If you're like most people, you are probably unsure of how to correctly set the temperature controls in your refrigerator.

There are usually two controls inside the refrigerator section-one for the fresh food section and one for the freezer section. In order to set these controls to the correct settings for your household, you need to understand how your refrigerator actually works.

The most important thing you need to know is that all the cold air in the entire refrigerator is made in the freezer compartment. Cold air is then blown from the freezer compartment into the fresh food section. The control setting for the freezer regulates an air baffle that opens or closes to let more or less air into the refrigeration section. The setting for the refrigerator section is a thermostat that measures the temperature in the refrigerator compartment and turns the compressor on and off to keep the temperature constant.

Suppose you find the ice cream in your freezer is too soft. You decide to adjust the freezer control to lower the freezer temperature. To the lower the freezer temperature, more cold air needs to be kept in the freezer compartment, thereby sending less cold air to the fresh food compartment. So the freezer will get colder, but the refrigerator will tend to get warmer, signaling the thermostat to run the compressor longer to maintain the fresh food setting.

So how do you set the controls to maintain the proper temperature in both sections? First you need to know the actual temperature in both sections. Put a thermometer in the freezer section. Place a bowl of water on a shelf near the middle of the refrigerator section. Wait at least 24 hours and check the temperature of the the freezer compartment and use a thermometer to check the temperature of the water in the bowl you placed in the fresh food section. Adjust the controls to have the freezer temperature be -10 to +10ºF, and the temperature in the refrigerator to be between 36 and 38ºF. (Because it takes a full 24 hours for the temperature to regulate, wait a full day before rechecking the temperatures).

Having the temperature controls set correctly will also save on your utility bills since the compressor will not be running longer than necessary to keep your food cold.

top