Help with freezer in garage

[Belgrave]

Hi, can you help solve a problem for us?

We have to move in to my mum's house for a few weeks for some essential work to take place in our house (mum's not there, she's isolating with other family). We want to take our Logik american style fridge freezer and put it in her garage, it's a stone garage so quite cool so ambience should be fine.

However she's freaking out that it'll overload the one socket she has in there (that isn't running anything else). It's an A+ and specs say it uses 411 kw per year.

Our alternative is to take a small undercounter freezer which is A+ and uses 200 kw per year. However we're quite a big family and for obvious reasons we're trying to avoid too many supermarket trips at the moment so we'd rather take the bigger one.

Are the bigger ones known for tripping out circuits or are these things so energy efficient now it should be fine?

I'd be so grateful for any advice and thanks in advance!

 

[EFLImpudence]

Freezers use very little current so there is nothing to worry about.

 

[ericmark]

With a old freezer the start current is quite high, but it is for a very short time, it will not over load a socket as so short of a time, but it may stall on trying to start if volt drop too high, which is why most say do not use an extension lead, if it stalls repeatedly then it can damage the overload built into the freezer, but it will not damage the supply. Modern freezers have three phase motors and inverter controls and would not have a high start current or a problem with volt drop.

So it will not over load the socket, but if there is a long run house to garage it may damage the freezer if the old single phase motor type.

 

[Taylortwocities]

As above, It'll be fine, assuming the supply can provided the needed current and the cable run isn't too long.

You may have some confusion over the ambient temperature for the freezer. Freezers and fridges don't like cold spaces very much. In fact it can cause damage
read on https://conversation.which.co.uk/home-energy/best-freezer-fridge-garage-refrigeration-cold-weather/

But this is the warmest April for a hundered years. It'll be OK.

 

[JohnW2]

Freezers and fridges don't like cold spaces very much.

True - but, for what it's worth Beko are doing a range of freezers (with "Beko's Freezer Guard technology") which are said to be suitable for ambient temps down to -15°C.

Kind Regards, John

 

[ericmark]

The main problem with too cold is the auto defrost drain freezing, so in general chest freezer is OK in the garage, upright with auto defrost (some times called frost free) is not. But as said at this time of year unlikely to be a problem.

As @Taylortwocities link says insulation can break down, every so often I put an energy meter on my freezers, my energy meter gives an average watts today, so at 411 kWh/annum that's 47 average watts, would expect 50 watts average and up to 65 watts average is acceptable, over that is an indication of insulation failure. Often when it fails you start to get an ice build up.

What happens is moisture in the air freezes in the insulation and forms an ice bridge for the heat to enter the freezer from outside, a good defrost will melt the ice bridge and the freezer will seem OK, but it will gradually form again. Main cause is rough handling when being transported. It can mean the motor runs 24/7 and does not get the freezer down to -18°C as required. However some inverter freezers do not stop motor anyway, they vary motor speed, motor only stops during defrost cycle. But an energy meter will alert one to any fault, did have one freezer when motor did not stop, found at -26°C the thermostat had failed, tested with saturated salt water as no thermometer that would measure that low, -18°C is freezing point of brine. i.e. zero degrees F the old F scale was 0 freezing point brine, 100 blood temperature, clearly they made a mistake as blood 98.4°F.

 

[securespark]

True - but, for what it's worth Beko are doing a range of freezers (with "Beko's Freezer Guard technology") which are said to be suitable for ambient temps down to -15°C.

Kind Regards, John

Also Zanussi chest freezers can be used in outhouses too.
Ditto Ice king, which are badge-engineered Beko models.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Sure. But the Op needs to check the instructions for his Logik FF

 

[securespark]

Yup, sure. Was just adding this info for anyone who may search this thread in the future.

 

[conny]

We have had a Logik American style freezer outdoors in a Ketler 6' x 6' walk in plastic shed for the past 4 years. Never had any problems except one drawer front came away. Couple of turns of Gaffa tape soon sorted that.

 

[Belgrave]

Hi all, thanks again for the earlier advice.

So we moved the Logik american style fridge freezer into the garage yesterday and this morning the garage has a smell of burning plastic. The fridge freezer is still working fine and doesn’t feel hot to its sides or back.

The garage is stone built and attached to the house but of course last night was one of the coldest May nights in years! It didn’t go below freezing though.

Is it safe to keep it running?? If the smell fades is it safe to do so? Outside temps are due to slowly rise over the next few days.

Thanks for any advice...

 

[Belgrave]

I should add that the house has been empty for nearly two months and in the garage there’s also a hot water tank that now we’ve moved in is on twice a day now. We’re not familiar with the ‘normal’ smells of the house and garage when it’s in use!

 

[Belgrave]

Ok, sorry, revising my question! We’re bringing it inside, if the plastic smell was coming from it is it safe to use it even inside? It’s been in the garage literally for one (cold) night). And it’s still working fine. Thank you.

 

[bernardgreen]

When you moved the freezer did you keep it upright all the time ? If it was not upright all the time then it should have been left upright for several hours before being switched on. This allows for the liquid refrigerant and oil to drain back into the compressor. If stood up and immediately switched on it may have run hot for a while and maybe that is the smell.

 

[Belgrave]

Thanks for the reply Bernard, it came in fairly upright and was told by the Currys guys that this type of f/f should be fine to turn straight on (I left it an hour), the manual doesn’t say to let it stand. Doesn’t mean to say you’re not right though!