If your garage freezer doesn't stay cold enough for frozen food, you may need a refrigerator garage kit.
We found out the hard way this past winter, that when the temperature outside gets cold, the freezer in our refrigerator/freezer located in our garage, stopped maintaining a freezing temperature. All of our frozen food thawed out and had to be thrown away. This may seem baffling, but the newer refrigerator models have a different type of temperature control than our trustworthy "never die" refrigerators and freezers from bygone days.
In spite of appearance, there is only one thermostat in a refrigerator-freezer. It is located in the refrigerator. The temperature control slider in your freezer is not a thermostat. It will not turn on the compressor motor. Therefore, everything is controlled by the temperature of the refrigerator. When it is cold, the refrigerator stays cool enough that the compressor motor doesn't cycle on, which means the freezer stops freezing and frozen food thaws. (For a thorough description, view the video featured below)
New, power saving technology drives a dagger into the heart of reliable durability once again! Therefore, we must take counter measures to bring life back into our everyday needed appliances. I need my garage freezer every day!
The Refrigerator Garage Kit
After doing a bit of research, we found a garage kit for our refrigerator freezer. We were fortunate that the kit will work in our Frigidaire refrigerator. It is my understanding, the kit doesn't work in all models, so be sure you check for your model before you purchase a garage kit. There may be a different garage kit made specifically for your refrigerator model.
Be sure to remove all of the glass shelves in the refrigerator before you start the installation. Plus, unplug the refrigerator.
Installing the refrigerator garage kit isn't hard, but it may seem intimidating at first glance. I have featured the video below to take the angst out of the installation. You will find tons of helpful tips and instruction in this video. This is a must watch video before you start the refrigerator garage kit installation.
What You Need to Install a Refrigerator Garage Kit
In addition to the actual garage kit, the guy in the video shared a few tool tips that make this job easier. The "secret" tool that he used in the video is a telescoping magnetic grabber. Even if you don't plan to install a refrigerator garage kit, that tool is a tool we all need in our tool box. You will also need light once the fridge is unplugged. My personal favorite tool suggestion was the magnetic dish for holding the screws! I might need 3 or 4 of those. They would be handy in the garage, kitchen, and in my craft room.
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