Freezer issue while thawing turkey!


 
N

NDekens

TVWBB Member
Hello, cant find any info on the net so thought I would try my luck here.
I just bought a new fridge for my garage and threw 30lbs of frozen turkeys in it to thaw.
Problem is I have the fridge set low and the freezer set high and my ice cream in the fridge is anywhere from 15-22 degrees. It dosnt freeze!
Wondering if the turkeys in the fridge are the culprit. Its a brand new fridge.
 
I'm a little confused and may be misreading your post. And I also may be inaccurate on this opinion but here it is: the evaporator is mounted on the freezer section such that the fan blows that extremely cold air into the freezer. Then, vents direct cold air into the refrigerator section but the cold air that flows through the fridge vent is considerably warmer than the air at the evaporator.
 
BFletcher said:
I'm a little confused and may be misreading your post. And I also may be inaccurate on this opinion but here it is: the evaporator is mounted on the freezer section such that the fan blows that extremely cold air into the freezer. Then, vents direct cold air into the refrigerator section but the cold air that flows through the fridge vent is considerably warmer than the air at the evaporator.
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No problem, here is the deal: I bought a new fridge for my garage because we need one.
Installed it in the garage and fired it up Monday.

The same day I put 30lbs of frozen turkey in the lower fridge portion to begin thawing. In the freezer I put some ice cream.

i noticed the freezer is only maintaining 15 degrees on the coldest setting and the fridge. Holding 37 degrees at a less than recommended setting. So I am thinking that the amount of frozen turkey in the fridge is causing the sensor to not trigger the evaporator to come on as much as is should causing my freezer to get warm but the fridge stay cold.
 
How cold is the ambient temp in your garage? That, rather than the turkeys, is probably your issue.

But a 30 pound ice mass in your fridge could be making it worse. Because of that cold mass, the fridge doesn't need to run to maintain the 35F temp. Which also (depending on your fridge design) will shut down the freezer.

A fridge/freezer in an unheated garage during winter is a problem. Often results in the freezer being too warm. It is a problem for current models. Wasn't a problem under older designs (like the one your dad had in the garage).

A fridge/freezer (unless you get a special garage model) really can't work well if the ambient temp of the garage gets too low. It isn't a problem for a deep freezer or fridge only (which only has to maintain one cold zone). But trying to maintain two different cold zones is tough if the outside temp is low. Not a problem in summer when the outside temp is higher.

 
I'd guess the fridge does not need to run to stay cold, due to the low garage temp and/or the 30 pound ice mass inside.

If the fridge compartment can stay cold without running, then there's not enough super cold air being pumped into the freezer compartment. So your freezer is warm.

In NorCal, you probably won't have a significant "warm freezer" problem during winter with the garage fridge (absent 30 pounds of ice in the fridge compartment). That's more of an issue in colder climates where an unheated garage would get much colder than 60F.

You probably would have more of an issue in summer -- the fridge having to work extra hard to keep the insides cold when the garage temp is very hot.
 
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Remove the turkey, wrap in some/a lot of blankets and see what happens in the next hour or two. Your turkey won’t notice what happened and you might find out if the freezer/fridge combo is faulty.
 
MikaelB said:
Remove the turkey, wrap in some/a lot of blankets and see what happens in the next hour or two. Your turkey won’t notice what happened and you might find out if the freezer/fridge combo is faulty.
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Well, I tried this (dont know why I didnt think of it before) and it worked! Freezer dropped right down to -2 in about 1.25hrs.....thank you!
 
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