PSA for deep south peeps

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Hijack73

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Aug 9, 2020
1,093
1,204
SC, just a smidge from Charlotte
With these sub 20 temps and garage fridges don't forget that your freezer might start to defrost. Unless you have a higher end unit, the fridge will not run enough to keep the freezer at temp. I put a big pot of hot water in it at night to make sure it runs long enough to get the freezer all frosty.

I lost a fair bit of fish and shrimp during a bad snap a couple of years ago. Didn't know it until I pulled a bag of shrimp out of it afterwards and it was a frozen block. No telling how many times it had just gotten above freezing long enough to thaw and refreeze. Heart sank when it thawed and I smelled it. Ice cream etc is a goner at 32....

If your garage is heated, of course this wouldn't apply.
 
If your garage is heated, of course this wouldn't apply.
Our garage is detached and heated thank god! -15 this morning, so much would be ruined, not just meat. First time with a heated garage, pretty dreamy. I keep it at 50.

the house came with what I thought was a janky gas heater, but it works real good. if it dies, the replacement is only about $300-$500
 
Going on 3 winters now. I have a cheap Frigidaire side by side in the barn I got free. Only issue I have ever had is that sometimes the stuff in the fridge part partially freezes. Never has anything in the freezer side defrosted.
 
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Going on 3 winters now. I have a cheap Frigidaire side by side in the barn I got free. Only issue I have ever had is that sometimes the stuff in the fridge part partially freezes. Never has anything in the freezer side defrosted.
I've got a cheap fridge / freezer in the garage here in Ohio. Haven't had issues other than some freezing in the fridge. That said we don't get cold snaps like this a lot so I'll be keeping my eyeballs on it.
 
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I've got a cheap fridge / freezer in the garage here in Ohio. Haven't had issues other than some freezing in the fridge. That said we don't get cold snaps like this a lot so I'll be keeping my eyeballs on it.
We get this cold from time to time, but other than some partially frozen water in the fridge, nothing has seemed to be affected in the freezer compartment.

I will add that I do heat this space daily, when I'm in it so that may help.
 
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Thanks for the reminder. I just started firing up a kerosene heater in my garage to keep the temps above freezing. Not all day, just enough to bump the temp up so it doesn't drop below freezing overnight. We're going down to about 10 tonight here in Central Virginia.

But this reminds me to check the garage fridge temps. I was flummoxed some years ago when I reached in the freezer and some of the stuff had softened up a bit. It's counterintuitive but absolutely true that a fridge/freezer needs to be turned up a bit (meaning lowering the temp setting) when the ambient temps get anywhere near freezing. Same thing in reverse before I started running an AC unit to keep temps below 80.
 
If you have floor mats or blankets, put them across the bottoms of your doors. It helps keep the drafts out. If you are able to and have a big enough blanket, tape it over a very drafty window. Praying for the best for everyone on here and in general that aren't used to this weather.
 
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