It's January in Nora, and the ice cream in your garage fridge has gone soft. If your refrigerator in the garage stopped working in winter, the cold is the first suspect. Whirlpool, Maytag and LG say a standard fridge needs a room at 55°F or warmer. GE says 55°F or 60°F.
Below that, it may not run often enough to keep the freezer frozen.
So a cold garage can thaw your food. It sounds backwards, but it's what the makers say. Start with the table, then put a thermometer in the garage.
How cold is too cold for a refrigerator in a garage?
For many standard fridges, anything under 55°F is too cold. The floor depends on the maker and the model. Find yours here, then check your own manual.
| Maker and type | Lowest room temperature | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| Whirlpool, standard fridge | 55°F | Whirlpool's location and environment page |
| Maytag, standard fridge | 55°F | Maytag's location and environment page |
| LG, standard fridge | 55°F | LG's support page on where to install a fridge |
| GE, GTS21 top-freezer models (the manual also covers the GTS18) | 55°F | GE's owner's manual for those models |
| GE, any fridge that isn't Garage Ready | 60°F | GE's Garage Ready support page |
| GE Garage Ready top-freezer fridge | 38°F | GE's Garage Ready support page |
| GE upright freezers FUF14, FUF17 and FUF21 (the FUF17DLRWW is sold as Garage Ready) | 0°F | GE's owner's manual for those freezers |
GE shows up twice for standard fridges. That's no typo. Its manual for the GTS18 and GTS21 says 55°F, and its support page says 60°F for any fridge that isn't Garage Ready. GE's install page says 60°F too, unless your owner's manual says otherwise, so go by your manual.
Whirlpool's page is the plainest of the lot. A standard fridge is for indoor, household use, in a spot that stays between 55°F and 110°F. Go outside that range and Whirlpool says the fridge may hold the wrong temperature, swing up and down, or just not work as well as it should.
Read the exact wording
"This refrigerator is designed for indoor, household use only. It is intended for use in a location where the temperature ranges from a minimum of 55°F (13°C) to a maximum of 110°F (43°C). Operating the refrigerator outside the recommended temperature range may result in improper temperatures, temperature fluctuation, and/or not operating at peak performance."
From Whirlpool Product Help, "What is the Proper Location and Environment for a Refrigerator"
How cold does Indianapolis get?
Cold enough to matter. The normal January low in Indianapolis is 20.9°F. That's from the National Weather Service's averages for 1991 to 2020, and it's far under every number in the table but one. GE says that at 32°F, a fridge may not cool at all.
That figure is for the air outside. An attached garage with no heat usually runs warmer than the yard, and nobody publishes a number for it, so we won't make one up. Buy a thermometer. Set it on a shelf next to the fridge, and it'll tell you more than we can.
Can you keep a refrigerator in an unheated garage in the winter?
Not a standard one, if your garage drops below the maker's floor. A fridge sold as garage ready can take more cold, but it has a floor too.
A standard fridge
The makers in the table built these for heated rooms. Once the garage falls under 55°F, or whatever floor your manual gives, you're outside what the maker says the fridge can do. It's that simple. Whirlpool says it plainly: unless a garage is insulated and climate-controlled, it isn't recommended for a standard fridge.
A garage-ready fridge
"Garage ready" is a maker's label for a fridge built and tested for more cold. GE's Garage Ready support page gives its range as 38°F to 110°F for its top-freezer models.
Look at that low number again. It's 38°F. A normal January night here is about 21°F outside, so even a garage-ready fridge can end up in a garage that's colder than anything it was tested for.
Read the exact wording
"Garage Ready refrigerators have been designed and extensively tested for use in a garage environment, performing in ambient temperatures from 38° Fahrenheit to 110° Fahrenheit."
From GE Appliances support, "Top Freezer Refrigerator - Garage Ready Models"
A garage-ready freezer
GE's garage-ready freezer can go much lower. GE sells its FUF17DLRWW upright freezer as Garage Ready, and GE's manual for the FUF14, FUF17 and FUF21 freezers says not to put one where it gets below 0°F or above 110°F.
