Information/Advice about home freezer
 

Have new upright freezer coming in another week. Had old one plugged into outlet in garage but.... the outlet was one that "trips" (??) at any lightening strike, or power interruption, and a red light comes on and no power until you manually push the light "off" and then the outlet will work again. Of course this created a nightmare for the freezer... unlike in the house, where things come back ON after a power interruption, this outlet will not. So, the questions are:

.Can a freezer be plugged into any outlet in the garage ?

. Can this outlet that "trips off" be changed to NOT do that ?

. Does a freezer need a special kind of outlet like a stove ? HD website "seems" to say refrigerators and freezers do NOT need any kind of special outlet ?

. 1 outlet in our garage has sprinkler system, one on ceiling has only door opener, and then there are three others, one of which is the one that has to be reset of power goes off, so we are looking for a better solution for the new freezer... don't want to loose everything again because we aren't here to reset the outlet if the power goes out !

The best thing to do is to have an electrician install a separate circuit for the freezer. But, whatever you do, I wouldn't plug the freezer into a circuit that is protected by a GFCI device.

Up in MD we had freezers and refrigerators plugged into GFCI circuits with no problems. We've also had a refrigerator here on a GFCI for about six months and again, with no problems.

It's *possible* there was an issue with the old freezer that caused the GFCI to trip when the power came back on.

Since each of the outlet in the garage should be independent, and you said only one trips with lightning, you could try plugging into one of the others.

If it was me, I would:
1. Consider having an electrician check or replace the outlet that gave you problems
2. Give the new freezer a try on the existing outlet
3. Definitely talk to the electrician if it trips again

I cant give you any advice. Just curious, why would you buy a freezer as a retiree here. I understand, up north, most were raising kids, worked, maybe stores not close...and you had to have stuff on hand.

But why now? Stores are local and how much food do two people need to stock up on?

For us:
- Summer corn cooked on the ear then cut off and frozen tastes much better than canned corn in the winter but this takes extra space
- Buying bulk meats then cutting at home and freezing in meal-sized servings saves a lot
- A couple of extra bags of ice for times when the ice maker can't keep up
- The outside freezer is opened less frequently so has fewer temperature changes and is not as prone to freezer burn


We are getting by with the freezer section of the garage refrigerator but we could grow out of that.

The problem (I believe) with plugging the freezer into a GFCI plug in the garage is that that circuit is protecting your outdoor outlets. It tripping may have nothing to do with lightning but everything to do with rain getting an outside outlet wet, or something plugged in outside wet! If you don't have an electric golf cart, that plug will work great for your freezer. If you have an electric cart, try using one of the GFCI circuits for the golf cart. If you don't have much else on the circuit, it should work fine and if it trips in a storm it's no big deal.

Our freezer is connected to the golf cart outlet. The freezer has warning lights if the freezer goes off. Food should stay good for four days. You could get a power outage of the whole house too.

Can plug it anywhere but the gfi outlet might need to be replaced.

If you want to ensure the freezer stays on while you are away then you need to get an electrician to install a dedicated outlet for the freezer.

GFI outlets have a life expectency of about 5 years. If the outlet your freezer is plugged into is wired as an extension from another GFI outlet, the extension can be wired to bypass the GFI funtion. You are sort of in a catch 22 situation. The electrical code calls for garage outlet to be GFI. Plugging a freezer into a GFI is risky especially if the GFI has extensions to an outside outlet. There are GFI outlets that are designed for better performance outside.

All the garage outlets run on a single circuit. The first outlet on the circuit has a GFCI. If it is tripping too often then replace that outlet and see if your problem is solved. If not, call a qualified electrician to diagnose the problem and fix it. Good luck, and be careful.

Call a electrician.

