On 10/12/2018 10:15, RobH wrote:
We have a totally separate, from the house, garage, and want to put a
freezer in it.
One place we looked around , the guy told us that upright freezers don't
do so well in garages if it gets very cold, like minus 4 or 5C. He said
it was the compressor which breaks down if it is not covered over or
insulated, and this doesn't happen with chest freezers.

Is there any truth in that , as we knowÂ* a few people who have either
upright freezers or fridges in their garages.

Probably the coldest temperature I have know here in the last 20 years
is about -9 in 2010, and regularly get down to -4 or -5C in the winter.

Any do's or don'ts , or even recommendations.

It is at least partly true. The working fluids in a lot of modern
fridges and freezers are predicated on them being installed in a
centrally heated house. You have to chose a freezer that is designed to
operate in an ambient temperature typical of a garage in midwinter.

My brother in laws upright freezer failed spectacularly one cold winter
when the garage got down to about 2C. Cold enough to stop it working
entirely and warm enough that stuff thawed and refroze making a mess.

You need to read the rating plate carefully and know what it means since
they encode the working range in a peculiar way. I have posted before on
how to interpret the ratings plate.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown