How to control fridge temperature?

cashferret · 26 April 2018 at 10:21AM

Just caught a bit of that consumer programme with Angela Rippon on TV this morning, where they were saying that your fridge should be at 5 degrees or below so as not to allow listeria etc. to go nuts.

I have a cheap thermometer in my fridge and it says 10 degrees! So I've just turned the power up. But the other day, food was literally freezing in the veg tray at the bottom. I had the thermostat replaced only a few months ago.

But assuming this isn't a thermostat (or thermometer) issue, how is anybody supposed to keep their fridge at the right temperature? The fridge itself isn't controlling its temperature via a thermostat, presumably - there's no 'temperature control'. There's just a power knob you can turn up or down.

So when it's warmer weather, do you need to turn the fridge up?

It seems crazy that they're not thermostatically controlled to be 4 degrees all the time.

What am I missing? What should I be doing?

TadleyBaggie · 26 April 2018 at 10:26AM

Buying a better fridge? Mine (Bosch) allows the fridge and freezer temperatures to be independently set and displayed. My fridge is set to 4 degrees.

shortcrust · 26 April 2018 at 10:55AM

I turn mine up a bit in summer and down a bit in winter and don't worry too much as long as my milk stays fresh. Often the sign to turn it up in warmer weather is when my wine isn't cold enough.

cashferret · 26 April 2018 at 11:07AM

Is there anyway to convert my normal fridge to one that's temperature-controlled? By buying some sort of add-on gadget?

Just googled a bit on this but I don't really understand what I'm looking at and the thermostats involved seem to involve people drilling holes in old freezers and whatnot to make beer (?).

There's so much day-to-day variation in temperature in the UK (including day/night) that it seems really hit-and-miss just to whack the power knob up or down.

bigisi · 26 April 2018 at 1:00PM

Have you ever been ill from catching something from items in your fridge?

If not why are you even bothered?

notbritishgas · 26 April 2018 at 1:05PM

OP
I would say your fridge is thermostically controlled.

The knob you refer to as the power knob is in fact the thermostat.
Quite often the markings are 1-5 not temperature.

coffeehound · 26 April 2018 at 1:08PM

Your existing thermostat should be okay it's just that they are very sensitive. Try making little changes and then seeing what happens to your thermometer about 6 hours later.

You can add an electronic thermostat with sensor but that's overkill for a domestic fridge.

cashferret · 26 April 2018 at 2:21PM

notbritishgas wrote: »

OP
I would say your fridge is thermostically controlled.

The knob you refer to as the power knob is in fact the thermostat.
Quite often the markings are 1-5 not temperature.

That's a bit baffling. There seems to be general agreement online that for food safety, a fridge should have a temperature below 5 degrees (and above 0, obviously). So why not not have it factory-set to remain in that range? Why even allow anyone to adjust it?

And if that knob is the thermostat, why not mark it with temperatures?

All very puzzling.

And according to this blog:

https://www.ovencleanteam.co.uk/blog/on-fridge-what-setting-is-coldest-mystery/

"If you’re always storing plenty of food you need the colder settings (3 to 4). If you’re not storing as much choose between 2 and 3."

So if it's a thermostat, how can that be?

macman · 26 April 2018 at 5:33PM

Believe me, it's a thermostat-as fitted to fridges since about 1950...
There is no 'power switch'-a fridge is either on or off.
They are variable because the temp can vary according to the load in the fridge, and because the 'stat can only measure the temp at one point.

EssexExile · 26 April 2018 at 5:34PM

Everyone uses their fridge differently, one size does not fit all. Is it full or half empty? Is it opened often or rarely? Is it somewhere hot or cold?
Just set it it as cold as you can without freezing anything, that will be good enough.
If you want to know the temperature in your fridge put a thermometer in a glass of water in the fridge, leave it there a few hours then take the glass with thermometer still in it & take a reading. Remember the temperature will vary, colder at the bottom & back, warmer at the top & front.
Your handbook should give you guidance.

stator · 26 April 2018 at 6:03PM

A lot of cheap fridges don't have a proper thermostat.

If you do a weekly shop and load up the freezer, the compressor will work in over time for a while and the fridge will get too cold, because there isn't a proper thermostat in the fridge. The thermostat is in the freezer and the fridge just gets a byproduct of the 'coldness' from the freezer.
Best thing to do is to check the temperature in the fridge after you've loaded up the freezer, and leave the door open if it gets too cold.

How to control fridge temperature?

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