Had the same problem and lost about $500 worth of frozen food since we were away when the power was lost and the GFI never came back on.
I contacted an electrician who installed a separate line in my previous house.
When coming to the Villages I had a separate line installed when constructing the house.
Worth the cost for piece of mind and not having the loss of food which will need to be replaced.
Could never really get the bad oder out of the freezer regardless of how many times it was cleaned.

My freezer is in the garage since 2009 when we moved here. Had an electrician come and run a dedicated 20 amp line dedicated to the freezer only. No problems what so ever.

I don’t know about the breaker issue but I have a suggestion for the odor, JoeBell100. Growing up and when I was married, we always had an upright freezer and we moved it all over the world. To prevent from getting and/or removing the odor, hang a large sock full of coffee (not use coffee grounds) in the freezer. Amazing.

The outlet you are talking about is a GFI (ground fault interrupter) outlet. It should not be tripping because of lighting or storms. Does the outlet trip with nothing plugged in the outlet?? It is possible the outlet is defective or you may have loose wires on the outlet. If the outlet is the only outlet on the line then yes it can be changed to a non GFI outlet. Check your local electrical code to see if all outlets in a garage need to be connected to a GFI circuit?? The outlet is designed to prevent electrical shock. Possibly there was something wrong with the old freezer causing the GFI outlet to trip.

On the other note of freezers. With so much humidity in your garage when you open the door on a upright freezer most of the cold will come out as you are looking for your frozen food. A chest freezer is always the most economical freezer to run on electric.

Code
 

I had the same problem, call an electrician and he told me that Florida code would no allow an independent line to be put in the garage, must be hooked up to a gfi

Sounds like you planned well and planned ahead too. The underground utilities in TV serves everyone well. Our second home in North Florida didn’t have underground utilities. Over about 20 years we lost our freezer 4-5 times due to Hurricanes and power outages. Finally we realized it wasn’t needed for the two of us any longer and gave it to a young family. Too it was always nasty cleaning after those episodes 🥺

This has been a contentious issue for years. Most homes in The Villages have two GFCI protected circuits in the garage. By code, all outlets in the garage must be GFCI protected.

Some folks have an Electrician add a separate circuit....but most Electricians will only install another GFCI protected circuit to pass code...so you are really not 100% solving the problem. The code DOES allow a non-GFCI circuit for a single receptacle for a large, not easily moved appliance like a freezer....but we rarely see this. This is the best solution, and who knows if newer codes will even still allow this.

Another solution is to install a battery powered "Freezer alarm" on your freezer. They cost less than $20 on amazon. If the GFCI trips and the temp starts to go up this alarm will start beeping.

Also, if your freezer does not have a power light on it, plug in a small nightlight on the same circuit and train yourself to always look at it whenever you are in the garage.

Lastly, take a small cup, fill it with water halfway, freeze it, then place a penny on top of the frozen water. Keep this in the freezer. If while away the power goes out, then comes back on you will know to throw away all the food if you return to find the penny frozen on the bottom of the refrozen water.

Hope this helps! Frank D.

solved by rearranging the circuits
 

We had a similar problem with our garage refrigerator. The GFCI in the garage would sometimes trip after a storm. It turned out that the GFCI nearest the garage door served to protect that outlet and all of the outlets on the outside wall of the house. The refrigerator and golf cart were plugged into that outlet. Water would get into one of the outlets outside and would trip the GFCI. My solution was to change the wiring in the GFCI so it did not protect the outside outlets.

Then I found the next outlet in the chain of outdoor outlets and installed a new GFCI in that box. The new GFCI provided the needed protection but it's tripping would not shut off the refrigerator or golf cart. Much cheaper than running a new circuit for the refrigerator.

OP, we've had both a second refrigerator and a small chest freezer in the garage for over 4 years and never had a problem...but neither are plugged into an outlet that is on a circuit with a GFI plug.

neither appliance requires anything beyond a normal outlet.

