Warning issued to anyone with freezer in garage

They are one of the most popular white goods appliances in the UK, but freezers could be a fire safety risk if they are left in an unheated garage, say experts.

Many households will have an extra chest freezer or fridge freezer in their garage, which can be useful for storing extra food, money saving yellow sticker bargains and home-grown produce to be eaten all-year round.

But electrical experts have warned that people should take care if they leave their freezer or fridge freezer in a garage, because they may not be rated to withstand outdoor temperatures, which in turn could lead to malfunctions and fires or make your food unsafe to eat.

This is exacerbated by the fact that many garages are chock full of highly flammable clutter – everything from spare wood to old cardboard boxes, newspapers, oil, and plastics. All of which is exceedingly flammable, and probably stored near your freezer, too.

Coolingpost.com reports: “Fires caused by fridge/freezers have been found to exhibit a higher degree of fire spread than other types of appliances like washing machines, dishwashers or tumble dryers. 

“[A] study pinpoints a number of components that can fail and act as an ignition source and these are located in close proximity to an extensive source of flammable material.”

Manufacturer Hisense also urges against putting a freezer in unheated spaces due to the risk of malfunction.

It says: “Avoid placing your fridge or freezer in unheated spaces like garages, where pipes could freeze and internal components might malfunction. Additionally, cleaning the condenser coils every few months with a vacuum or coil brush ensures your appliance remains energy efficient, preventing overheating.

“If you have a manual-defrost freezer, winter is a good time to check for ice buildup and defrost as needed. Excess ice not only reduces storage space but also forces the unit to work harder to maintain temperature.”

UK Chest Freezers.co.uk explains that every freezer has a rating known as a ‘climate class’ which determines the temperature it can safely operate in.

They said: “Although a chest freezer can maintain internal temperatures of -18 degrees Celsius, the mechanical and electronic components that make this happen don’t work too efficiently when the ambient air temperature in the room is below a certain threshold – defined by its official Climate Class.

“The lowest official climate class temperature is +10 degrees Celsius – not helpful if you want to keep the freezer in the garage during the winter.

“Of course, some people claim to have used a freezer in the garage for years with no problems, and some appliance repair specialists say it’s a definite no-no and that manufacturers are unrealistic when they say that their freezers are safe to be kept in an unheated space.”

Finally, one more problem is about the safety of the food itself.

When stored in an unheated space, a fridge freezer which is not operating correctly may end up switching off for long periods of time. This in turn could cause the freezer to defrost your food, before re-freezing it when it resumes operating.

This could be a huge problem for food like meats and dairy especially, which are not supposed to be frozen again once defrosted.

UK White Goods.co.uk adds: “Putting a modern fridge or fridge freezer in a garage or outhouse/outbuilding that is unheated is pretty much a non-starter and you are asking for trouble by doing so.

“With fridge freezers where there is only a single compressor (easy to spot as there’s only one black “bottle” at the back and/or generally only one control for fridge and freezer), this means that all too often the ambient can be lower than the cut in point for the fridge.

“Since the fridge thermostat controls the on/off for the freezer as well it means that, for long periods during the colder winter months, the freezer won’t cut in and the food will defrost.”