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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?

Hi,

We have a 10-ish year old Zanussi Freezer which we would like to relocate
outside (under shelter but open-air...and therefore susceptible to low
temperatures from time to time.).

The manual states: "If the room temperature falls below freezing point the
freezer will not function as it should".

Can anybody explain the above statement in more detail, please? I really do
not understand why a modern freezer shouldn't work when outside.

Thanks,

David



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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?

I've seen this on a fridge with icebox. Basically the thermostat is
saying "it's cold enough" so the fridge compressor hardly ever starts.
That means that although the fridge portion may be cold enough (because
the thermostat says so), the freezer doessn't (because it relies on the
compressor running for the main fridge). A seperate freezer unit may be
fine though.

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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?

Vortex wrote:

We have a 10-ish year old Zanussi Freezer which we would like to relocate
outside (under shelter but open-air...and therefore susceptible to low
temperatures from time to time.).

The manual states: "If the room temperature falls below freezing point the
freezer will not function as it should".

Can anybody explain the above statement in more detail, please? I really do
not understand why a modern freezer shouldn't work when outside.


See mucho discussion of this in the archives of this ng:
http://tinyurl.com/o93at or
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&num=10&q=freezer+garage+ temperature+group%3Auk.d-i-y&safe=off&qt_s=Search

IIRC the problem is primarily when you have a combined fridge freezer
with only one thermostat / compressor - ambient temp falls to below
normal fridge temp (~4 deg C), so the thermostat shuts the thing down
regardless of the fact that the freezer section still needs cooling.

We have separate 'overflow' fridge and freezer in our garage - I think
both have warnings against such 'abuse' - but both have work fine for
several years.

David
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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?


"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Vortex wrote:


We have separate 'overflow' fridge and freezer in our garage - I think
both have warnings against such 'abuse' - but both have work fine for
several years.


Same here. In a shed with an open window so that it doesn't get too hot.

Mary

David



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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?

"Vortex" wrote:
Hi,

We have a 10-ish year old Zanussi Freezer which we would like to relocate
outside (under shelter but open-air...and therefore susceptible to low
temperatures from time to time.).

The manual states: "If the room temperature falls below freezing point
the freezer will not function as it should".

Can anybody explain the above statement in more detail, please? I really
do not understand why a modern freezer shouldn't work when outside.

Thanks,

David


Whether it works or not, if sited outdoors, condensation will accelerate
rusting of the cabinet. May not matter in view of its age.




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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?

Vortex wrote:
Hi,

We have a 10-ish year old Zanussi Freezer which we would like to
relocate outside (under shelter but open-air...and therefore
susceptible to low temperatures from time to time.).

The manual states: "If the room temperature falls below freezing
point the freezer will not function as it should".

Can anybody explain the above statement in more detail, please? I
really do not understand why a modern freezer shouldn't work when
outside.
Thanks,

David


We've got a 35 yar old Electrolux chest freezer, it spent it's first 10
years in the house, then 12 years in an outside (brick) shed, we moved house
and was going to bin it but decided at the last minute to 'run it into the
ground', IE keep it until it fell apart, it's been in this shed for the last
13 years and is still going strong, obviously the lid has had to be painted
with white gloss paint a few times, but I can't say it's ever 'not funtioned
properly', neither in the depths of winter nor in the recent heatwave (or
the one in '76!)


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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?


"Phil L" wrote in message
. uk...

We've got a 35 yar old Electrolux chest freezer, it spent it's first 10
years in the house, then 12 years in an outside (brick) shed, we moved
house and was going to bin it but decided at the last minute to 'run it
into the ground', IE keep it until it fell apart, it's been in this shed
for the last 13 years and is still going strong, obviously the lid has had
to be painted with white gloss paint a few times, but I can't say it's
ever 'not funtioned properly', neither in the depths of winter nor in the
recent heatwave (or the one in '76!)


Ah, they don't make 'em like they used to!

We run everything into the ground before we replace it. Including each
other!

Mary




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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?

The message
from "Vortex" contains these words:

Can anybody explain the above statement in more detail, please?


The thermostat is in the fridge compartment. If the exterior temperature
is so low that the fridge bit doesn't feel the need to come on the
freezer won't get cooled either.

This is because the freezer doesn't have its own thermostat.

Some fridge freezers do. Your doesn't.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?


wrote in message
oups.com...
I've seen this on a fridge with icebox. Basically the thermostat is
saying "it's cold enough" so the fridge compressor hardly ever starts.
That means that although the fridge portion may be cold enough (because
the thermostat says so), the freezer doessn't (because it relies on the
compressor running for the main fridge). A seperate freezer unit may be
fine though.

To be clear it's a pure chest freezer, with no fridge attached!

