezer only, I'm assuming it wouldn't have the same issue that my fridge/freezer did.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

One of the problems with low ambient temperatures is that the refrigerant will migrate into the oil of the compressor. This will raise the level of the liquid (oil and refrigerant) in the compressor crankcase and could cause liquid slugging on start up.
Leave a 60 watt incandescent trouble light next to the compressor during low temperatures and that bit of heat will keep the refrigerant out of the oil.

I doubt they make crankcase heaters that small for residential stuff but you never know.

Excellent point billbek. All the commercial stuff I used to work on had crankcase heaters on the compressors. They do make a 120 volt strap on heater for residential units. Connects like a worm clamp. You can get one from Amazon or any appliance parts store. Better yet make sure the one you buy has one already factory installed. That maybe what some folks meant by garage rated. The light will work too but cost a little more to run but worth it.

 

[orangeblood]

...
1. Poor man's alarm: Take a small Styrofoam cup and freeze water in it. Then set a quarter on top in the center. Make sure you put it in a place where it will not get tipped over in the freezer. Check it once a week. If you go out of town or do not check it for awhile, when you return, look for any melting. The quarter will sink as the ice melts. If it melts halfway down, your meat is still good. If it's on the bottom your meat has thawed even if power comes back on and your meat refreezes...

very clever! THANKS

 

[MI Smoke]

I’m from Monoe , 30 minutes south of you. I’ve had a freezer and 2 refrigerators in my garage now for 10 hrs.
No problem at all.
But, my garage if insulated.