Fridge and freezers below freezing

JRHill

I have a heat source in each refrigerator with a separate thermostat to keep things from freezing. But both refrigerators and both chest deep freezers get wonky when the temps get below freezing. All are energy star and in good condition. I know they are intended to run in a conditioned place. So is there a solution to keep the units at a reliable temp?

Wheelman55

Maybe try a garage ready freezer?  We use one in Terlingua where the issue is heat. 

https://www.maytag.com/blog/kitchen/what-is-a-garage-ready-freezer.html

Here’s an article on garage ready fridges that mentions kits that can be added to an existing fridge. 

https://www.garageliving.com/blog/is-a-garage-fridge-practical-everything-you-need-to-know

JRHill

Context: we are off grid full time. Remote, 15 years. We get to town once most weeks in good weather. In not so good weather it has been two months.

We have the standard upper freezer/fridge in the kitchen (Samsung) and two chest freezers on the main floor (Maytag). All that stuff is fine. We don't need more freezer space but are always hunting for fridge space. We have a small beverage fridge for the porch but that thing used a lot of power. We've had a few hand me down fridges, likewise power hogs. So a year ago I did a deep dive and found a large garage ready Samsung (fridge only). It took some looking but they are out there. The unit is impressively efficient but the temps are wonky season to season. I already had an Inkbird thermostat/relay to use in the depth of winter with a 20w ceramic heater on an aluminum plate. But the temps in the fridge are wild in transitory weather. The heat setup keeps from freezing but the fridge gets confused.

Needless to say, in the winter with virtually no sun, I don't want fridge to be unreliable. The inkbird setup is as simple as can be and works great. It's the fridge that gets confused. As time goes on we don't WANT to go to town to do it on schedule (sigh) or not at all (gladly). "Are you entertained?" is a classic line. We are not entertained on city trips.