David


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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?


"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Vortex wrote:

We have a 10-ish year old Zanussi Freezer which we would like to relocate
outside (under shelter but open-air...and therefore susceptible to low
temperatures from time to time.).

The manual states: "If the room temperature falls below freezing point
the freezer will not function as it should".

Can anybody explain the above statement in more detail, please? I really
do not understand why a modern freezer shouldn't work when outside.


See mucho discussion of this in the archives of this ng:
http://tinyurl.com/o93at or
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&num=10&q=freezer+garage+ temperature+group%3Auk.d-i-y&safe=off&qt_s=Search

IIRC the problem is primarily when you have a combined fridge freezer with
only one thermostat / compressor - ambient temp falls to below normal
fridge temp (~4 deg C), so the thermostat shuts the thing down regardless
of the fact that the freezer section still needs cooling.

We have separate 'overflow' fridge and freezer in our garage - I think
both have warnings against such 'abuse' - but both have work fine for
several years.

David


Yes I looked in the archives but nowhere could I find a succinct and
plausible explanation as to why freezer operation should become dodgy
specifically below 0C.

AFAIK the boiling point of ammonia (used in CFC free freezers is about -30C)
so I can imaging ambient temperatures in this order will cause problems.

Since it is/will be an "overflow" freezer we'll put it outside and see what
happens this winter.

David H




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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?

On Wed, 30 Aug 2006 07:45:33 +0100, "Vortex"
wrote:


wrote in message
roups.com...
I've seen this on a fridge with icebox. Basically the thermostat is
saying "it's cold enough" so the fridge compressor hardly ever starts.
That means that although the fridge portion may be cold enough (because
the thermostat says so), the freezer doessn't (because it relies on the
compressor running for the main fridge). A seperate freezer unit may be
fine though.

To be clear it's a pure chest freezer, with no fridge attached!

David

Does it have a frost free feature? These at least require the freezer
to do some cooling also the tubes that pipe the waste water away will
freeze up. I think its the waste water pipes freezing up that would be
the problem.
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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?

"Vortex" wrote in message
.. .

AFAIK the boiling point of ammonia (used in CFC free freezers is
about -30C) so I can imaging ambient temperatures in this order will cause
problems.


It's not really relevant to talk about the boiling point of refrigerants
without saying something about pressure - the way a fridge works is by
*changing* the boiling point of a liquid. Besides, I very much doubt your
freezer has ammonia in it - the CFC-free ones use hydrocarbon-based
refrigerants. Ammonia is used in industrial plant and absorption fridges.

I suspect that one reason for the caution about extreme temperatures is that
domestic fridges/freezers use a capiliary tube as an expansion device,
rather than the more sophisticated thermostatic devices used in commercial
plant. Because the capiliary is just a fixed flow restriction rather than a
proper temperature/pressure regulator, it's specified on the basis of fairly
narrowly constrained pressure/temperature conditions throughout the plant.

A very cold condenser will give low high-side pressures which might be
outside those for which the capiliary was designed - it can also cause an
excessive proportion of the charge to hang around within the condenser.

All they're really saying in the instructions is that they designed the
freezer to perform to specification with a certain external temperature
range, and that outside that range it may not meet the spec.

Will



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Default Freezer operation at low ambient temperatures?


"Will Dean" wrote in message
...
"Vortex" wrote in message
.. .

AFAIK the boiling point of ammonia (used in CFC free freezers is
about -30C) so I can imaging ambient temperatures in this order will
cause problems.


It's not really relevant to talk about the boiling point of refrigerants
without saying something about pressure - the way a fridge works is by
*changing* the boiling point of a liquid. Besides, I very much doubt your
freezer has ammonia in it - the CFC-free ones use hydrocarbon-based
refrigerants. Ammonia is used in industrial plant and absorption fridges.

I suspect that one reason for the caution about extreme temperatures is
that domestic fridges/freezers use a capiliary tube as an expansion
device, rather than the more sophisticated thermostatic devices used in
commercial plant. Because the capiliary is just a fixed flow restriction
rather than a proper temperature/pressure regulator, it's specified on the
basis of fairly narrowly constrained pressure/temperature conditions
throughout the plant.

A very cold condenser will give low high-side pressures which might be
outside those for which the capiliary was designed - it can also cause an
excessive proportion of the charge to hang around within the condenser.

All they're really saying in the instructions is that they designed the
freezer to perform to specification with a certain external temperature
range, and that outside that range it may not meet the spec.

Will




Thanks Will,

Given the minimal number of days/nights when temperature is sub-zero I think
I will prove empirically how things work.

Also I have a good excuse to research some kind of recording digital/usb
thermometer!

david




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