My roommate tells me that he is a refrigerator expert, and the reason my refrigerators on the patio are not cooling properly is because they are plugged in with an extension cord. Is there any truth to this? He says the refrigerators are not getting enough power, and will not get cold enough, because they need to plugged into a wall socket. The patio has a solid roof, and the sides are covered with tarps, so the refrigerators are not exposed to the sun. We have three refrigerators on the patio: 1) 4.7 cubic feet, 2) 14 cubic feet, 3) 21 cubic feet. The big one is the main problem, and has not been working properly ever since I got it over a year ago (from Craig's List). In the cold weather it will get colder, down to around 40 Degrees F. (4 Degrees C.) when the outside temperature is in the low 20s F. (-7 to -5 Degrees C.). But in the hot weather, it gets up to 70 Degrees F. (21 Degrees C.). The freezer compartment will freeze, but it takes several days or even a week for some items to freeze completely). This fridge has a large computer board that looks like the mother board of a computer. The medium-sized fridge (14 cubic feet) works pretty good. During the summer I put a few one-quart bottles of ice, which I change out once a week, so it's working ok. The freezer works just fine, and the fridge temperatures maintain an average of around 35 Degrees F. (2 Degrees C.) During the winter, this fridge works perfect!!! The small fridge, 4.7 cubic feet, is working perfect, and has been for years.
No they just need enough voltage to start. If you use a really skinny long cord there may be so much voltage drop between the outlet and the refrig that the compressor can't start against any pressure at all. To see if this is the case use a voltmeter. If you don't have a voltmeter use an incandescent bulb plugged into the extension cord. If the bulb dims significantly when the compressor tries to start that might be your problem. To solve use a better extension cord. It might also be leaking coolant slowly. If that happens you'll see a progressive loss of cooling capacity. The refrigerator might also just suck. Might be able to improve performance slightly by cleaning it well.
I just fixed such a problem with an old fridge. Turned out that the setting for the freezer (on top) was too high and some spilled water from ice trays had plugged several holes with ice, preventing the flow of cold air to the bottom. After I unplugged the fridge and allowed the ice to melt, opening the vent holes, I had a fine working unit again. I have noticed that loading the freezer portion full with frozen foods also seems to affect circulation and we now use our big freezer to store most frozen items.
I'm assuming your fridge worked before you moved it here, so ... The forst thing I would check is the drain hose(s) at the back of the fridge. Dethaw Freezer also if necessary. It is amazing how a clogged hose can stop a fridge from cooling. That would be my first remedy, and would try that before buying an extension chord. Our family had a guest cabin fully powered by a buried extension chord, and our fridge and small water heater never had any problems.
Check the radiator finns in the back they my not expel the heat from the compressor. See if your freezer is working properly , if he does , then tubing from the freezer to the refrigerator might by frozen with ice .
Actually, the large fridge did NOT work properly from the very beginning. Got it from Craig's List, no returns. We measured the Voltage for both Refrigerators, and it was 120 Volts for both. When I turned on a lamp, the Voltage did not decrease. Turned on the portable air cooler, which dropped the voltage to 117 volts, which went back to 120 when we turned the air cooler off.
Refrigerator motors draw a humongous amount of power, especially at the first few moments of startup. You should really have a dedicated circuit (only one outlet on that circuit breaker) for a fridge, or at worst, share it only with a couple of very low-power appliances without motors, like a telephone or a small lamp. It's okay to use an extension cord with a fridge. I do that in my kitchen because the outlets are not logically positioned. But you absolutely have to buy a heavy-duty extension cord that can handle the load. They're affordable, around $20 at Home Depot. Ask one of the staff to pick the right one for you. If your extension cord can't carry the current, it will lower the voltage to the fridge, which will cause it to A) not get cold enough and B) burn out the motor which will cost you a lot of money to replace. More importantly, it may also get very hot! Using an extension cord that's too light-duty for the application is one of the easiest and most common ways to set your house on fire. Please don't do that!
The more important thing to measure is the voltage at the instant the refrig tries to turn on. (It will make a loud buzzing noise when this happens.) Often you can force it to happen by opening the door for a bit, or by unplugging it for an hour and then plugging it back in.
@ OP, You missed the point of my last post which was to MAKE SURE HOSES (at back of fridge) ARE CLEAR OF DEBRIS OR ICE. I have seen fridges stop working for this simple thing, and make fridge like new again.
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install a thermometer in the large refrigerator, try to place it in the center of the refrigerated space but anywhere will do. plug unit in and allow to run 24 hours. open door, take temp reading (note C or F) repeat for 3 consecutive days. ideal temp will be between 33 and 44 F. if you can get an ideal temp then the problems might be the door is not sealing properly, being opened too many times. if you can't get an ideal reading, the inside cabinet or evaporator is damaged, or you might need to recharge the unit. cleaning the condenser coils might help too.
Something that can prevent a refrigerator from cooling is a failure of its automatic defrosting. Then ice can accumulate on the evaporator, blocking heat absorption.
Refrigerators work better indoors. This might not be so relevant to your problem, but I think refrigerators are designed for NORMAL ROOM TEMPERATURE environments. If you put a refrigerator in an unheated space, and it gets very cold outside, the thermostat in the refrigerator portion, become satisfied that the refrigerator is cold enough. However, since the compressor hasn't run in hours, the food in the freezer portion may begin thawing. This is because the freezer is not regulated by a thermostat, but by an air flow control. Whenever the refrigerator runs, the coldest air flows to the freezer, then freezer air flows into the refrigerator portion. The freezer control should be set to Medium air flow. If on max cold, very little cold air reaches the refrigerator portion, so the refrigerator runs and runs to get the freezer part maximum cold. A chest freezer, or 100% freezer upright, should be fine to keep in areas that get cold, since the freezer portion does have its own thermostat. Make sure the refrigerator compressor can easily vent its heat, or it will not cool. Allow a few inches for airflow around the coils, or make sure the fan(s) are running, and not clogged with dust. I am not a repairman, so if I explained anything wrong, please correct me.
I told him that in the beginning " Allow a few inches for airflow around the coils, or make sure the fan(s) are running, and not clogged with dust." There can be also a poor doar seal.
