Patio Refrigerator and Freezer Question?

[ultrarunner]

My Bay Area tenant is an avid fisherman and has a freezer and a refrigerator plugged in under a backyard patio cover.

Tenant claims faulty electrical has caused several to fail.

I’ve tested the outlet with a load/voltage drop tester without issue.

Tenant wants to be reimbursed for two year old chest freezer that failed a week past warranty.

I don’t believe residential refrigerators should be used outside and having two plugged into a lightweight extension cord is proper… none the less he wants me to hire an electrician and pay for the two year old freezer…

Any refrigeration TBN members willing to comment?

 

[4570Man]

If you’ve voltage tested the outlet and it passed I don’t see how it could be your problem. Repeat the test at the end of his extension cord and see what happens.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Take him some sand, then tell him to pound it.

No freezer or refrigerator should be on an extension cord.
If they were on a light weight extension cord, that is probably why they failed.
Also, fridges and freezers have listed environmental conditions that were probably exceeded by them being outside.

Sounds like user error.

 

[ultrarunner]

I should have taken a picture .

The original cord was two prong zip extension which he replaced with a light duty orange grounded cord.

In 35 years managing this is a first…

Tenant since 2012

 

[Torvy]

My chest freezer has been outside all of the time. 20+ years. Always been in the garage...we've been in Texas the last 15+. Of course, it is plugged directly into the outlet, no extension cord. When our new house is built, the freezer will finally be indoors!

Oh, and you are right. That problem is not a landlord problem. Good luck!

 

[Diggin It]

Tell him to read the owner's manual of the failed unit regarding extension cords and environmental conditions for use.

 

[etpm]

Fridge compressors are pretty bullet proof. What will kill them though is low voltage. This is because when the induction motor inside the compressor housing experiences low voltage it will slow down. Then, because of the physics of the way the motor works it will draw more current to attempt to speed up. More current means more heat. The extra heat then cooks the windings in the motor. Undersized conductors, like in a zip cord, will cause a voltage drop. This drop only occurs under load. So just testing voltage is not good enough. It must be tested under load. This means the fridge must be running, you must be able to hear the compressor working, when testing the voltage. I think the Kill-A-Watt meters will show the voltage and current while the fridge is running. They're about 20 bucks. Plug it into the undersized extension cord and plug the fridge into the meter. It should then show both the voltage drop and the excessive current draw.
Eric

 

[Have tractor did travel]

Ultrarunner - A lawyer should never ask a question for which he does not already know the answer. Digginit and Buckeye farmer both have good suggestions - follow them but do so without the tenant knowing what you're investigating.
My understanding is that heavy watt using appliances with compressors, are to be limited to one on a 15amp circuit - and if using an extension cord, then the cord needs to be of appropriate gauge. Gather your facts. Find documentation on Google, and overwhelm him with your facts and presentation.
All that said, a tenant from 2012 is valuable. I'd prove him to be in the wrong, and then in the interest of the relationship, pay for half of a replacement freezer. Don't be niggardly with your contribution. You may be repaid 100 times over.

 

[ultrarunner]

Never thought of testing the extension cord...

I have a Kill A Watt that had never been out of the package.

It's a small home with circuit breakers and the sole patio outlet is in conduit with GFCI...

Don't know what other loads may be on circuit... have not mapped.

The outlet is for convenience... previous owner used for radio and garden tools such as hedge trimmer.

 

[4570Man]

How much load did your test apply while you were measuring voltage?