Few questions about the workings of a Top Freezer Fridge

[JayInJersey]

since you can set the temp of the freezer lower than the temp of the refrigerator (at least on my kitchen one you can...granted they are just dials that say colder/warmer) are they run by independent compressors?


I have to decide if I want to pickup my grandmother's old top freezer fridge or build a custom ferm chamber.


I'd really like to be able to use the top portion for grain & hops storage at Freezing temps and use the Fridge for temp control in the 50-70 range but I'm not sure if that's possible.


Any appliance guys out there know?

 

[RCCOLA]

I believe that some are, some aren't. I bought an old green Gibson fridge which has a bad defrost strip. It would freeze up so I removed the partiton between the freezer and fridge then added a temp controller to keep it in range. There was no different system for my fridge, the cold air just filtered down thru louvers in the partition.

I would bet that the fridges with only one dial(in the refrigerated section) have only one evap coil for both sections.
If you get a temp controller and set it for 50- 70, it may not be cold enough to keep the freezer section frozen. Only way to tell is to try it.

 

[elmetal]

since you can set the temp of the freezer lower than the temp of the refrigerator (at least on my kitchen one you can...granted they are just dials that say colder/warmer) are they run by independent compressors?


I have to decide if I want to pickup my grandmother's old top freezer fridge or build a custom ferm chamber.


I'd really like to be able to use the top portion for grain & hops storage at Freezing temps and use the Fridge for temp control in the 50-70 range but I'm not sure if that's possible.


Any appliance guys out there know?

I'm pretty sure if you keep the fridge as warm as possible and freezer as cold as possible, it might stay below freezing but I have no proof or experience with it

 

[pkeeler]

I've never tried that warm, but my top freezer stays plenty frozen while the bottom is 42-45. The key is independent controls for each part of course. If the unit only has one setting, you wouldn't be able to operate them independently.

 

[JayInJersey]

Argh...might have to take the drive into PA this weekend to check it out.

The old hag just says "it works and you can have it if you want" but doesn't know squat about it.

 

[brewthunda]

Our Kenmore top freezer has a single compressor. Cold air is pumped in to the freezer over the ice maker and then trickles down to the fridge through a hole at the bottom of the freezer. The fridge temp dial controls a louver in that hole which adjusts how much air can trickle down. It works fine. If your fridge is like this and you cranked up the temp on the fridge portion, it would mean that very little cold air would escape the freezer - so the freezer would be able to get extra cold.