Remote Control Plug for Fridge Freezer

Rusty190

Good idea or bad?
Looking for advice please.
New, built in fridge freezer being delivered next week.
It plugs in at the back of the unit so, once the fridge freezer is in place and switched on, it is impossible to turn it off without taking the whole thing out again requiring the help of several burly gents.
Turning off occasionally, for cleaning purposes, would be helpful.
I wondered if a remote control plug in thingy would be OK to use in this situation or, are they best avoided?
 

ThisIsWeird

Sounds like a darned fine idea to me, used as you suggest.

Do you have anything else 'Smart' in your house - heating, lighting? If so, good chance they'll have compatible plugs too.

Section62

Rusty190 said:

Good idea or bad?
Looking for advice please.
New, built in fridge freezer being delivered next week.
It plugs in at the back of the unit so, once the fridge freezer is in place and switched on, it is impossible to turn it off without taking the whole thing out again requiring the help of several burly gents.
Turning off occasionally, for cleaning purposes, would be helpful.
I wondered if a remote control plug in thingy would be OK to use in this situation or, are they best avoided?
 

If it is permanantly installed you should really consider having it hardwired with a double-pole switch in a convenient place, or failing that, have a socket installed in an adjacent unit (if possible) so the plug can be accessed that way.

I would avoid using a remote control plug/socket because -

a) If it goes wrong and you don't notice you could end up with a freezer load of thawed out food.

b) If it goes really wrong you could have a lump of melty/smoky plastic and electronics in a place you can't access; or

c) If you are lucky and it hasn't burnt your kitchen down then you'll still need the burly gents to remove the fridge/freezer so the faulty plug can be replaced.

GDB2222

These plugs work off the home Wi-Fi and you will have to reprogram your plug if you change your Wi-Fi password or your router. You may need access to the plug to do that.  The other thing is that they can break. We had a Sonoff switch that broke. If yours breaks in the off position then all your food could go bad. 

Why do you need to turn the freezer off at the mains for cleaning purposes, anyway ? Doesn’t it have an off switch inside? 

GDB2222

We have our fridge and freezer plugged into a socket in the cupboard beside them. Which is Section's solution. 

Even that is not 100% safe, as we have managed to turn the fridge off by over-zealously pushing the breakfast oats into the cupboard!  

Section62

GDB2222 said:

We have our fridge and freezer plugged into a socket in the cupboard beside them. Which is Section's solution. 

Even that is not 100% safe, as we have managed to turn the fridge off by over-zealously pushing the breakfast oats into the cupboard!  

Some form of karma for excessive healthy eating?

If there was a risk of the socket being switched off by accident I'd probably use an unswitched socket... but not something I'd necessarily recommend on a public forum.

casper_gutman

GDB2222 said:

These plugs work off the home Wi-Fi and you will have to reprogram your plug if you change your Wi-Fi password or your router. You may need access to the plug to do that.  The other thing is that they can break. We had a Sonoff switch that broke. If yours breaks in the off position then all your food could go bad. 

Why do you need to turn the freezer off at the mains for cleaning purposes, anyway ? Doesn’t it have an off switch inside? 

My tip: if you get a new Wi-Fi router, change the SSID and password on the new router to match the old one. It's much quicker and easier than trying to remember how to reprogramme every wifi enabled smart device in the house.

I wouldn't use a smart plug behind a freezer though, for the reasons everyone else has suggested. They do occasionally go wrong. Even if it's just a glitch and they need reconnecting to the network, you'll almost certainly need to physically access the plug to push a button on it.

twopenny

I have a socket for the fridge and freezer which is wired into a switch mounted into the tiles behind the worktops - so no visible wires but a 'master switch' with a light.

So dead easy to turn on and off and see that it is on.

It's a small bank of illuminated switches for fridge, freezer, cooker hood and washing machine.

Works brilliantly for me. No fuss or bother and easily accessible and can see if the leccy has gone off.

400ixl

Bad idea, purely from the fire point of view. They can catch fire (far more likely than just a plug) and if you can't get to it, then it could be catastrophic.

Having a fused switch in line before the socket that you can easily reach would be the correct solution for what you want to achieve.

born_again

Cheapskate option. Good quality extension lead, so plug can be placed on top out of the way.
But maybe not the best idea. 🤷‍♀️

How about placing it on some of the easy move rollers?

grumpy_codger

Section62 said:

Rusty190 said:

Good idea or bad?
Looking for advice please.
New, built in fridge freezer being delivered next week.
It plugs in at the back of the unit so, once the fridge freezer is in place and switched on, it is impossible to turn it off without taking the whole thing out again requiring the help of several burly gents.
Turning off occasionally, for cleaning purposes, would be helpful.
I wondered if a remote control plug in thingy would be OK to use in this situation or, are they best avoided?
 

If it is permanantly installed you should really consider having it hardwired with a double-pole switch in a convenient place, or failing that, have a socket installed in an adjacent unit (if possible) so the plug can be accessed that way.

I agree, but in this case it makes sense to connect it to the same socket as the fridge - that has to have an accessible switch anyway and, most likely, does have.Not sure if it's double-pole.