Freezers & refrigerators should not be on a GFI outlet. Power interruption will cause then to trip. Electrician since 1976- Walter 352 775 4245

Freezer
 

You definitely need a dedicated line. We had a dedicated line put in the garage when house was built for a refrigerator with no problems.

Had the same issue... found that the outlet was also connected to our outside pole lamp. So the circuit would pop.... we end up, leaving the freezer where we wanted it, and using an extension cord and putting the Plug in another outlet in the garage... no problem. I have an upright freezer (love it) and no more popping. Just locate an outlet that does not have OTHER power feeding off it. We used the outlet on the very Back Wall of the garage (the wall of the garage Attached to the house) The outlets closest to the front of the garage door, seems to have other power sources (outside lites etc) riding off them. Had no need for electrician or change power amps.... just can't put any more power connections on the outlet you use for your freezer...don't worry about reset buttons , they are there for a reason... safety. I have the freezer ON a reset outlet... no problem....

That is a GFI outlet because it is in the garage and a potentially wet environment. You have the same in all your bathrooms and kitchens. That "light off" button as you call it, is there to reset the outlet after it has tripped due to an event. It is a safety feature. That outlet could be protecting other outlets as well. For example, you may see a similar outlet in your kitchen that is protecting multiple kitchen outlets.

No, you can not safely just change it to a non-GFI outlet. A GFI is designed to protect people (and pets, etc) from electrocution. It is being tripped because of one of two events:

1) You have a *real* ground fault somewhere. This can be a dangerous situation. In this case, the GFI is doing its job. The solution is to find the fault and this will likely require an electrician.

2) The GFI outlet itself is faulty. In my experience as a long-time homeowner, this is more likely. They are inexpensive (Lowe's / Home Depot). You can change it yourself. Just be sure to turn off that circuit at the breaker first. Because this is easy, inexpensive and do-it-yourself, I recommend doing that first. You may find that that is the end of the problem.

But, Mr. GPS, it's such a pleasure to be able to pull out prepared food and not have to start from scratch for each meal, especially if you are tired. We do meat loaf, chili, casseroles, enchiladas, all manner sauces, soups and stews, pastries, etc.

Life got better when we installed our little chest freezer in the garage.

Best comment yet.

Most refrigerators say not to put in a garage. Our garages get pretty hot here and that makes then work pretty hard, shortening their lives. There are freezers that are specific for garage use. Just an FYI.

Had the same problem before electrician put freezer on separate circuit; problem went away immediately.

Garage Freezer
 

We had to put our freezer on a separate circuit breaker (20 Amp). The previous one had tripped and we lost all our food.

That's the answer. One or more of the outside outlets on that GFCI circuit is tripping in the rain. I would replace all those (maybe 3-5 outside outlets) and put new weather seals and covers on the outside outlets. I would also replace the GFCI outlet that gets tripped in case that has a problem. That'll fix the false tripping.

We had a small freezer plugged into a garage outlet and it went off. Problem was the plug got dislodged. What a mess. So now we tie the plug into the socket so it can't be knocked out accidentally.

Skip

Great idea!

Skip

Just replace the breaker with a new one.
 

You should be able to plug a freezer into any plug unless there is a problem with freezer and it is drawing too many amps for the circuit. Usually this occurs when the unit starts. I suspect you have either 15 or 20 amp circuits in your house which is normal.

I had a problem with just a regular plug in my house that would trip the breaker when using a vacuum cleaner. I had the breaker (not the plug) replaced with one of the same amps. Breakers do wear out. Just in case, while you have an electrician there, replace the plug as well.

You said there are other outlets in the garage. Place the freezer near one of those. I use the outlet that the sprinkler system is plugged into. If needed, get a heavy duty extension cord.

I have one in my garage with no issues

OMG.
I have been waiting for this one to pop up.

I am an electrical engineer.

Your house is not wired to code.

Now your outlets. If wired like mine ( this took me a while to figure out)......

