Garage Freezers
 

Hi - I’m wanting to purchase a freezer and place in my garage, so I can stock up in bulk from frozen items from Costco. I’m new to Florida, so want to know of any issues with our hot and humid summer temperatures. Do I need to purchase a special kind of freezer to sustain the high temps in a garage? Anything else I should be aware of, or is this all as simple of just purchasing a freezer, plugging it in, and I’m good to go?

We recently bought a second refrigerator for the same reasons and was told that you should be able to find out if they are Garage Rated. We bought one that was, it was made by Fridgidare. The Garage Rating indicates that it can tolorate the heat, humidity or the cold and can get wet.

We have had one in garage for past year and no problems.

I wouldn't go out of of my way to find a garage rated freezer, or pay a lot more money for one. A regular freezer should function fine in the garage. They say the same thing about "outdoor" televisions in a lanai. A regular television will function fine in the lanai.

One other piece of advice. Plug a small nightlight, or similar light into the same receptacle as the fridge/freezer. Set the light on top of the unit, or somewhere you can see the light. Like most of us, we don't go into the unit in the garage as often as the one in the kitchen. If you lose power to that receptacle, the light being out will be the first sign of an issue.

I agree. I had several nightlights in my house until I realized that, when the power goes out at night, you are in total darkness. I replaced some of them with rechargeable emergency flashlights ($12 on Amazon). Now, when the power goes out, the flashlights come on. The flashlight coming on may be more noticable than a nightlight going out.

Thanks for catching that. Indicator light is what I meant to type Here's what I use.

I had the same concerns about a refrigerator in the garage. Had several in the past up north, and they would struggle/die in the summer, and if the winter was too cold, they would fail also.

Obviously cold weather isn't the issue, but heat is. I researched and found the "garage rated" as well. Got an 18.1 cubic inch from Best Buy, their Insignia brand. Got it delivered in April, so it has gone thru the summer. Very happy with it, and it performs great. Wasn't any more in price than a comparable "standard" refrigerator. All things equal would go with the "garage rated". Not sure if this made any difference, but I put a $15 fan I got from Amazon and pointed it at the compressor to increase the air circulation. I would plug it in when the garage began to get too hot, and otherwise, leave it unplugged.

An alternative would be to find a used freezer/fridge cheap here on TOTV, if you have the ability to transport. Then, if it dies in a few years, you aren't out too much, assuming you can rescue your food in time!

Brought a well used garage freezer we bought second-hand down here over 12 years ago and it is still going strong.

I would be concerned that ALL garage POWER OUTLETS ARE ON GFI, if it trips your out of your bulk food. Our neighbor had this happen and lost 20 lbs of shrimp couldn’t get rid of smell had to get rid of freezer.

Yes, be sure not to plug it in to a GFIC. We've had a regular freezer in the garage for several years, never failed.

Same here we've had one for 3 years and no problems.

Yes. Biggest risk in garage is the GFI required outlet. They are usually daisy chained around other places in the house. An patio outlet receptacle can have a bad load, trip the GFI in the garage, and thaw $1000 worth of food. Beware. I'd run a separate circuit for just the freezer.

Plenty of time you will see the fridge in the kitchen is a separate circuit from the rest of the outlets in the kitchen and on the counter.

I had two outside contractors that are mentioned on TOTV often give me a quote for a new outlet in the garage and both said they could/would only install a GFI outlet in the garage.

We have had refrigerator/freezers in our garage for over 30 years in Florida. We have always purchased cheapest, simplest (no smart or Bluetooth), just basic unit. They last for years. We install water line for icemaker, so we have extra ice for coolers. We have had our current cheap refrigerator/freezer for probably 8 years (in 2 different houses). Works great. Plugged into FGCI outlet, but that has never been a problem.

thoughtful suggestion
 

Thoughtful suggestion...I will do that as well.
john

I love when old people purchase bulk food, Solar Panel systems, new roofs with 30 year warranties…instead take a cruise, buy a new tv, plan your “Today”, give your Kids a monetary gift today when it really means something! Jump in the pool while you can… rather than stress about a freezer full of bulk food….

