Glad you are happy with your purchase. Do you have any trouble with those appliances being in the garage--temperature wise? I have heard of people having trouble mostly in the summer I think. I have always had a freezer but now being alone don't think I need one but sort of miss having the extra space.

Sounds like you'll enjoy your new freezer!

Satine, we always had freezers in the garage or barn, and never had a problem. My present one is in the basement.

I bought a new refrigerator for my kitchen last July, and while at the appliance store asked about a streamlined smaller model for the garage. I have a vintage side by side (overkill) that belongs to a friend in the garage now....it's almond, a little rough looking, and I had something with a cleaner look and more energy efficient in mind.

This was a store that sells only appliances, and better brands. The owner told me the new energy efficient refrigerators are made to work at reasonable room temps and aren't successful in a garage that may get warm in summer or too cold in winter. He said the temperature in the freezer section gets 'confused' in a cold room, the unit sensors will stop sending cold air to the freezer and frozen things may not stay frozen.

In my mild coastal Z8 with cool summers and few really cold days in winter (it's 26F here right now ;) ), I'm still wondering if I couldn't get away with new and energy efficient if placed on attached garage inside wall. My office is about the coolest room in the house, I know it loses some heat through the wall into the garage - but haven't bought a new smaller refrigerator for out there yet....I'm still dealing with 'FrankenFridge'. That we do use, not only for the mens stuff like beer, soft drinks, bottled water but I create space for extra salads, that ham or turkey bought on special, things of my own.

Instead of trying to make a larger sale, he told me to look for second hand that met my requirements, go with that instead of new and high tech.

Technically, stand alone freezers and refrigerator/freezers are not designed for extreme temperatures, but check with the manufacturer to be sure.

If you want a real eye opener, stick a Kill-A-Watt Meter on your outdoor-use unit and see how much electricity it sucks up during hot weather. You will quickly be paying more for the additional electricity than the savings from bargains you are storing inside. And as the unit battles the ambient temperature in a hot garage (which can easily be 135°F or higher), make sure the inside temperature of the unit is staying colder than 140° for food safety in a refrigerator, and 0°F, or colder, for the freezer. Room temperature is considered 70°F, which is what these units are designed for.

As another problem.... If you think people don't clean the motor of a freezer or refrigerator when they are indoors, outdoors is even worse! Which also makes the motor run harder and hotter. In our area, we have "tons" of cottonwood seeds from trees in the spring filling the air like snow. These tend to drift into open garages and forms little "snow" banks of fluffy seeds. There have been several fires in units in garages with large accumulations of the cottonwood fluff in the motor. So clean your outside unit motor on a regular basis. If you have mice/packrats, they like to make nests in the warm confines under the unit.

When I teach home food storage classes we focus on alternatives to extra refrigerators and freezers since they usually have your most expensive food purchase (meat) inside that can be a costly loss if the machines fail; and they tend to be energy hogs if they are from an older generation or due to extreme temperatures where they are stored - just for the sake of "convenience". They can easily fail for any number of reasons including age, a mouse chewing the wiring, power outage from a storm, or it was accidently unplugged via the cat/dog and you didn't realize it; or the life is shortened due to temperature extremes and lack of good maintenance.

It's an additional expense, that's for sure, and one many are more than willing to pay for --- for any number of reasons..... I always marvel at how dinky the refrigerator/freezer is in the U.K. and Europe compared to the U.S., and how my parents got by with a used refrigerator with a 12-inch square freezer for all the years they had 4 kids at home and got groceries once a month!

My garage freezer, older, died. A neighbor moving across country and offered me her refrigerator/freezer (huge) which was not kept in a garage and was newer. It didn't do well in garage. Freezer thawed in cold temps. After researching, discovered that the newer refrigerators have only one thermostat and therein lies the problem. Don't know about freezers. I will definitely ask when I replace this fridge/freezer.

We've never felt we had a need for an extra fridge or freezer. I'm not sure what exactly people do with them.

Refrigerators are larger and not as dinky in Europe as they were some years back but they do tend to be smaller on average than you see here. Dwelling units (whether apartments or otherwise) are smaller and kitchens tend to be smaller than here too (it varies a bit by country) so there is less room for appliances. People there also prefer to shop every few days to enjoy the freshest possible (and seasonal) food, so less space is needed.

In an earlier edition of my life I had two 1956 Servel gas refrigerators, left and right that worked quite well on $5.00 worth of gas a month. they were two door top freezer models and took at least3 to 5 guys to move them. You can still buy gas or gas/electric in other brands and save electricity and never hear the fridge again.

Add from '56

I similarly had an earlier edition of existence in my life. In the early 60s, a neighbor had a beach house about an hour down the coast that they would let us use. My family would be there for many weeks a year. I was just a dumb kid at the time but I remember it had a natural gas refrigerator. I found the concept very puzzling but it worked great I do remember that.

Snidely, I have a counter-depth refrigerator and they really don't hold anything big. My old, regular-size refrigerator is in the garage and I only put it on when I'm entertaining and need room for large dishes and platters. As for the freezer, I go through cooking spurts, especially in the winter time. Freeze lots of soups, some casseroles, meatloaf cookies etc. When I don't feel like cooking (which can be often anymore) DH just has to go to the freezer and help himself to whatever. I've had a freezer in the garage for 19 years now and no problem.

At least you got to buy something fun. I had to buy a new hot water heater because the current one was leaking all over the basement floor. I'm $2100 poorer for something you can't even see but can't live without.

I feel your pain, Fran. This year we had to replace our 7 1/2 year old refrigerator, my computer, my freezer, a toilet which leaked causing damage to the foyer ceiling that also had to be repaired and have been told we need a new roof (our house is 19 years old and the roof should have lasted longer). But, you have to do what you have to do.

I use my freezer for lots of things. We pick our own black raspberries and freeze them, freeze the blueberries and cherries and lots of things we grow. I wish I had a bigger one.

Sue

Snidely -- You're about to be read the Riot Act. I just got singed on the Kitchens forum when I questioned the idea that every teeny new house plan has some little closet labeled 'Pantry'.

There are some folks for whom freezers and pantries are useful: Big families; People who garden and freeze or can; People miles from grocery stores. Just Not Me. (Or you, evidently.) I do think builders include a 'Pantry' or a 'Front Porch' mostly in some pitch to 'yesteryear'.

Thanks, georgysmom. With your approach the added capacity sounds like it's useful for you.

Thanks for the warning, chisue. I'm sturdy and can take disagreeing comments with a smile. We had a bigger household when our 3 kids were growing up. Then as now, we're not much in the habit of buying ahead or cooking ahead. Our freezer is usually half empty these days, other than after a trip to Costco when we come home with some of the big frozen food packages they sell. (Love their wild salmon burgers).

Even Costco is within 15 minutes of our home. I never buy what won't fit into my kitchen SxS. (I did get one with a freezer wide enough to hold a boxed frozen pizza -- not Costco-sized though!) Love their Parmesan bread; slice it thick and freeze it to use as 'dinner rolls'.