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?

 

[dlctcg]

Prior I have been in the rental / maintenance / repair world... So what does your lease / agreement state? That is your first line of defense prior to doing all this proving it is not your liability. If your lease agreement is written correctly you have nothing to prove... I would check that first.

 

[ultrarunner]

I use a hand held SureTest current/voltage tester made by Polytronics.

Current test pass is less than 5% loaded voltage drop at 15 amp load.

Voltage pass is 120 volt +/- 10%

I used it to find spliced and taped Romex and loose solder in old knob and tube...

 

[ultrarunner]

Prior I have been in the rental / maintenance / repair world... So what does your lease / agreement state? That is your first line of defense prior to doing all this proving it is not your liability. If your lease agreement is written correctly you have nothing to prove... I would check that first.

Defective wiring is a habitability issue in my city...

 

[dlctcg]

Defective wiring is a habitability issue in my city...

I can understand that... I live in New England (very old wiring grid)... but what does your lease / agreement state you are liable for? If it was written correctly it will not include tenant electronics / appliances unless they "the tenant" can prove fault.

 

[ljjhouser]

If you are kind to him and replace the unit, be prepared to do that with ANYTHING he wishes to complain about. If there are not burn marks on the outlet or did not find a significant voltage drop (which would in turn increase the current draw on the unit), I do not see how you could be responsible. Seems to me you are in the rental business, not home warrantee business. Might suggest he purchase a home warrantee to cover any of his appliances. But, of course, good luck with that.

Another thought, if you do choose to replace the unit. either remove the outlet or put a faceplate on it making it unusable so he cannot do it again out there. There are other things that can be a problem - such as close lightning strikes. Those effects are unpredictable outcomes, sometimes simple.

 

[4570Man]

I wouldn’t give the guy a cent. Freezers aren’t made for outdoor use, they aren’t made to use on an undersized cord and they’re probably not supposed to share an outlet.

 

[ultrarunner]

I can understand that... I live in New England (very old wiring grid)... but what does your lease / agreement state you are liable for? If it was written correctly it will not include tenant electronics / appliances unless they "the tenant" can prove fault.

If you are kind to him and replace the unit, be prepared to do that with ANYTHING he wishes to complain about. If there are not burn marks on the outlet or did not find a significant voltage drop (which would in turn increase the current draw on the unit), I do not see how you could be responsible. Seems to me you are in the rental business, not home warrantee business. Might suggest he purchase a home warrantee to cover any of his appliances. But, of course, good luck with that.

Another thought, if you do choose to replace the unit. either remove the outlet or put a faceplate on it making it unusable so he cannot do it again out there. There are other things that can be a problem - such as close lightning strikes. Those effects are unpredictable outcomes, sometimes simple.

There is a language barrier... the wife speaks no English and husband broken English.

I've made 3 visits with most recent last Saturday... The first I pointed out the extension cord with adaptor... Saturday I did the load test...

Today a co worker of mine said I'm the manager of the house her friends rent and then went on and mentioned the house Eats refrigerators... Ugh

It's what prompted my post...

Of course their refrigerator in the kitchen continues to be trouble free and it's a 25 cubic feet they brought from the home they lost in Foreclosure.

Only issue are the ones outside on sharing extension cord.

 

[jyoutz]

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.

Depends on the extension cord. I have a refrigerator in the garage on a heavy extension cord that I made from romex wire with 12 gauge plug ends.

 

[ljjhouser]

This application of using an extension cord can really be a problem. Many people fail to understand the difference between using an extension made from parallel zip cord (lamp cord - the cheap $6 cord) and the importance of using a good cord with a current rating which is within the rating of the freezer. Kinda like throwing a alligator in the fish bowl.

 

[jaxs]

Form decades of experience in building maintenance,I'd say this is likly not attributable to defective electrical system in home. If not the extension cord or eccess load on circuit/outlet,possibly exposure to the elements and moisture induced corrosion somewhere like relay,defrost control,condenser blower,connector or other things. Do we know for certain compressors failed or could one of the above issues prevented operation? I've examined countless appliances that servicemen pronounced dead when the problem was actually quite minor.