Fridge/Freezer power consumption analysis

Chrysalis

I also ordered temp sensors, just not installed them yet.

My fridge has a fancy LED at the front but it only reports set temp not actual temp.

Qyburn

Just got the temperature monitor yesterday. My tablet can read it from the corridor outside the pantry, I don't need to get right up against the freezer.

First test showed only -15.5 Deg.C in the top compartment. I've moved it two drawers down and now showing -19.3. If it's similar in the morning I'll move it down to near the bottom. Then work my way back over the following days to see if it's consistently different like that. 

Chrysalis

I put one in my freezer and one in my fridge.

The fridge reports a range from 3.1C up to 4.1C

The freezer was reporting -22C (its set to to -18C) and when I had a look today it stopped working.

The freezer is definitely way colder than my older freezer was, opening a drawer can see mist type air appearing, but my old freezer might not have been working properly, will buy a different branded thermostat to see what that measures.

matelodave

Have you tried changing the battery - most batteries don't like being stored or used at very low temperatures. The alternative is to get one with a remote sensor so you dont have to freeze the unit and its batteries

Chrysalis

matelodave said:

Have you tried changing the battery - most batteries don't like being stored or used at very low temperatures. The alternative is to get one with a remote sensor so you dont have to freeze the unit and its batteries

No need on the battery, after some hours I looked at it sitting in ambient temp and its on again, looks like it cant handle my freezer temps.  New device arriving tomorrow.  This was one rated for -50C lol.

The one arriving tomorrow is the one mentioned in this thread that people are successfully using.

If the new one has same problem I will get one with a remote sensor as you suggested, thanks.

Netexporter

I've got a digital thermometer with the sensor on the end of a wire. You can take the temperature of the fridge/freezer/whatever and look at the display at the same time. It only cost a couple of quid.

Qyburn

I'm not that happy running a wire through the door seal. 

Netexporter

It's thin enough I doubt the seal even notices it.

mmmmikey

Hi, if anyone has the temperature sensors I linked to earlier, it's worth knowing that on one of mine the display goes blank because of the cold, but the Bluetooth still works and I can see both the live and historic temperatures on the smart phone app.

Chrysalis

An update I have now seen the fridge temp as low as 2.5C, so it seems either the setting is a max target temperature and it could go 1C or so below that or the cheap thermostat is not that accurate, but at least I know its not massively above the temp which is the main purpose of getting these devices, the new one to use in the freezer is coming tomorrow.