Read the exact wording
"Do not install the freezer where the temperature will go below 0°F or above 110°F, because it will not maintain proper temperatures."
From GE Owner's Manual, upright freezers FUF14, FUF17, FUF21
Why does my refrigerator not work in the garage?
Because the cold air around it hides the need to cool. Whirlpool's page on garage-ready fridges says a standard fridge in cold weather may run less, or not run at all, and then the freezer warms up and the food in it can thaw.
GE's manual gives the same reason in fewer words. The fridge won't run often enough to hold its temperature. LG warns of trouble both ways: too much cooling, or none.
Read the exact wording
"In cold weather, a traditional unit may cycle less or not at all because the ambient air masks the need for cooling, causing the freezer to warm and potentially thaw."
From Whirlpool Product Help, "How Garage-Ready Refrigerators Work"
Is it the cold, or is it broken?
This is the question that can save you a repair visit you don't need, or tell you it's time to book one. Check the garage first.
- The garage is under your fridge's floor, and the freezer is soft: that's the case the makers' pages describe. Whirlpool says a standard fridge in the cold may run less or not at all, and the freezer warms.
- The garage is above the floor, and the fridge is still warm: the makers' cold-weather pages don't explain that one. A tech should look.
- It works in spring and fall, and fails each winter: that fits the makers' pages too, since they tie the trouble to the temperature of the room.
- It also struggles in July: heat has a limit too. GE's GTS18 and GTS21 manual tops out at 100°F. Whirlpool, Maytag and LG stop at 110°F.
If you think it's low on Freon, the gas that does the cooling, read our guide on adding Freon to a fridge yourself before you buy anything.
Don't taste the food to find out if it's still good. FoodSafety.gov uses two checks for frozen food. If it still has ice crystals, most of it can be refrozen. If it sat at 40°F or above for more than 2 hours, most of it gets tossed. A garage freezer can thaw on a mild day and freeze again, so you may not know. Our guide on fridge food after a power outage covers what to keep and what to toss.
How do I keep my refrigerator working in a cold garage?
The makers give two answers. Keep the fridge where the room stays inside its range, or use a model made for the garage. We haven't found a third one in the sources we've read.
Move it somewhere warmer
A heated part of the house keeps a standard fridge inside its range. Get help to move it.
Whirlpool's moving page gives the steps for its fridges: empty it, unplug it, shut off the water and unhook the water line, and keep it upright the whole way, never on its side. Other brands may differ, so check your own manual too.
LG's page says to put a fridge in a dry, shaded place that stays between 55°F and 110°F.
Read the exact wording
"Install your fridge in a dry and shaded place where the ambient temperature is between 55°F and 110°F. If the temperature of the installation location is too high or too low, functional difficulties may occur (e.g., excessive cooling/no cooling)."
From LG USA support, "Can I Install My Refrigerator on a Balcony or in a Storage Room?"
Pick a garage-ready model next time
If the garage is where it has to live, look for the maker's own range before you buy. Whirlpool says a garage-ready fridge is built and tested for spaces with no heating or cooling, where the cold can drop near freezing in winter.
Read the numbers, not just the sticker. Then hold them up against your own garage in January.
Read the exact wording
"'Garage-ready' indicates a refrigerator designed and tested to operate properly in non-climate-controlled environments where temperatures can swing from near-freezing winter lows to warm summer highs."
From Whirlpool Product Help, "How Garage-Ready Refrigerators Work"
What about a heater kit?
GE answers this one plainly. Its page on where to install a fridge says aftermarket garage kits or heater kits should not be used. For any other brand, ask the maker whether a kit is made for your model before you buy one.
What to write down before you call
A few notes make the visit quicker:
- The fridge: the make and model, from the label inside.
- The garage: the temperature next to the fridge, and the time you read it.
- The fridge and freezer: the temperature inside each one.
- The pattern: when it started, and whether it's happened in other winters.