Natick · Outdoor kitchens
The refrigerator in the grill island
Before spending anything on an outdoor undercounter refrigerator that will not hold temperature in August, it is worth finding out whether it was ever an outdoor appliance. A surprising proportion of them were not.
- We work
- Outdoor refrigeration
- We do not
- Grills and burners
- First question
- Is it outdoor-rated?
Indoor and outdoor units look identical and are not
An outdoor-rated undercounter refrigerator is specified for high ambient temperatures, sealed against moisture, built with corrosion-resistant fasteners, and given a condenser and fan sized for the job. The indoor equivalent has the same stainless door, fits the same aperture, and costs meaningfully less. It is an easy substitution to make and an easy one to be sold.
It fails in a predictable way over two or three seasons: continuous running in high summer because the ambient exceeds what the controls expect, then corrosion in the electronics and the fan bearings. Fitting a new fan motor to the wrong appliance buys one more year, and that is worth knowing before it is spent.
The island itself
Where the appliance is correctly specified, the next thing to look at is the structure. A masonry or block island has to let the unit discharge its heat outward; ventilation panels shown on a drawing frequently do not survive contact with the mason, and those that do get blocked later by storage. An appliance recycling its own hot discharge air will never reach set point on the days it matters.
Checked on an outdoor call
- The plate, to establish whether the unit is outdoor-rated at all
- Ventilation clearance front and rear inside the island structure
- Condenser fins for pollen and grill grease, which fouls worse than dust
- Circuit protection and any nuisance tripping on a long run from the house
- Drain routing, and whether it has been arranged in a way that will freeze
Grills, burners, rotisseries and gas trains are outside this bench, whatever the make. Outdoor refrigeration and ice are what is offered.
Where to go from here
Outdoor kitchens elsewhere
How the work is arranged
Reviews
From undercounter work
5out of 5from 1,101 reviews
5 out of 5
The supply line had been dripping behind the cabinet long enough to swell the toe kick before anyone noticed. He renewed the line and the compression fitting, dried everything out, and was honest that the joinery damage was a job for somebody else and not for him.
Hugh L. · Newton Lower Falls
5 out of 5
The basement cabinet climbed steadily through the August humidity and simply never came back down again. Its condenser was matted with lint blowing off the laundry side of the room. He cleaned it out and moved the dryer hose well clear of the intake.
Adele F. · Sudbury
5 out of 5
Cubes came out half size and far apart. Blocked screen in the inlet valve, so the fill was short. Cleaned, three test cycles, back to normal.
Cara N. · Weston
Booking
Read us the plate on the island unit
Model and serial from the plate inside the fresh-food door, and when it started. That is usually enough for a straight answer on the phone.
Flat $95 service call · 8:00 am – 8:00 pm, seven days · line answered 24/7