Debating Garage Refrigerator Temperature Settings

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter tewitt1949
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Argument
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the temperature settings of a refrigerator located in an unheated garage during winter months. Participants explore whether the refrigerator can maintain its internal temperature above the thermostat setting in extremely cold external conditions, and the implications of insulation and external temperatures on its operation.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether a refrigerator set to 35 degrees can maintain that temperature when external temperatures drop below 30 degrees, suggesting it may eventually reach the garage temperature.
  • Another participant proposes using a thermometer inside the fridge to measure the actual temperature, implying this could resolve the debate.
  • A participant explains that the fridge will slowly approach the garage temperature, with the rate of change depending on insulation and temperature difference.
  • It is noted that without a Garage Refrigerator Heater Kit, the fridge may stop working in cold temperatures, leading to eventual equilibrium with the garage temperature.
  • A humorous remark suggests that the resolution of the debate may depend on the wife's opinion rather than scientific reasoning.
  • A question is raised about the possibility of the fridge working in reverse under extremely cold conditions, although another participant asserts that this is not possible due to the direction of refrigerant flow.
  • A participant shares anecdotal evidence that their wife hears the fridge running at 25 degrees, leading to a disagreement about whether it can operate under such conditions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the refrigerator's ability to maintain temperature in cold conditions, with no consensus reached on the effectiveness of insulation or the operational limits of the appliance.

Contextual Notes

Participants do not fully explore the technical specifications of the refrigerator or the exact conditions under which it operates, leaving some assumptions and dependencies on definitions unresolved.

tewitt1949
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
My wife and I have been debateing this (some would call it an argument) but here goes.
We live in mich and gets real cold here. We have a regular refridgerator that we keep in the garage which is unheated and uninsulated. The debate is if the thermostate in the refridg is set at about 35 degrees, during the winter months, below 30 even down to zero degrees, will the fridg run an stay above the thermostate setting, or will it eventally get down to the outside temp (even though the fridg is insulated) and freeze everything in the fridge.
Thanks Terry
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Why not stop arguing and put a thermometer in the fridge?
 
The fridge will always approach the garage's temperature, but slowly. If the garage stays less than 30 for an extended period the temperature inside the fridge will slowly approach the less than 30 temperature.

How fast your fridge approaches the garage temperature depends on the insulation of the fridge and the temperature difference between the fridge and the garage.
 
The fridge will stop working in cold temperatures without a Garage Refrigerator Heater Kit - which by the way, you can investigate at

http://www.frigidaire-store.com/gakithecokit.html

Because the freezer will no longer work, it will eventually, but slowly, reach equilibrium with the garage temperature.
 
It's a trap! Science be darned, the correct answer is whichever one your wife says!


...though there is no heater in a fridge...
 
Here's a question: is it possible in principle that, if cold enough outside, the fridge could actually work in reverse? The liquifying/evaporating heat exchange process working the other way?
 
No. The refrigerant is flowing in the wrong direction.
 
My wife says she occasionally hears the fridge running when its 25 deg in the garage. I tell her its not possable because its colder in side the fridge than the thermostate is set so it can't be running. She says the insulation is keeping the cold out. She really isn't a blond. Talking to here is like talking to a "I" beam. I do love her though and she is all mine.
 

Similar threads

High School Infrared Detectors & The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
  • · Replies 152 ·
6
Replies
152
Views
11K
Graduate Why do tanks get hot when you fill them from higher pressure tanks?
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
12K
  • Poll Poll
Convection Wind Tunnel Power: Small Scale Plan for BC Property
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
6K