A fridge is an essential gadget to store foods and keep them safe and fresh for many days. As you have to invest massive bucks in owning a refrigerator, it’s not uncommon to be concerned about its use.
A large number of people wanted to know; How long does it take a fridge to get cold?
According to the FDA, an average refrigerator needs more or less 12 hours to get cold. And when the refrigerator reaches 40° F, you can keep food. But, it’s not the fixed time and temperature to get a fridge cold. The time may vary from 2-24 hours based on its brand, size, and weather.
There is a lot to know about refrigerator cooling time. In our article, we will discuss everything in detail on this point. So, keep reading.
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How Long Does It Take A Refrigerator To Get Cold?
Above we have told you that the time ranges are 2-24 hours. So it isn’t easy to identify the exact cooling time of a refrigerator unless you know some factors. Let’s see some factors that you must consider to determine the refrigerator cooling time.
Brands and Models
In the market, you will find different brands and different fridge models.The time ranges will differ according to that.
1. Some significant Refrigerator Brands are
- Frigidaire
- Kenmore
- GE Profile
- Smad
- KoolMore
- Whynter
- Antarctic Star
- Samsung
- RCA etc.
Besides brand, the fridge models will also affect the cooling time. Here are some most common refrigerator models are
- Mini Fridges Refrigerators
- Top-Freezer Refrigerators
- Bottom Freezer Refrigerators
- Side-by-Side Refrigerators
- French Door Refrigerators
2. Size
It is another crucial factor. There are also different sizes of refrigerators. Some refrigerators are mini-sized, some are medium, and some are larger sized.
When a mini-refrigerator needs 2-4 hours to cool, a middle size takes 12 hours. But, a large and spacious fridge can keep you waiting 24 hours to get cold.
3. Room temperature
The room temperature or weather conditions can affect refrigerator cooling time. If it is summer and the room is hotter, the fridge needs a longer time to get cold. Because first, the refrigerator has to cope up with the outside temperature and then become cold.
In this case, you should turn on the room’s air-conditioning unit or run some fans to get out the room’s hot air.
But if it is winter, the room temperature is automatically low. So the fridge needs less time to get cold.
4. Fridge Keeping position
You may wonder by reading this that the fridge standing position is also essential to increase or decrease the fridge cooling time.
If the fridge is standing by touching the wall, it doesn’t get enough space to pass out its hot air. So the heat will come back to the fridge and enhance its temperature.
But, if the fridge stands far from the wall, it will get a little space to pass the hot air. So it boosts up the cooling time.
5. New Refrigerator Vs. old Refrigerator
A new fridge will take less time to get cold than an old one because the new refrigerator coil is unique, strong, and clean, which works effectively.
On the other hand, the old refrigerator’s coil is old, lost its efficiency, and becomes dirty with years of grime and grease. So it takes more time to get the refrigerator cold.
6. Empty Vs. full
When you connect power to your new refrigerator to get it cold, ensure the refrigerator is empty. If the refrigerator is empty, it takes less time to get cold.
But in a fridge which is full of food and beverages, it needs more time to get cold. Because when the refrigerator is stuck with foods, they take some more time to be cold.
How Long Does A New Fridge Take To Cool?
It’s always a pleasure to buy a new fridge, and you have to wait a few hours to bring it to its full functionality before storing food.
A new fridge may take an average 12 hours to get cold. But, the time varies based on brand, model, size, and other factors. It may require 2-24 hours from mini fridge to large fridge.
A simple tip, never load the fridge with food before it is ready to use. Otherwise, the food may rotten instead of remaining fresh because of malfunctionality.
We suggest you not purchase too much food before the refrigerator gets cold and ready to use. This is how you can reduce food rot or wastage.
Why Is My New Fridge Not Getting Cold?
There are some reasons why your new fridge may not get cold. You can avoid the issue by following some simple tips. Let’s see what the tips are.
1. Ensure right refrigerator position and adequate airflow
Keep the Refrigerator at least 5-10″ away from the wall to ensure adequate airflow. The refrigerator’s coils are placed on its backside and produce hot air when it runs. The space will help release the hot air that boosts the cooling time.
2. Consider room temperature
It is not recommended to keep the refrigerator in the kitchen, garage, or any place where the sun heats directly. Most of the time, the kitchen and garage remain hot because of cooking. So if you keep the refrigerator in that space, it takes longer to get the fridge cold.
3. Properly power connection
If you plug in the power cord in a defective power outlet, or if the plug is loose, the refrigerator will not get cold. Here you have to keep in mind one thing, always use a dedicated outlet for the refrigerator with a stable voltage.
Because the refrigerator will not get enough power or voltage if you use the power board for multiple connections.
4. Don’t frequently open the door
It’s not wise to frequently open the door to check whether the refrigerator gets cold or not. Once you open the fridge’s door, the hot air will get inside. As a result, the inside temperature will increase because of the hot air. So don’t open the door unnecessarily.
5. Keep an ice bag in the Refrigerator
If you want to get your fridge quickly cold, you can keep an ice bag or an ice block in the refrigerator. The ice will help to lessen the inside temperature to boost cooling time. But, when you follow this tip, you have to periodically check whether the ice starts melting or not.
How Often Do Refrigerators Run?
The heart of the fridge “compressor” runs roughly 90% of its entire system if the refrigerator is new. If you count the time in hours, that will be 4-8 hours. And the compressor will work in cycles.
After plugging in the tefrigerator’s power cord, the compressor will run for 4-8 hours at a stretch. After that it turns off automatically. This cycling time takes a lot of energy to keep the freezer cold. After running this time it takes rest and saves energy.
But, the calculation is not as simple as it is! If the weather is hot, the fridge is full of food, the air vents of the refrigerator are blocked, and the door is frequently opened, then the running time will increase.
How Long Does It Take For A Fridge To Get Cold After A Power Outage?
If the power is cut off, we suggest you not open the door as it will quickly make the inside warm. But the time will vary depending on how many hours your fridge is out of power.
If you keep the door closed, most fridges will remain 4 hours cold without power. But, a full-size freezer will keep your food fresh for approximately 2 days. And if the fridge is full of food, it will get cold for 1 day.
If the power cut happens for 4 hours, the fridge takes 1 hour to get cold again. But, if the power cut happens for 7-8 hours, it will take 3-4 hours to get cold.
Here, you should check the power voltage before restoring power. If the fridge is stuck with food, you can release some food from the refrigerator to speed up the cooling system.
Conclusion
We hope now you know the time range and the factors on How long does it take a fridge to get cold? So you can efficiently set your new fridge to get it cold faster.
We will suggest checking the installation guide of your refrigerator to specify the cooling hours and don’t load the fridge before it reaches 40°c.
Article Source:
- https://hiroasiankitchen.com/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-refrigerator-to-get-cold/
- https://smartkitchenimprovement.com/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-refrigerator-to-get-cold/
- https://millennialhomeowner.com/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-new-refrigerator-to-get-cold/
- https://millennialhomeowner.com/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-new-refrigerator-to-get-cold/
