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

"GINO" wrote in message
. ..
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,

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.

wrote in message
. .. 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? GINO

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.

GINO wrote:
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

Save money and the frig. Empty it and turn it off.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

m Ransley wrote:

My fairly new Sears Kenmore energy star can not be run in a room below 50-55f.

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

http://www.countrysupply.com/products/sku-BEW19.html

"GINO" wrote in message
. ..
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


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.

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
: It is Kenmore instructions that my frige not be operated in a
room 50f
: or lower.
:
I always get a kick out of those kind of things. They have a
perfectly good product that, years ago, didn't much care about
the ambient temp, and then they fill it up wiht electronics and
other temp senstivie components so you can't let it get cold.
Sometimes it's just a wart on the ass of progress!

Pop

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
It is Kenmore instructions that my frige not be operated in a room 50f
or lower.


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.

GINO wrote:
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

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

TURTLE wrote:

GINO wrote:

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


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.

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



Also if you have any liquid items in the refrigerator section , they
will freeze and bust and make a mess.

TURTLE

"RP" wrote in message
...


TURTLE wrote:

GINO wrote:

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


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.

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...



Also if you have any liquid items in the refrigerator section , they
will freeze and bust and make a mess. TURTLE

RP wrote:

It won't even cycle on in sub-freezing weather since the stat is set
somewhere between 36 to 42 deg...

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

http://www.countrysupply.com/products/sku-BEW19.html

CBHVAC wrote:
"RP" wrote in message
...


TURTLE wrote:


GINO wrote:


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


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.

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...

If GE is what he calls his ass

hvacrmedic



Also if you have any liquid items in the refrigerator section , they
will freeze and bust and make a mess. TURTLE

wrote:

RP wrote:


It won't even cycle on in sub-freezing weather since the stat is set
somewhere between 36 to 42 deg...


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

http://www.countrysupply.com/products/sku-BEW19.html

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

RP wrote:

It won't even cycle on in sub-freezing weather...

It might, with an old refrigerator thermostat in the freezer and
a Thermocube in the fridge that light a 100 W bulb in the fridge
if the freezer rises to 20 F... or the fridge falls to 35 (to avoid
freezing the fridge contents.) Will this hurt the compressor?

http://www.countrysupply.com/products/sku-BEW19.html

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

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

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...

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.

wrote:

RP wrote:


It won't even cycle on in sub-freezing weather...

It might, with an old refrigerator thermostat in the freezer and
a Thermocube in the fridge that light a 100 W bulb in the fridge

if the freezer rises to 20 F... or the fridge falls to 35 (to avoid

freezing the fridge contents.) Will this hurt the compressor?


http://www.countrysupply.com/products/sku-BEW19.html


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


So subfreezing condenser air might hurt the compressor, and controlling
the fan duty cycle to keep the hot coil above freezing might avoid that?

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

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

RP wrote:

It won't even cycle on in sub-freezing weather...

It might, with an old refrigerator thermostat in the freezer and
a Thermocube in the fridge that light a 100 W bulb in the fridge
if the freezer rises to 20 F... or the fridge falls to 35 (to avoid
freezing the fridge contents.) Will this hurt the compressor?

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

So subfreezing condenser air might hurt the compressor, and controlling
the fan duty cycle to keep the hot coil above freezing might avoid that?

It might, that is, if you could insulate the coil from the ambient
environment during the off cycle.

With little mass and no fan, it might heat up fast when the compressor starts.

It's doable, but it would be an engineering nightmare on a stock domestic
refrigerator...

Seems easy enough to put a thermostat near the hot coil that turns on
the fan when the air temp rises to 70 F. Or another Thermocube and bulb
or heat tape near the hot coil.

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...

Is that bad, or just a transient self-correcting condition?

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.

Good.

Nick

unattended cabin food can spoil with a simple power failure. the
duration of the power failure and the unknown refrigerated product
temperature create the hazard.
"In the event of a power failure, frozen or refrigerated foods warmed
to above 40 F for two to three hours may not be safe to eat."
please see full information at:
http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d001201...8/d001288.html

wrote:
RP wrote:


It won't even cycle on in sub-freezing weather...

It might, with an old refrigerator thermostat in the freezer and
a Thermocube in the fridge that light a 100 W bulb in the fridge

if the freezer rises to 20 F... or the fridge falls to 35 (to avoid

freezing the fridge contents.) Will this hurt the compressor?

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

So subfreezing condenser air might hurt the compressor, and controlling
the fan duty cycle to keep the hot coil above freezing might avoid that?

It might, that is, if you could insulate the coil from the ambient
environment during the off cycle.


With little mass and no fan, it might heat up fast when the compressor starts.

You have to count the compressor mass, and take into account that the
cycle will be extremely short given the low load condition due to
subfreezing ambient around the box.

Here's my suggestion: turn it off, take the food with you Somebody is
likely to break in and eat it anyway while the cabin is unoccupied for
long periods.

hvacrmedic



It's doable, but it would be an engineering nightmare on a stock domestic
refrigerator...


Seems easy enough to put a thermostat near the hot coil that turns on
the fan when the air temp rises to 70 F. Or another Thermocube and bulb
or heat tape near the hot coil.


