refridgerator heater kit?

[KingFish]

Does anyone have an issue with side by side refridgerator freezer not working in an unheated garage? The temperature is cold in the garage and the freezer stopped working cause the thermostat thinks it is cold and no need to turn on compressor. I read they make a heater for the refridgerator to make the thermostat kick on the compressor but I cannot find one for Whirlpool.

 

[dave1959]

I'm not sure I follow... If it's cold enough to make the frezzer not run, why would you warm it up to make it run.( must be a SMECO thing) Cold is Cold, My hamburger does not care where the cold comes from as long as its cold.

 

[KingFish]

Like you, cold is cold but when the frozen food is no longer frozen but ice box cold. I put items in the freezer and check it periodically now. The thermostat is on the refrigerator side. The cold air in the garage makes the thermostat think all is well, no need to kick the compressor on. The freezer in the mean time warms up to the refrigerator side because compressor not cutting on.
If I question if the compressor is kicking in, I put a candle near the thermostat and in a few seconds, the compressor kicks in and I know it will be good.

 

[black dog]

Bypass the little switch that turns the light bulb on and off. So when the door is closed the light stays on.
You can adjust the amount of heat you need in the refridge by changing the wattage of the light bulb.

 

[acommondisaster]

Bypass the little switch that turns the light bulb on and off. So when the door is closed the light stays on.
You can adjust the amount of heat you need in the refridge by changing the wattage of the light bulb.

I'm confused. I thought the OP wasn't asking to keep the fridge warmer, but to warm up the area so the fridge kicks on every so often. I have the same "problem" - it's so cold in the garage, the fridge is really more of a big azz cooler than a fridge. What's the big deal? Nothing really - I have noticed that sometimes things dont seem really cold when the air outside the fridge is colder than the contents - and I wonder about air circulation within the fridge. Don't know if that the issue with the OP.

 

[KingFish]

I have read stories where people drilled a small hole to bypass the light switch and used a warmer bulb to make the inside of the refrigerator a little warmer so the thermostat kicks in the compressor more often to make the freezer actually freeze. I do not want to do that. I go out periodically and with a hair drier, put some heat against thermostat and it cycles the compressor on.

 

[DoWhat]

I have read stories where people drilled a small hole to bypass the light switch and used a warmer bulb to make the inside of the refrigerator a little warmer so the thermostat kicks in the compressor more often to make the freezer actually freeze. I do not want to do that. I go out periodically and with a hair drier, put some heat against thermostat and it cycles the compressor on.

Why don't you just move the fridge into the house during winter?
Basement, spare bedroom...........?

 

[Vince]

Does anyone have an issue with side by side refridgerator freezer not working in an unheated garage? The temperature is cold in the garage and the freezer stopped working cause the thermostat thinks it is cold and no need to turn on compressor. I read they make a heater for the refridgerator to make the thermostat kick on the compressor but I cannot find one for Whirlpool.

My freezer is in the garage and it works fine. :shrug:

 

[RPMDAD]

My freezer is in the garage and it works fine. :shrug:

Same here have a standalone freezer, and a over under fridge freezer in the garage and it is unheated, haven't noticed any problems yet.

 

[acommondisaster]

My freezer is fine, too - because it's set colder than the outside air, I guess....but my fridge is like a big cooler. The outside air is cooler than the temp inside. The top freezer then doesn't keep anything frozen solid. Our workaround is that we arent using the top freezer, but the drinks in the fridge are cold enough. We don't store much, if any, food in it until the weather warms up.