Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

[David123]

Hi hope someone can help.

We recently bought a Candy Chest Freezer that we wanted to install in the garage.
Worked OK for about a week and then packed up (probably at the same time the temp dropped). The Alarm never sounded either.
Phoning the helpline, they said that todays Chest Freezers are not suitable for use in garages, which surprised me as all our previous ones have worked fine (as do the ones our friends and family have)
However, as a temp measure, we’ve now got in the utility room, turned it up to Max and pressed quick freeze button, but still no joy.

Upon reading the tech specs it does say the min ambient temp should be +10 degC. The specs also mention that condensation can build up on the walls if installed in an unheated room, which kind of contradicts itself.

How is anyone supposed to know this before you spend the £200, but can’t return it because the box has been opened ?

The service guy is coming out on Friday, but I fear the worst.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Dave

[kwatt]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

In short, no, they’re not designed for that environment.

Some will work, some won’t but the bottom line is that there is no refrigeration units these days that will be warranted in conditions outside the climate class recommendations.

The condensation on the outside of the cabinet comes from the anti condensate line that is there to gently heat the area around the door seal of the freezer to try and keep condensation away. In cold environments this does the reverse and produces condensation which will drip down obviously but often soaking the insulation in the base leading to a premature failure.

HTH

K.

[bryn]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

Hi you might get condensation forming on the outside but it should keep the temp ok no matter how low the temp goes down to

[David123]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

Thanks for the replies

I guess I’m going to get whacked for getting the freezer fixed which I cannot use during the winter months.

I wonder how Joe Public know what the ambient operating parameters are when perusing what Currys have to offer ?
It seems as though the only way to find out is to open the box and read the tech specs, but then you’ve opened the box so you can’t get a refund.

Does anyone know of any manufacturer who offers chest freezers suitable for use in a non heated room (ie garage) ?

[kwatt]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

David123 wrote:I wonder how Joe Public know what the ambient operating parameters are when perusing what Currys have to offer ?

The salesperson should know but in the sheds that’s hit or miss.

Independents tend to have a lot more knowledge.

However, all to often people don’t tell retailers such things until, as is the case here, you find there’s a problem with the intended use after you’ve bought it. I’m not trying to be cheeky or anything but, a lot of it is down to people either not explaining what they want at all, not explaining properly and/or just total lack of knowledge on the part of the purchaser just making assumptions that stuff will work regardless.

I’d bet a pound to a penny that you didn’t ask if the unit was suitable for the installation although there is good news if you did as if you were given wrong information then the product was mis-sold. 😉

David123 wrote:Does anyone know of any manufacturer who offers chest freezers suitable for use in a non heated room (ie garage) ?

There are none that I am aware of, even Liebherr will not entertain that sort of climate.

K.

[bryn]

Hi all chest freezers will work in garage`s but not fridge/freezers as they are cotrolled by fridge temp

[kwatt]

bryn wrote:Hi all chest freezers will work in garage`s but not fridge/freezers as they are cotrolled by fridge temp

Yes but you will often get condensation forming on the outer cabinet and, sometimes, in the base if the insulation underneath is open, like the Kelvinator chest freezers.

Damp conditions + open insulation = recipe for disaster.

Condensation/damp conditions + electrics = recipe for disaster.

Which is why no manufacturer will offer a warranty.

I’ve seen chest freezers from Brandt, Kelvinator and a few others with failed insulation on the base inside six months. No cover, no offer of replacement as they were installed into inhospitable conditions.

They don’t always work and, there’s no guarantee that they will or keep on working.

K.

[David123]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

Thanks again guys

No I didn’t actually ask whether this Candy Chest Freezer would be OK in a garage, simply because my previous Freezers have always been out there and worked fine
Lots of friends of family have their chest freezers outside too.

Interesting stuff.

There must be a gap in the market here chaps : )

[bryn]

Hi unlikely insullation would fail that quick .i have been to chest freezers that have been in garages for 20yrs or more .the main problem if you turn them off for period of time dampness get into relay especially the old danfoss .while running the heat from compressor keeps connections dry

[anotherfinemess]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

I had heard that the problem was the compressor motor burning out due to the liquid becoming too viscous?

I have a Liebherr GTS6112 which is on breeze blocks at one end due to sloping floor, does this mean it should be ok, and I can stop trying to work out how to heat the compressor?

Is the same true of vertical freezers like the GNP3376?

Thanks
Adrian

[nellymc]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

I am in the same boat 🙁 My old fridge freezer does not work in the garage and we were looking to replace this with a chest freezer. Great deal on a zanussi ZFC328WBB just now but reading this forum has put me off.

Altough manufacturers are stating min 10degress for optimum use is there an actual minimum temperature that can be used?

Reading this forum and lots of others there is no definitive answer.

Any further thoughts would be appreciated as we only have a 2 drawer freezer in the house 😥

[don]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

Hi

All refrigeration is produced to a climate class. Climate class indicates what ambient room temperature an appliance is designed to operate in. N=’normal’ +16ºC to +32ºC; SN=’sub-normal’ +10ºC to +32ºC; ST=’sub-tropical’ +18ºC to +38ºC. The appliance will not cool correctly if the room temperature falls outside the stated range for long periods.

Not all manufacturers disclose this info in their sales material so contact may need to be made directly to clarify by model number.

HTH 🙂

Don

[nellymc]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

This has probably been posted before but I just found this on the Beko website.

5. Do Beko freezers have an operational problem in low ambient temperature conditions?

No. In general, low ambient problem is observed in Fridge Freezers fitted with a single thermostat. Operational problems should not occur in single door products (for example larder fridges and freezers) at low ambient temperatures under normal conditions.

6. Are all Beko freezers capable of working at ambient temperatures below zero degrees C and down to -10 C?

Yes. All our freezers are designed, manufactured and tested accordingly.

7. When using Beko freezers in low ambient conditions, what should I take care of?
Some food packs may get warmer (i.e. above -18 degrees C) depending on actual conditions in practice, normally frozen food would not thaw as the temperature would still be very low providing it is below -9 degrees C

Looks like Beko should be ok then.

[don]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

Hmm not so sure. I just had a look at about a dozen random machines and all the Beko products are all SN climate class which is good down to +10, methinks someone is trying to pull the wool……… or am I just being too cynical :rolls:

Don 🙂

[nellymc]

Re: Are Chest Freezers no longer suitable for Garages ?

The good thing here is that Beko should then be fully guaranteed unlike the others. The bad point is they only appear to produce 1 chest freezer and its too small 🙁

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