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...


Is that bad, or just a transient self-correcting condition?


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.


Good.

Nick

RP wrote:

So subfreezing condenser air might hurt the compressor, and controlling
the fan duty cycle to keep the hot coil above freezing might avoid that?

It might, that is, if you could insulate the coil from the ambient
environment during the off cycle.

With little mass and no fan, it might heat up fast...

At 100 W, 10 Btu/F would warm 35 F in 1 hour, so maybe we need insulation
and/or heat...

You have to count the compressor mass, and take into account that the
cycle will be extremely short given the low load condition due to
subfreezing ambient around the box.

Less energy use sounds good to me :-)

Here's my suggestion: turn it off, take the food with you Somebody is
likely to break in and eat it anyway while the cabin is unoccupied for
long periods.

My poor friend just wants to keep ice cream in her full-time 50 F house,
not to become homeless :-) When I kept my old stone kitchen at 36 F,
the fridge seldom ran but the frozen food tended to thaw. OTOH, leaving
the carton of milk out on the counter overnight wasn't a problem.

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...

Is that bad, or just a transient self-correcting condition?

Nick

RP wrote:
wrote:

RP wrote:


It won't even cycle on in sub-freezing weather...

It might, with an old refrigerator thermostat in the freezer and
a Thermocube in the fridge that light a 100 W bulb in the fridge

if the freezer rises to 20 F... or the fridge falls to 35 (to avoid

freezing the fridge contents.) Will this hurt the compressor?


http://www.countrysupply.com/products/sku-BEW19.html


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


So subfreezing condenser air might hurt the compressor, and controlling
the fan duty cycle to keep the hot coil above freezing might avoid that?

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

this is Turtle.

Richard your walking on thin ice here with refrigetator not coming on
in sub freezing ambiants. Before you step too much farther off in to it
, there is a good number of dual thermostat controlled thermostats in
refrigertators and they will be coming on and off all the way down to
ambiants of zero F or below.

now here is another lesson for you and CB to know and not try to guess
at the answers when whirlpool does have a opinion which i would take
before your words. You say a refrigerator can't have flood back when
and if you would read the installation instruction for the
refrigerators today. they will state that you should not run a
refrigerator in below 40 degree F ambiants for the fear of liquid freon
from forming in the compressor and when it turns on it will flood the
cyclinders with liquid and wash the oil out of the compressor. i know
this does not call it flood bad of the compressor but i would call it
that it was pretty damn close to the same thing.

Now that you and Cb got burned on this one , i would like you to try to
keep to answering the questions of the posters and not try to degrade
one of the member for personal pleasure. also i know you two don't work
on these frigerators for you would not have walked off into this one so
easy. OH , Richard i have work on these things for a living for years
with a BIG S .

TURTLE

wrote:
RP wrote:

So subfreezing condenser air might hurt the compressor, and controlling
the fan duty cycle to keep the hot coil above freezing might avoid that?

It might, that is, if you could insulate the coil from the ambient
environment during the off cycle.

With little mass and no fan, it might heat up fast...

At 100 W, 10 Btu/F would warm 35 F in 1 hour, so maybe we need insulation
and/or heat...

You have to count the compressor mass, and take into account that the
cycle will be extremely short given the low load condition due to
subfreezing ambient around the box.

Less energy use sounds good to me :-)

Here's my suggestion: turn it off, take the food with you Somebody is
likely to break in and eat it anyway while the cabin is unoccupied for
long periods.

My poor friend just wants to keep ice cream in her full-time 50 F house,
not to become homeless :-) When I kept my old stone kitchen at 36 F,
the fridge seldom ran but the frozen food tended to thaw. OTOH, leaving
the carton of milk out on the counter overnight wasn't a problem.

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...

Is that bad, or just a transient self-correcting condition?

Nick

This is Turtle.

Let me pass this this one by you.

take this refrigerator and have it running in zero f temp and the
refrigerator or coil is at 35 degree f inside and out side is zero
degree f then then the refrigerator does not cycle back on for all nite
and part of the next day and for some reason the refrigerator temp gets
up to set point and turns on with it being at this condition for 24
hours.

All the feon will go to the coldest point of the system and all the
freon will be in the compressor for refrigerators don't have compressor
heaters at all. alleon will be in the compressor mixesd with the oil
when it comes on.

Try this thought out on a refrigerator only and no high fangle
refrigeration system. What would happen.

TURTLE

TURTLE wrote:

RP wrote:

wrote:


RP wrote:



It won't even cycle on in sub-freezing weather...

It might, with an old refrigerator thermostat in the freezer and
a Thermocube in the fridge that light a 100 W bulb in the fridge

if the freezer rises to 20 F... or the fridge falls to 35 (to avoid


freezing the fridge contents.) Will this hurt the compressor?


http://www.countrysupply.com/products/sku-BEW19.html



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


So subfreezing condenser air might hurt the compressor, and controlling
the fan duty cycle to keep the hot coil above freezing might avoid that?

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


this is Turtle.

