Fridge-Freezers That Defrosts in the Cold

Many people have experienced the problem of their fridge-freezer defrosting in cold weather. This may not be a fault but due to the design of the appliance, and it's all to do with the thermostat or sensor and minimum temperature the fridge-freezer is designed to work at. In this article we explain why during a cold snap your fridge-freezer may defrost.

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fridge freezer

You are most likely to experience defrosting in this manner if you have a combined fridge-freezer and you keep it in a cold place like the garage, an outbuilding or an area of the home that is cold or unheated.

It is a little known fact but most models of fridge-freezer have minimum and maximum temperature restrictions for the appliance to operate correctly, these are usually listed in the instruction book and they are normally expected to be in a heated environment like a kitchen. When a fridge-freezer is stored in a cold environment it is possible for the temperature outside the fridge to drop below the minimum working limit.

This is usually only an issue in fridge-freezers that have a single thermostat or sensor located in the fridge compartment. This thermostat will shut off if the temperature gets in the region of its normal operating temperature as the inside of the fridge is already cold enough, if the temperature remains low then the fridge thermostat will not come back on.

As a consequence of the fridge thermostat shutting off, it will also cause the compressor to stop and the freezer will warm up to around the temperature of the room which although low, is unlikely to be cold enough for storing frozen food.

If you are planning to store a fridge freezer in an outside environment, then this must be taken into account. The best advice is to check that it is suitable for the garage or that it has independent thermostats for the fridge and freezer compartments.

If you fill a spare fridge-freezer in preparation for Christmas and the temperature drops below 50f or 10c for more than a few hours then the freezer is likely to stop working. The fault will of course clear as soon as the ambient temperature rises again.

Remember, although this is a common cause of fridge-freezers defrosting in a cold environment it is not the only explanation and other faults can cause a freezer to fail.

cure door seal gaps by warming with a hair dryer and stretching into shape before closing and letting set in its new position.

* All information provided is a guide only. BuySpares accepts no liability for any problems occurred while attempting any advice shown. If in any doubt contact a qualified repair service.