Water Freezing While In Fridge.

[tourdeforce]

Hi Folks,

For the past 12 months, I have been putting a 2 litre bottle of water in the fridge at work, (which I fill up from a tap) to have to drink for the following day.

However, for the past couple of weeks, the bottle has been frozen solid when I come to take it out of the fridge the following morning. I eventually played with the thermostat and after 3 days put it back to what it was originally on. It has since stopped freezing (for now).

My question is:-
Why did just my just bottle of water freeze when other bottles of water, milk and food items were perfectly fine. Surely if my bottle froze, the temperature of the fridge would need to be at freezing point and therefore everything should have frozen, not just one item?

Looking forward to your answer in anticipation.

Best regards,
Mr DeForce.

[Hopkirk]

Milk and food items would probably need a lower temperature to freeze.
Other bottles of still water should be freezing, but there must be variations of temperature in different parts of the fridge.

[Sam1960]

Practical Joke maybe !!
Someone freezing it, and putting it back in the fridge .... !!

[Canary42]

I think Sam may be right.

[Barsel]

I was thinking that as well. ^^^

[tourdeforce]

Sorry folks, no practical jokes are being played here.

Source: I work in a government building where there are no freezers plus the fact that I am practically the first in the office every morning.

Any scientific theories please ....

[Hopkirk]

Are the bottles that didn't freeze flavoured? The flavouring or sweeteners might be acting as anti freeze.

[perseverer]

Having something dissolved in water makes its freezing/melting point lower. For example sea water freezes at about -2degrees Celsius.
Different substances freeze at different temperatures. You would not expect various foods to freeze at the same temperature as water.
Having said all that, for your fridge to have frozen 2 litres of water overnight, it must have been set far too low.

[THECORBYLOON]

Different liquids have different freezing points and even same liquids with different purities have different freezing points.

[Bert45]

I haven't experienced your problem myself, but I can tell you for definite that the thermostat in my fridge does not work as you would expect it to. In winter I need to turn the thermostat down (i.e. warmer) and in summer I need to turn it up (i.e. colder). The door is closed 99% of the time summer and winter. If a thermostat kept a constant temperature this would not be necessary. As to Mr DeForce's question, it has been answered by Hopkirk and perseverer. Anything dissolved in water will lower the freezing point. As to food items, how would you know if they were frozen or not? What food items are you talking about?

[bhg481]

Bert - is your fridge the sort with a small freezer compartment in it? If that is the case the thermostat works to keep the freezer at the right temperature and the cold air spills out into the main compartment to cool it. In summer the fridge loses more heat to the outside world, so you need to turn the thermostat down to make the freezer colder and the air spilling from it into the main compartment will be colder and keep the main compartment at the required temperature.. In winter the reverse applies.

[Bert45]

bhg481, no, my fridge is a larder fridge with no freezer section. The house has cavity foam insulation and I would say that the temperature in the kitchen is pretty constant. Obviously, at night, the kitchen gets colder in winter than in summer (no central heating on), but if the thermostat was doing its job I should not have to turn it up in summer and down in winter. I have to admit I don't have a digital temperature display on the fridge. I only know that milk will go off in summer unless I turn it up, and things like lettuce and cucumber start to freeze in winter unless I turn it down. I also appreciate that a thermostat cannot keep a steady fixed temperature -- it can only keep the fridge between two temperatures -- but the average temperature should be the same winter and summer if the thermostat was doing what you would expect it to do.

[Smowball]

Strange - I could maybe understand it freezing a bit, but for a whole 2 litre bottle of water to be frozen solid takes some doing!