1- Look at your breaker panel, there is one outlet labeled GFCI. note it.
2- that breaker feeds one primary GFCI outlet in your garage (mine is at the interior of the garage behind the master bath, maybe even feeds the master bath outlets too... have not looked that far yet).
3- Here is the code violation. In my home it feeds all the exterior outlets and the garage outlets.
Two out back. Two in Front. Three in the garage. One in the garage ceiling..... and ohhhh yes the lamp pole out front.

CODE VIOLATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Change these two items of concern The breaker and primary GFCI outlet.
Definitely a very hokey way to wire a home.

I am assuming the Villages developer hires idiots and wires the homes this way. It is wrong.
My breaker was fine, but with every heavy rain the primary GFCI outlet would trip. Took me a bit to figure out.

The developer makes a small assumption. Your are not running much on this string.
Most of us do not have a plethora of electronics we are plugging in outside or in the garage.
Wake up call. The battery charger for my golf cart just about takes up all the amperage on full charge mode that the primary GFCI can pass thru. Bring ln the rain..... TRIP!!!!

Do not get me started on the three way outlets wired from the front door switches.
I have a light at my entry inside, but noooo I need a switch at the front door to power up the lower half of an outlet at the rear of my house.

WTF

I was walking around my house for a while saying.... what the heck does this switch control?????

Most of the breakers in the garage are 15 amp. Look to see how many device’s are plugged into the circuit that keeps tripping. See how mini amps your freezer draws when it first starts. Take the amount of amps that your freezer draws add that to the other devices amps to get a total amount of amps that’s being drawn on your 15 amp circuit. If it’s more than 15 Amp’s then you need split amount of Devices that you were running amongst other circuits. Some GFI plugs get weak after they’ve been tripped several times and the GFI plug may need to be replaced. When an electric motor first starts it draws more amps than it does when it’s running. If you have had a total power outage then when the power comes back on and you have a GFI plug that needs to be reset constantly it could be that when everything is starting at one time it’s blowing the GFI. The way to correct that is if you have a total house outage and you have that problem then just unplug some of the things that are in that circuit and then bring them back online one at a time. If you travel a lot just put the freezer on a separate circuit.

After having our garage fridge go out after the GFI got tripped and we were not home, we just bought a simple, cheap nightlight kind of light detecting device and plugged it into a GFI outlet that is on the same circuit as the on the garage fridge is plugged into. The normal light that comes on with the sensor in the evenings is a soft blue light, but IF the power is out, it goes to a white light (and is not dusk to dawn but constant white)....that has saved us since. We got a package of like 6 of them at Sam's club for cheap and have placed the others in hallways/bathrooms for power outages and soft lighting at night. Money well spent. Also, SOME insurance companies will reimburse you for food spoilage up to a certain amt (USAA has a $500 cap) for just such incidents. Had no idea until a friend told us to check with them on it, so perhaps sharing this info will help someone else with such issues.

Ohhhhh.

Follow on.

Your Sprinklers are, if like mine, on their own branch circuit. So that may be a second issue.

As for your Freezer. Look at your breaker box and see if you have any spare (blanks) circuits. My box has zero. Hence wiring everything up under the Sun on one branch.

Get an electrician if you have open blanks to run a dedicated branch for that freezer (best method.. recommended). This can be done quite easily using metallic conduit..... direct..... no need to break into the walls
If you keep a lot of food, buy a quality UPS for the freezer, it will mitigate power surges and keep the freezer going for the short term , most presumably power will return shortly and all will be good.

Your freezer. It's motor does not like power spikes. It will just short out and stop working.

;)

K

Terminology.

The Electrical box contains circuit breakers..

This box feeds branch circuits ( every breaker) which contain outlets and lighting circuits (switches).
The key word is outlets.

A "plug" is the thing at the end of a cord you "plug" into an outlet.
Hence the word "plug".

Want to turn off an electrician.... tell them you have an issue with your "plug".

They will tell you buy a new appliance.