Fridges in cold weather

[Llamatron]

Are fridges affected by cold weather?

My fridge's freezer compartment has stopped freezing and I'm not sure if the rest hasn't given up as well but it's so cold in the kitchen that it's difficult to tell. I can't hear the compressor so it doesn't look good.

The kitchen is a poorly designed building extension and at the moment it's as cold as it is outside. I read somewhere that if you wanted to keep a freezer in a garage or shed then it had to be one specially designed for outside, would this apply to fridges?

Could the cold have killed my fridge and is time for a new one?

[wildwood]

Yes, in the cold weather they are not on very often. In warm weather they switch on frequently and are in fact colder inside. Same as fridges.

[Llamatron]

So it could be ok then?

Because it's so cold the fridge doesn't need to do much work and so just switches itself off. As the freezer compartment is only a 'there if you really need it' type thing and becuase it's a cheap fridge it gets switched off too. Does that sound like a fair assessment?

[ianmunt]

A while back, several fridge manufactures stated that low ambient temperatures DO prevent proper function of some models of refrigerators/freezers.Suggest you contact the customer service dept of your manufacturer

[Llamatron]

It seems to be working at the mo.
But I think I need to get a new one.

It was a cheap fridge and the room is numbingly cold so as fridges are affected by the cold then I have no choice really.

[m1.carson]

Hi,
Just had the same problem, no room for it in the kitchen, so it stands outside, it died over the weekend, contacted the shop and was told, " it's too cold outside for it" the thermostat points open in the cold and won't close again until the outside temp warms up, yours is not an outside or garage fridge [it's an LEC].

I asked where the thermostat was as my idea was to use a hair dryer on it, warm it up and bring the freezer back on until my wife got home so we could both lift it into the kitchen, "it's inside the fridge compartment at the back", was the answer.

That worked as a stopgap, it's now been moved into the "warm" kitchen and it's been running all night OK.

I'm now cogitating on why ,if it's too cold outside the points won't close, and yet it gets warm enough inside to defrost everything.