Placing a refrigerator in your garage is a great way to free up space inside your house. It can also be convenient if you have to store things that need to be frozen, but you have no extra storage in your regular house fridge.
5 Best-Selling Refrigerator for Garage
However, there is a difference between regular refrigerators from those you can store in your garage.
The refrigerators you place in your garage must be fit for the temperature and weather changes that might affect its function.
The refrigerator’s longevity in your garage will vary on how hot or cold it gets inside, so you have to make sure that the refrigerator you bought is garage-ready.
Contents
What are Garage-ready Refrigerators?
Most of the house refrigerators only function in a room temperature environment. They aren’t built to withstand rooms that can get hotter than 80 degrees Fahrenheit and colder than 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
People have made the mistake of using a regular house fridge for their garage, and it never ends well for them.
What you need in a fridge for your garage is for it to be able to withstand extreme temperature changes. This is where garage-ready refrigerators come in handy.
They are specially designed to survive extreme heat and coldness, making it more durable than most fridges that you see inside people’s houses.
So what exactly are garage-ready refrigerators? They are refrigerators with a sensitive temperature sensor and can operate in almost all weather conditions. Basically, they are just refrigerators that are to be used specifically in garages.
How Can I Make My Refrigerator Garage-ready?
If you are worried that a garage-ready refrigerator might cost you a lot, don’t panic just yet. There are DIY methods that you can do to make your regular refrigerator garage-ready.
There’s no need to junk your old fridge because you can still use it in your garage for storing items that have a longer shelf life.
If you are looking for the convenience of having an outdoor fridge, you can achieve this by knowing how garages work.
Here’s how you can make a refrigerator garage-ready using these simple methods listed below:
1. Know the basics
Before you decide that your refrigerator is already garage-ready, you have to know the basics of how fridges work first. You will also need to be aware of the temperature changes and season patterns that can affect the environment inside your garage.
For extreme hot temperatures, expect that a normal fridge will boost its freezer to keep the inside cool. This will cause your electric bills to go over the roof. It can also cause your fridge to wear itself out from being overused.
On the other hand, extremely cold temperatures will confuse the fridge in your garage into operating that the environment is cold enough, and it will sit idly.
This can cause the contents inside your fridge to thaw out since the refrigerator will automatically sense that it is at its optimal freezing point.
2. Buy a refrigerator heating coil
A refrigerator heating coil will come in handy for garages that typically deal with a warmer air thermostat. A heating coil will help the compressor in your fridge keep the frozen items inside well-cooled and frozen despite the warm temperature in your garage.
A refrigerator only costs around $20, and you can attach it yourself to the fridge. You won’t have to spend a huge amount on this method.
The only downside of adding a heating coil to your old refrigerator can hike up your bill a little bit, so make sure that you’re ready for that as well.
5 Best-Selling Refrigerator Heating Coil
If you are looking for a good, reliable water filtration system, checkout this guide for reverse osmosis.
3. Use a garage kit
A garage kit is for those garages that deal with harsh cold weather that may cause their garage refrigerators to function insufficiently.
The cold temperature in your garage is the reason why the compressor won’t turn during winter. This will cause the items in your fridge to thaw out, which you don’t want at all.
The garage kit is like a small heating pad that you can wrap around the temperature sensor to make it think that the air is warmer than it is. This will ensure that your refrigerator will still function normally under freezing weather conditions.
4. Build an enclosed space
Building an enclosed space inside your garage where you can safely place your refrigerator is an ideal method for all types of climate. This enclosed space can also serve as a storage space for items that are sensitive to temperature changes but won’t fit inside your freezer.
Your goal for building an enclosed space for your refrigerator is to regulate the general temperature inside the space.
You don’t need to buy a heating coil or a garage kit if the weather is controlled entirely to ensure that your fridge can function normally. This means that the enclosed space should be well-insulated with proper venting.
5. Clean out your garage
Other than extreme temperature changes inside your garage, there are also other factors that can affect your refrigerator’s performance. Most people overlook the fact that to ensure their fridge works perfectly, the coils of their refrigerators should stay clean.
To make sure that your fridge’s coil can function well, clean out your garage from dust and grimes that can get stuck in the coils. Also, remove the clutter and stacks of boxes near your refrigerator as they can restrict the airflow going into your fridge.
6. Buy a tailored garage refrigerator.
If you are not keen on going through all the trouble of DIY-ing your old refrigerator to make it garage-ready, you always have the option to have refrigerators that are tailor-made, especially for garages.
Just expect that you will be spending more since you will be buying a new fridge.
Conclusion
Garage-ready refrigerators are built to survive despite extremely hot and cold environments. Be sure to do your research first because some fridges are only designed for extreme heat, while others are only for extreme cold.
This approach will free you from the stress of worrying whether the refrigerator in your garage will be fine through all seasons.
- How Can I Extend my Wifi to my Detached Garage? | Tips to Extend Your Internet Coverage - December 25, 2021
- How to Make a Root Cellar in Your Garage - December 23, 2021
- How to Reinforce a Portable Garage - December 3, 2021