Anyone know why?

[Onthesauk]

I've got an uninsulated steel pole barn at the bottom of my hill next to the garden.  Have a small shelf fridge so I don't have to walk all the way up the hill for cold water or a soda.  Our temperature has been below freezing for about 5 days now, down around 12° every night, and yet nothing in the fridge freezes, not even ice forming in the bottled water.  Woke up in the middle of the night wondering why.

[beenthere]

The space in the shed isn't below freezing ?

And I suspect the fridge insulates the contents from getting as low as the shed gets, which in turn doesn't get as low as the nightime low temp.  The ground under the shed floor isn't frozen and heat is drawn from that. Just a few ideas.

[Onthesauk]

Probably true about the floor holding some heat.  Pretty wet down there this time of the year and probably moving water not that far down. 

[Furby]

Put a bottle of water next to the fridge, a foor or two away.
Bet you get some ice.

[Polly]

 8) could it have something to do with the air i buried a bottle of pop in snow one time to get it cold what do you think happened ??? ???

[Furby]

Snow is an insulator, same as insulation in your walls and a fridge. ;)

[mike_van]

Is it a frost free fridge? If so, it's got little heaters in it to keep the frost out - You could unplug it, put the soda's etc. in a cooler on the floor till spring and save yourself a few kilowatt hours too - 

[Coon]

The temps is always about 10 degrees warmer inside a building whether it is heated or not.  I have a thermometer outside the garage and one inside.  They vary from about 8-11 degrees different when I don't have the heat on.  The garage is uninsulated too.

[Onthesauk]

I wondered about the frost-free feature too but not sure they can afford to put that in a $60 fridge.

I worked at one time for a company that ran reefer trailers piggyback across the highline.  I know during the winter they pumped heat instead of cold to keep the stuff inside from getting too cold.

[footer]

Most small fridges are not frost free.  My fridge and house doesnt use snow as insulation ;D

[jon12345]

If it gets cold enough for long enough that the cold can penetrate the insulation then the stuff would freeze, otherwise I'd guess that the refrigerant is just maintained at the temperature the fridge is set for, which wouldn't let it get any colder. 

[rebocardo]

I think it has to do more with how the heat exhanger works in a freezer and the freon is turning to a liquid and sinking. Sort of like turning a freezer on its side and feeling how hot the back can get with the liquid running the wrong way.