GFCI protection is required in a garage receptacle/circuit

We’ve had an old upright freezer in our garage for 8 years with no problem. Just a basic freezer, nothing fancy. I’m a Costco shopper too and buy all my meat there. I also keep a cup of frozen water with a coin on the top. If the coin goes to the bottom then I’ll know the freezer went out and the food thawed. Hasn’t happened but don’t want any surprises when we are out of town.

Every outlet in the garage is GFI.

I have a like new freezer for sale and can deliver it to you. See my classified ad in Talk of The Villages. Ron Wilharm. 251-979-3680

Just wondering out loud. Have you really calculated your “savings” for buying huge bulk amounts? My husband and I took the cost difference from the price paid at Costco and our regular store and realized that it would take YEARS to pay for the freezer and added cost of running it not to mention losing space in smaller garages here. Also, consider the freshness of the meat or frozen foods. Do you end up throwing out because it becomes frost bit or doesn’t taste quite as good because it has been frozen for long time. Then if there is power outage all has to be thrown out. For us after doing the true calculations we weren’t saving anything. It was just a habit we were used to from when we had larger family to feed. Just a thought.

Consider a separate circuit (gfi protected in the garage) for your refrigerator so you have less to worry about. We have a small Frigidaire that we use for beer and steaks. We use it a lot. Will get a larger one when this one retires.

You need a NON GFI circuit

Not necessarily. You just want an outlet that is not daisy-chained to other GFI outlets. That way, the only thing that will trip the breaker is the appliance itself. Plus, installing a non-GFI breaker in a garage would be a code violation. No licensed & insured electrician will do that.

Code violation!

We bought a Whirlpool refrigerator/freezer here around the time they started making them with square corners. Maybe 15 years ago. Anyway, it sits against the north wall and I don't know if that makes a difference. However, it has been a gem! Never had a problem. And if we have a problem now, since I've bragged on it, I'm gonna really be ****ed.

Exactly! I dont understand the need to hoard food at this stage of life.

Note that you can also buy a GFCI duplex outlet that has a built-in trip alarm that will sound an alarm if the GFCI outlet trips. They are about $30 on Amazon.

I use a radio 24/7 it just is easier and does not require a specific look. Also according to Sears a garage unit is designed for winter starts. It has a preheated or well insulated for cold starts

Freezer in garage
 

We have had the same one in the garage for 11 years. No problems. Only suggestion is put in a electrical circuit just for the freezer. That way nothing will cause circuit to trip.

If and when you do get one. Get an indoor, outdoor thermometer (with lead not wireless) to keep a check of temperature. The outdoor temperature will be the inside of freezer

No, any freezer will work, but in a hot garage it will work harder than in a cool basement.

I have a 6 month old GE R/F (side-by-side stainless) that came with our spec house in DeLuna for sale if you are interested? Sold new according to HD for about $1900, asking $1000.

H. Roseen
hlr1190@yahoo.com

Great tip!!! We have had our upright freezer in the garage on common wall with laundry for three years without issue. We keep a cup of frozen water with a quarter sitting on it so we can tell if we’ve lost electric for any length of time. Even so the light is a great idea.

We had one in our garage for 10 years with no problems. Just a std chest freezer. Does tend to need defrosting during humid months.

I would talk to a professional and not take the word of post here, do you own research

Our freezer is not frost free, I know when it's summer and humid it builds up ice pretty quickly.
We defrost it in the winter, just put the stuff in the snow while the freezer thaws.
We like "not frost free" since "frost free" gets rid of the frost by periodically warming up, and thereby shortening the shelf life of food in the freezer...
I wonder if anybody uses "not frost free" in The Villages in their garage. In the house it might be better, the humidity might be less?

We purchased a freezer at Sam's and installed a separate dedicated GFCI so it doesn't go out when others breakers pop.