RANT - New Refrigerator Temperature Range

[RaymondR]

Rant away mate, the damned stuff is not cheap and should work properly out of the box.

[kmacdonald]

Did you beat it to submission?

[B23iL23]

No he gave it the cold shoulder.

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

Did you beat it to submission?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by B23iL23

No he gave it the cold shoulder.

a non cold shoulder

Am still watching the thing cycle. Right now the air inside the frig is 45F and the unit hasn't turned on yet. It is on a setting of 6 of 7 and that doesn't appear to change the on temperature, just the off. Does appear that the most efficient air temp in the box is 42-43 as the heat transfer rate out of the box noticeably slows down right then.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

THIS IS A RANT NOT A PROBLEM TO FORUM FIX AS I KNOW HOW TO FIX IT.

I just finished installing a new refrigeration unit unit so I could split out my old spillover over system. The recommendation for temperature in a refrigerator to be food safe is to be below 40 degree F (4.5C). So how come the freaking brand new Isotherm unit comes with a thermostat that doesn't come on till 45F (10C)!!!! . What the heck point is it to cool the food down to 36F and then just let it get back up to 45!!!!

SCREW THE FOOD - the whole point is to keep the beer cold Who wants 45 degree beer when they could have 36 degree beer? Not me (I feel your pain) You know, if you keep fridges and freezers close to full they operate more efficiently, which to me is all the more reason to carry extra beer (is extra beer really a thing?)

[Brewgyver]

As mentioned above, the thermostat is sensing air temp inside the cabinet. The air temp will generally climb MUCH faster than the contents. More than likely, there is nothing to fix, it's working properly.

Since you are so concerned, to a proper test to relieve your anxiety.

1. Get an electronic thermometer that tracks both High and Low readings.
Most will reset High and Low with each power cycle, many pocket size instruments have this capability. Place it with the probe immersed in a water bottle, and put it in the fridge, leave it in there for 24 hours (or as close to that as your anxiety level will allow), and then check the High and Low readings. IF your cabinet (fridge box, well, whatever) is well insulated and has a good door seal, I'd bet there's not more than a 2-3 degree split.

If you really want to get anal about it, here's a Temperature logger for less than $20. You can leave it in the fridge for a month, pull it out and plug it into your laptop.

[Brewgyver]

Originally Posted by joelhemington

SCREW THE FOOD - the whole point is to keep the beer cold Who wants 45 degree beer when they could have 36 degree beer? Not me (I feel your pain) You know, if you keep fridges and freezers close to full they operate more efficiently, which to me is all the more reason to carry extra beer (is extra beer really a thing?)

Personally, most of the beers I drink are never kept that cold. But to each his own. And the last point is true, the words "extra" and "beer" rarely belong in the same sentence, and certainly not next to each other.

[sailorboy1]

well it with off at 36 and didn't come back on till 48

that to me is unacceptable and that mechanical thermostat is going to be history

I the meantime I had to turn the spillover system back on

[kmacdonald]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

well it with off at 36 and didn't come back on till 48

that to me is unacceptable and that mechanical thermostat is going to be history

I the meantime I had to turn the spillover system back on

You need a thermostat on the spillover fan. Is setting 1 the coldest or warmest?

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Brewgyver

Personally, most of the beers I drink are never kept that cold. But to each his own. And the last point is true, the words "extra" and "beer" rarely belong in the same sentence, and certainly not next to each other.

Seems to be a moot point as the boat always drinks most of my beer

[Chili Palmer]

I'm not sure about your particular fridge but I just picked up a fridge/freezer for my Jeep and there are settings that allow you fine tune the temp variation - i.e. I can set it for 37 and tell it to only vary by 2+/- degrees before it comes on if I'm not worried about energy or it can vary by 6+/- (or 8, can't remember) if I'm low on energy. This is done to limit energy use.

Is it possible your unit has these settings?

[kmacdonald]

I'm guessing you have the frig thermostat instead of the freezer thermostat. If it's a spillover system you need the freezer thermostat. What's the isotherm model number?

[jeff356]

Could the mounting location of the thermometer matter on when it is coming on? Lower would be colder, so if higher would come on sooner...

[kmacdonald]

Tell us a little about the insulation and size of the frig/freezer. We may need to rip out the boxes and start over.

[Brewgyver]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

a non cold shoulder

Am still watching the thing cycle. Right now the air inside the frig is 45F and the unit hasn't turned on yet. It is on a setting of 6 of 7 and that doesn't appear to change the on temperature, just the off. Does appear that the most efficient air temp in the box is 42-43 as the heat transfer rate out of the box noticeably slows down right then.

Post a pic of the thermostat? Sounds to me like you might be adjusting the differential. If it's a cutout controller, increasing the differential will result in the fridge getting that much warmer before the unit cycles on.