What is the Acceptable Temperature Range of a Refrigerator
November 13, 2020 7:46 AM Subscribe
Our refrigerator, set at 33 F, varies between 35 F and 40 F. Our freezer, set at 0 F, fluctuates between -4 F and 8 F. Are these normal fluctuations, or is our refrigerator broken? (Whole story below the fold, but ultimately this is the question.)
Our fairly new refrigerator broke Memorial Day Friday. We have a home warranty, so it got repaired shortly thereafter. We went back to using it regularly.
Labor day week, it broke again. It took longer, but it has since been repaired. Now, we are extremely nervous putting meat and dairy into the refrigerator and freezer, since both times in the past we lost too much food to spoilage.
We now have a temperature alarm in the (mostly empty) refrigerator and freezer, and the alarm goes off if it gets too hot or cold. That has happened a couple of times, but just to the edge of the temperature range, and then it goes back to the normal range.
Previously, we never paid much attention to the temperature in the fridge/freezer, but now that we have a way to monitor the temperature, the temperature varies -- more than we would like. And we cannot tell whether these variations are an indicator that the refrigerator is still broken, or if they are normal (and we just don't pay attention to these things, but for these circumstances).
So, is this normal fluctuation, or should we complain that the refrigerator is no longer working, so they should come fix/replace it?
Our fairly new refrigerator broke Memorial Day Friday. We have a home warranty, so it got repaired shortly thereafter. We went back to using it regularly.
Labor day week, it broke again. It took longer, but it has since been repaired. Now, we are extremely nervous putting meat and dairy into the refrigerator and freezer, since both times in the past we lost too much food to spoilage.
We now have a temperature alarm in the (mostly empty) refrigerator and freezer, and the alarm goes off if it gets too hot or cold. That has happened a couple of times, but just to the edge of the temperature range, and then it goes back to the normal range.
Previously, we never paid much attention to the temperature in the fridge/freezer, but now that we have a way to monitor the temperature, the temperature varies -- more than we would like. And we cannot tell whether these variations are an indicator that the refrigerator is still broken, or if they are normal (and we just don't pay attention to these things, but for these circumstances).
So, is this normal fluctuation, or should we complain that the refrigerator is no longer working, so they should come fix/replace it?
If it helps, the American FDA says 40 degrees is OK.
We had a bad run with a dying refrigerator last year and I didn't realize it had shuffled off itsmortal condenser coil and died. So for three days food kept getting warmer and warmer. Then we bought an expensive Subzero fridge at the Habitat for Humanity store and it didn't work, and finally we just had the Habitat team bring over whatever cheap used refrigerator they had in stock when they were removing the Subzero and it has worked fine for a year now.
But now I always keep one of these cheap thermometers in there, and every time I open the door I glance at it to make sure our temps are OK. And personally, after the bad experience, I like to keep ours at 36 degrees or lower.
posted by seasparrow at 8:04 AM on November 13, 2020
We had a bad run with a dying refrigerator last year and I didn't realize it had shuffled off its
But now I always keep one of these cheap thermometers in there, and every time I open the door I glance at it to make sure our temps are OK. And personally, after the bad experience, I like to keep ours at 36 degrees or lower.
posted by seasparrow at 8:04 AM on November 13, 2020
If it is mostly empty, the temperature is going to vary more, because it is engineered with the expectation that the thermal mass of the food inside will keep the temperature more steady. Put jugs of water in both the fridge and freezer and see if things even out.
posted by rockindata at 8:05 AM on November 13, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by rockindata at 8:05 AM on November 13, 2020 [10 favorites]
You should get it checked, that seems like huge variation to me. Also be proactive, because it's not exactly easy to buy a new refrigerator right now, and the available models, if you need quick delivery, are going to be way more limited than normal.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:46 AM on November 13, 2020
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:46 AM on November 13, 2020
I've had logging temperature sensors in my (cheap and cheerful) fridge-freezer for a few years. Under normal conditions, the fridge's temperature cycles within a 2°C (4°F) range with a period of about an hour and a half, and the freezer does the same within 6°C (12°F), which sounds pretty similar to your numbers.
posted by offog at 9:11 AM on November 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by offog at 9:11 AM on November 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
Best answer: A fridge that holds temperature like you are hoping is going to be a very expensive laboratory instrument. It's like your AC, the temperature rises above a certain point, the unit kicks in for a while, gets it a degree or three below the set point, and it switches off. Lather, rinse, repeat. It would be bad for the compressor to be cycling on and off frequently enough to keep the air in a very narrow range. The air temperature doesn't matter, though. Air does not rot. It's the internal temperature of the food. Put the alarm's probe in a small thermal mass, or wrap some bubble wrap around it. That will smooth out the cycles and give you a more accurate reading of what the food is experiencing.
In my experience, it doesn't take too much tweaking to get the temperature to the point where it never goes above 40F / 5C, but doesn't freeze stuff in the back of the lowest shelf. When you adjust it, definitely give it at least a few hours, if not overnight, to settle. And yes to the jugs or clean bricks or whatever, having no bulk thermal mass is going to exacerbate the swings.
posted by wnissen at 9:58 AM on November 13, 2020
In my experience, it doesn't take too much tweaking to get the temperature to the point where it never goes above 40F / 5C, but doesn't freeze stuff in the back of the lowest shelf. When you adjust it, definitely give it at least a few hours, if not overnight, to settle. And yes to the jugs or clean bricks or whatever, having no bulk thermal mass is going to exacerbate the swings.
posted by wnissen at 9:58 AM on November 13, 2020
I find airflow to be the #1 variable on consumer-grade fridges - that meant rearranging the shelving height so nothing blocks or even comes near the cold air outlet near the top-rear of the fridge. Optimize airflow and the fridge can keep temperature in a tighter margin. Then slowly drop the fridge temp so it's in a range that pleases you. That stopped things from freezing. Your fridge design may vary.
posted by Dmenet at 10:58 AM on November 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Dmenet at 10:58 AM on November 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you all for your input. Thanks, too, for keeping us thinking straight.
We took our thermometers, and put them in our garage fridge, and the variance was similar to the main refrigerator, so we will start reusing the fridge (and keeping the thermometer alarms in there) and be wary for a while.
Thanks again, MeFi! The community always provides good advice.
posted by China Grover at 8:41 AM on November 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
We took our thermometers, and put them in our garage fridge, and the variance was similar to the main refrigerator, so we will start reusing the fridge (and keeping the thermometer alarms in there) and be wary for a while.
Thanks again, MeFi! The community always provides good advice.
posted by China Grover at 8:41 AM on November 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ourobouros at 8:02 AM on November 13, 2020 [2 favorites]