Two fridges, one circuit

Hi folks. Have had a keeper out in the garage for six months and picked up a little mini fridge to use as a temp controlled fermentation chamber. Plugged them both into same outlet and felt like I saw both run for a minute or so, then heard a quiet tick on one and that one seemed to die for about ten minutes. After that time, plugging it back in seems to get it going. Not enough amps? Will condensers shut down before a breaker pops? Any thoughts?

ryansanders said:

Hi folks. Have had a keeper out in the garage for six months and picked up a little mini fridge to use as a temp controlled fermentation chamber. Plugged them both into same outlet and felt like I saw both run for a minute or so, then heard a quiet tick on one and that one seemed to die for about ten minutes. After that time, plugging it back in seems to get it going. Not enough amps? Will condensers shut down before a breaker pops? Any thoughts?

Click to expand...

Sorry, keezer, not keeper

Probably just got to temp and the compressor shut off? I have 1 large fridge, 1 deep freeze, and 1 bar fridge on the same breaker downstairs and they all seem to be fine together.... but if I try to plug in a heater or something it's done.

I'm going to say this and maybe someone else will chime in.

You should have a 15amp breaker protecting that circuit and I want to say that the fridge alone is pulling about 7amps. So, two of them puts you at a14 amp draw. Anything else else on the circuit will over load causing the breaker to trip. It could be a 20 amp depending when your home was built.


I think the issue you are having is related to the fridge. Leave it plugged in over night with a thermometer inside and listen for the compressor to kick on. I think you're fine and sounds normal.



Edit-

My fridge pulls 4 amps. A hairdryer pulls about 12 amps.

Inrush currents can be high for a very brief time when a compressor starts. This is normally not a problem, but it can be when 2 or more units on the same circuit try to start at the same instant. It doesn't happen often, but it can and it could be enough to trip the breaker once in awhile.

Tripped breaker? Where'd that come from?

Cheers!

I have all of the following on one circuit,

Main kegerator BM23, backup kegerator Danby, full size upright deep freezer, and mini bar fridge and have not had any issues with popping a circuit

Hi guys, thanks for all the thoughtful replies. If you look at the op, I actually mention that no breaker ever blew, so I'm not asking if my breaker can handle the load as much as I'm asking if anyone has experiences fridges shutting themselves off due to lack of amperage, etc? Thanks!

Which one clicked? The click may have been the defrost clock kicking in and putting it into a defrost cycle, but if it was a chest freezer then that probably wasn't the case. It may have been a thermal overload on the compressor as well that is a safety to protect the compressor from overheating. The overload will usually only trip if it is getting old or the comp is running hot due to refrigerant charge issues.