Richard your walking on thin ice here with refrigetator not coming on
in sub freezing ambiants. Before you step too much farther off in to it
, there is a good number of dual thermostat controlled thermostats in
refrigertators and they will be coming on and off all the way down to
ambiants of zero F or below.

now here is another lesson for you and CB to know and not try to guess
at the answers when whirlpool does have a opinion which i would take
before your words. You say a refrigerator can't have flood back when
and if you would read the installation instruction for the
refrigerators today. they will state that you should not run a
refrigerator in below 40 degree F ambiants for the fear of liquid freon
from forming in the compressor and when it turns on it will flood the
cyclinders with liquid and wash the oil out of the compressor. i know
this does not call it flood bad of the compressor but i would call it
that it was pretty damn close to the same thing.

Now that you and Cb got burned on this one , i would like you to try to
keep to answering the questions of the posters and not try to degrade
one of the member for personal pleasure. also i know you two don't work
on these frigerators for you would not have walked off into this one so
easy. OH , Richard i have work on these things for a living for years
with a BIG S .

TURTLE

RP: "How many US Presidents have there been?"
TURTLE: "4"
RP "Wrong there have been 43."
TURTLE: "No it isn't wrong, there have been 4 US presidents killed in
office."
RP: But that wasn't what I asked!
TURTLE: Doesn't matter, I gave the right answer to my new version of the
question so I'm right about everything, and you stepped in doggy doo.

RP: Sigh.....

hvacrmedic

It turns out my 50 F friend has a Gibson model RT215BCW fridge/freezer, and
Gibson/Electrolux/Frigidaire (800) 599-7569 make a $15 "garage heater kit,"
part number 5303918301 that screws in near the defrost timer in all their
top-freezer products and keeps the fridge working right down to a 20 F room
temp. It uses 120 V. I think it just provides enough constant heat for the
fridge to make sure the compressor runs and the freezer stays frozen.
Less energy-efficient than a freezer thermostat, but simpler.

Some alt.home.repair threads are like ancient Greek "scientists" deciding how
nature works by discussion vs observation. They would sit at a table and ask
"How do porcupines defend themselves?" After enough discussion, they concluded
that porcupines must pull out their quills and throw them at enemies :-)

Nick

Just to add some new data to this debate, I just bought a new Frigidare
Frost Free Freezer. The manual specifies it should not be used above
110F and also says there is no problem or special precautions required
at low temps.

So, I guess the answer is the lower safe operating temp depends on the
unit.

Right, it depends on the unit, as my 3 yr old stated not below 50f, but
I know of people using them in unheated areas for years with no
problems. Here it goes to - 15f.

This is Tuirtle.

Yes , I think the porcupine won this thread !

TURTLE

This is Turtle.

i do accept the wrongly judging you as wrong here and should have
called you wrong about 7 threads above here when you was dead wrong.
when your wrong from now on , i will put the exact wrorng words exactly
at the wrong point. now when you said there was going to be NO flood
back on a refrigerator, you was wrong because Whirlpool does state that
you can flood the compressor with freon if it is run in below 40 degree
f condition or ambiant. I will take the words of Whirlpool before
Richard any day !

TURTLE

this is Turtle.

My Words of 1 in a 1,000 come from working on them all my life. what
does your words come from ?

Also Richard if you worked on these refrigerator , you would know that
the refrigerator thermostats will not go above 40 degree f for the U.S.
Health dept. will tell you not to store any Dairy or milk products
above 40 degree F. do you say or think different from the U.S. Health
Dept. ? Yes i am nit picking but if your going to do it so will i.

TURTLE

wrote:

It turns out my 50 F friend has a Gibson model RT215BCW fridge/freezer, and
Gibson/Electrolux/Frigidaire (800) 599-7569 make a $15 "garage heater kit,"
part number 5303918301 that screws in near the defrost timer in all their
top-freezer products and keeps the fridge working right down to a 20 F room
temp. It uses 120 V. I think it just provides enough constant heat for the
fridge to make sure the compressor runs and the freezer stays frozen.
Less energy-efficient than a freezer thermostat, but simpler.

Some alt.home.repair threads are like ancient Greek "scientists" deciding how
nature works by discussion vs observation. They would sit at a table and ask
"How do porcupines defend themselves?" After enough discussion, they concluded
that porcupines must pull out their quills and throw them at enemies :-)

Nick

That's interesting info Nick. Thanx. The porcupine thing is pretty neat
too Any idea of its origin?
It reminds me of the one where they are amputating frog legs one by one,
measuring how far they hop, and concluding finally that a frog with no
legs is hard of hearing.

hvacrmedic

Ill throw my hat into the ring. There is no headmaster on home
refirgerators, no fan cycling switches, or for self contained
commercial units for that matter. "at least in the units I have
serviced" Yes refrigerant does migrate to the coldest area which I
belive would be the condenser/ not the compressor. The tstat would
occasionally call because the evaporator fan motor is running and does
produce heat,
"up to 90 f if tstat is bad, It is amazing how much heat a 3000 r.p.m
fan can put out" I would be more concerned with decreased compressor
life do to thick oil and not getting proper lubrication, If you notice
on remote units they have heaters either wrapped around the compressor
or heaters that slide into the compressor.


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