Outdoor Kitchen, full size refrigerator

14 years ago

I want a full size refrigerator for outdoor kitchen. Are others using a regular frig and just replacing every few years. I live in south Louisiana.

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COASTROAD Hearth & Patio

14 years ago

You've got some heavy humidity to deal with on the Gulf Coast, like we do here in the coastal Carolinas, so the environment can be especially harsh on our outdoor appliances.

You've already mentioned one solution - get a regular refrigerator and just understand that there won't be any warranty on it. Maybe it will work for a while, maybe it won't. Not all refrigerators are designed to be built in, so be careful about enclosing the one that isn't designed to vent through the bottom front, you'll burn up the compressor.

I'm not aware of any company that makes a full-size refrigerator that is approved for outdoors, but you might consider stacking two 24" wide undercounter units. TRUE makes a stacking kit that allows you to take two outside-approved unders (like a drawer unit on bottom and a glass-front beverage unit on top) and mate them together to look like one 24" wide unit. They supply a stainless steel grill to go between the units to make them fit together nicely. If you wanted to get real serious, you could stack two pairs and have a 48" wide refrigerator.
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Comments (7)

Emily Hurley
14 years ago
Here's one with a full size fridge.
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Kathryn Wild
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I was just wondering, sbchaisson...What did you decide to do? I am in Louisiana also, and I think I'm just going to put in an indoor full size refrigerator. I was wondering if you did, and if it's still running well. We don't get sub freezing temperatures often, and it seems as though that is a big concern for outdoor units. Thanks!
Lori B
6 years ago
We put an indoor refrigerator in our outside kitchen and it didn't make it through the summer in SW Florida.

We unplugged it and left for the summer. Cleaned it out and plugged it in upon our return and there is an error now saying the thermostat sensor is bad. It also had a very hard time trying to keep everything at a stable temperature even in the winter, which is mild here - we have a garden. We had several times where veggies froze in the refrigerator. The heat is just too brutal on it out there. It is very protected from elements, but not humidity and heat.

I got on here looking for a solution. We had moved this one out there when we got a new one but it just couldn't take it.
Donna O'Malley
6 years ago
what makes a indoor refrigerator not work (for example the freezer doesn't keep everything frozen) in a cold garage in the northeast winter
Marilyn Shealey
5 years ago
Donna, I am having this problem and I was told that when the outside temps fall below freezing, indoor refrigerator freezers shut off as they register the temp as having reached the set temp. Then the freezer doesn't turn back on when temps rise.
Kellie Cox-Riede
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
We live very near the coastline in SWFL and moved into a home that already had a full-size refrigerator with freezer on our lanai. It is a Frigidaire and wasn’t new when we moved in. We’ve been here for three years and, considering that the outside has small amounts of rust in places, a fair amount of deteriorating coating on the outside and failing door gaskets, the inside still cools sufficiently as well as the freezer, even though there is quite a bit of ice build up where the gaskets are weakest. Our energy bill is probably taking a big hit from this, but I just wanted to point out that it is possible to have a descent, reliable full-size unit outdoors down here if you are willing to replace it every 5 years or so. I don’t recommend using it intermittently, but rather keep it going all year long so that the motor and thermostat remain functional.