# Upright freezer in a hot garage



## Karen G (Jun 24, 2008)

We bought a new upright freezer about a month ago in anticipation of my husband's Alaska fishing trip. He brought back 65# of salmon, halibut, & a couple of other kinds of fish. It has been handy to have the ability to buy more frozen foods when they go on sale and the freezer is stocked pretty well now with stuff.

However, it's in our garage and it's very hot in there. I noticed that the sides of the freezer are very hot to the touch so it must be working very hard.  I imagine it's using a lot of electricity along with our central air conditioning working hard in this desert heat.  I'm sure our next electric bill will be a shocker.

Does anyone have a freezer in a hot garage? Any advice?


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## Fern Modena (Jun 24, 2008)

Karen,
We added a swamp cooler to our garage last year.  Its not a "whole house" one, but a smaller one.  Up to about 90º-95º we just use it, keep the door to the house from the garage open and crack the windows.  It keeps us tolerably cool.

In this weather we run the air conditioner in the house, so we keep the door to the garage closed (you can't run a swamp cooler and an air conditioner in the same area at once).  We set the swamp cooler to 82º.  It keeps the car cool, and keeps the fridge/freezer from running all the time.  In addition it keeps the walls of the house that abut the garage cool, so our air conditioner goes on much less than it used to.

Hope this helps.  

Fern


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## Karen G (Jun 24, 2008)

Fern, we need to look into doing that. Did you have someone install it for you?


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## wackymother (Jun 25, 2008)

What's a swamp cooler?


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## "Roger" (Jun 25, 2008)

I thought it was a drink.


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## Ann-Marie (Jun 25, 2008)

We have had an upright freezer in our hot garage for 30 years without any harm.  We just replaced our last one of 20 years.  This one claims it cost $67.00 per year to run.  I would never be able to live without it.  I never leave my garage door open.  It's hot in the garage, but it is hot in my house as well since we do not have AC.  Have never had a problem.


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## wackymother (Jun 25, 2008)

"Roger" said:


> I thought it was a drink.



Me, too. I looked it up on wikipedia. Here we go.



> Evaporative coolers (also called swamp, desert, or air coolers) are devices that cool air through the simple evaporation of water. They differ from refrigeration or absorption air conditioning, which use the vapor-compression or absorption refrigeration cycles. In the United States, small-scale evaporative coolers are called swamp coolers by some users due to the humid air conditions produced.
> 
> Evaporative cooling is especially well suited for climates where the air is hot and humidity is low. For example, in the United States, the western/mountain states are good locations, with swamp coolers very prevalent in cities like Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, El Paso and Phoenix, where sufficient water is available...



I guess the reason I've never heard of them is that it's pretty humid in northern NJ.


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## JoAnn (Jun 25, 2008)

We've had a freezer in our garage since we moved to Florida 7 years ago and it works fine.  With DH & DS going pheasant hunting every year and bringing back about 40 pheasants we had to buy a small chest freezer and it's sitting on our lanai, since there is no where else to put it.  We do have to chip ice off the edges occasionally, but it has weathered well for 3 or 4 years.  And our summer temps are in the mid to high 90's with very high humidity...and lots of summer rains.


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## stevedmatt (Jun 25, 2008)

I just ripped out a closet in my laundry room so I would have room for an upright freezer, predominately for freezing fresh summer vegetables.

I was concerned about the same issue. A friend of mine asked why I went through all that work. He suggested to put it in the garage. He's had his int eh garage for 15 years and it still runs effectively. His however isn't frost free and he has to manually defrost it a few times a year. I would think he wouldn't have to if it was in a climate controlled environment. I also live in a high humidity area. This may not be the case in an area with less humidity.


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## Mel (Jun 25, 2008)

Even in a climate controlled environment, you still have to defrost the older freezers - my parents have had an upright in their kitchen pantry for as long as I can remember, and it is an annual ritual.

The best advice I can give is to keep it as full as possible.  A full freezer uses less energy than one that is half-full.  The frozen food holds its temperature better than the air.


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## JudyH (Jun 25, 2008)

I have you all beat.  I have a 1965 Whirlpool upright freezer on my back porch/mudroom which roasts in the summer and freezes in the winter.  We should defrost it more than the every few years that we do.  I'm afraid to jinx it by saying we've never had a problem with it.  I do try to leave it mostly empty when we travel, just in case.


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## PigsDad (Jun 25, 2008)

JudyH said:


> I have you all beat.  I have a 1965 Whirlpool upright freezer on my back porch/mudroom which roasts in the summer and freezes in the winter.


Sorry, but my parents have _all of you_ beat.    They got a Frigidaire chest freezer the first year they were married, and it has been in an unheated porch in northern MN all this time.  90+ and humid in the summer, down to -40 in the winter.  The hinges creak, there's rust here and there, but not even a service call in all those years; it just keeps chugging along.

Oh, and BTW, they just celebrated their *50th* wedding anniversary last year. 

The new models warn against being installed in an unheated space -- the compressors cannot handle being in cold conditions.  They don't make them like they used to!

Kurt


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## colovaca (Jun 26, 2008)

*100 degrees okay*

I just bought a new fridge.  The instructions say not to place it where the temp is over 100 (or under 60).  I have read elsewhere that, due to additional insulations and other sepcifications, deep freezers can handle extended temperatures.  Don't know about uprights.


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## Karen G (Jun 30, 2008)

*Follow-up*

We had our new swamp cooler installed this morning in the garage.  I think it's going to make a big difference in the comfort level of being in the garage in the hottest weather, and it also should help the freezer not to have to work so hard.

Thanks to all who responded to this thread.


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## Fern Modena (Jul 1, 2008)

Karen,
I think you'll be really happy with the swamp cooler in the garage.  When it cools down (September?) you may get even more use...I can't remember how your house is laid out.  Ours has the utility room next to the garage and then the back hall and bedrooms.  We crack the bedroom windows, then open the door between the garage and house, turning off the air conditioner once the temperature gets down to 90 or so.  It works really well.

Again, welcome to desert living!

Fern


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## Kozman (Jul 2, 2008)

JoAnn said:


> We've had a freezer in our garage since we moved to Florida 7 years ago and it works fine.  With DH & DS going pheasant hunting every year and bringing back about 40 pheasants we had to buy a small chest freezer and it's sitting on our lanai, since there is no where else to put it.  We do have to chip ice off the edges occasionally, but it has weathered well for 3 or 4 years.  And our summer temps are in the mid to high 90's with very high humidity...and lots of summer rains.




JoAnn,  I would have thought it would have been alligator tails instead of pheasants!  LOL!

I have a chest freezer in my garage.  Being in MI it's only sorta hot in the garage a few months of the year.  Just last week, I somehow accidentally partially unplugged the power and had a stinky mess when I went out to grab a baby back to thaw for the barbie!  I refroze it and the contents went to the curb this morning!  Time to restock.  I'm also going to secure the plug some way so this can't happen again.  The best I can figure is I pulled out an extension cord in the other plug by yanking on it and it got tangled in the freezer cord!  Pffft!  I'm thinking of laying some epoxy on the plug and the outlet!!

John


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## JoAnn (Jul 2, 2008)

Kozman said:


> JoAnn,  I would have thought it would have been alligator tails instead of pheasants!  LOL!
> 
> John



John, there HAVE been alligator tails in there TOO!  More pheasants due to go in mid October when Gerry & Dave go back to SD.


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