Freezer reads 2 degrees F

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Simple question from Stymied Sue. Our fridge wasn’t working when we arrived in sunny Florida. Repairman was here for 2 hours, and we thought it was okay. We bought a thermometer, stuck it in the freezer....reads 2 degrees, but the ice cream is still quite soft after 2 days. We are both puzzled. How can this be? Thanks for your expertise in advance. 😎

[Macavity]

No expertise here, but could the thermometer really be reading celsius? Just looked it up, and that would mean 35-36 Fahrenheit.

Maybe you have another thermometer to cross-check with?

Mac

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Originally Posted by Macavity

No expertise here, but could the thermometer really be reading celsius? Just looked it up, and that would mean 35-36 Fahrenheit.

Maybe you have another thermometer to cross-check with?

Mac

Good thought, but no...it’s reading Fahrenheit. If it was closer to 32, the soft ice cream would be understandable. Hmmmmm.

[8gv]

The thermometer may or may not be accurate.

Taking the temperature of the air is not as accurate as taking the temperature of the actual frozen food items.

If you have a needle like probe I suggest sticking it in the ice cream after a day or so in the freezer.

Soft ice cream backs up a temperature measurement above 0° F.

How much above 0° I do not know but my measure of a properly functioning freezer is hard ice cream.

Can you turn the thermostat down so more?





BTW...

My wife has been getting worried about our 22 year old FL refrigerator failing and wishes to replace it.

A new one would expose us to two concerns:

1) Possibly more stupid technology that we don't want or need.

2) "Infant mortality" i.e. some appliances fail early in their lives.

I hope our old one runs until I no longer do so.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by 8gv

The thermometer may or may not be accurate. Taking the temperature of the air is not as accurate as taking the temperature of the actual frozen food items. If you have a needle like probe I suggest sticking it in the ice cream after a day or so in the freezer. Soft ice cream backs up a temperature measurement above 0° F. How much above 0° I do not know but my measure of a properly functioning freezer is hard ice cream. Can you turn the thermostat down so more?

BTW...

My wife has been getting worried about our 22 year old FL refrigerator failing and wishes to replace it.

A new one would expose us to two concerns:

1) Possibly more stupid technology that we don't want or need.

2) "Infant mortality" i.e. some appliances fail early in their lives.

I hope our old one runs until I no longer do so.

I have the same concerns; like hearing, "We have to replace the motherboard?"

"Low-Tech" is still available. Consider "stacking" one small refrigerator over one small freezer.

[SAB1]

When I bought my last refrigerator several people I spoke with said 8 -9 years life expectancy on a new fridge.

[tis]

I had three new refrigerators a few years back before one worked. I bought a thermometer for refrigerators but don't ask me what the difference is. I dread when I need a new one. I am almost thinking of going back to side by side, I think they have less issues.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Thanks for your comments. I detest today’s technology in appliances! We had a fridge that we bought in the early 60’s that survived 3 moves, and was still going strong in ‘99 when we gave it to someone who had no fridge. This thing is 3 years old and it appears that we can go to the poorhouse fixing it.....or buy a new one.
🤨

[tis]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

Thanks for your comments. I detest today’s technology in appliances! We had a fridge that we bought in the early 60’s that survived 3 moves, and was still going strong in ‘99 when we gave it to someone who had no fridge. This thing is 3 years old and it appears that we can go to the poorhouse fixing it.....or buy a new one.
🤨

I agree. My daughter says it's because they are being made by 12 year olds in China.

[8gv]

What if the refrigerator gets into an argument with the dishwasher and they both decide to shut down?

Or what if my "smart" thermostat decides to self identify as the stove and decides my house needs to pre heat to 350°?

It's bad enough that my robot dog keeps trying to get it on with the vacuum drone.

[tis]

Originally Posted by 8gv

What if the refrigerator gets into an argument with the dishwasher and they both decide to shut down?

Or what if my "smart" thermostat decides to self identify as the stove and decides my house needs to pre heat to 350°?

It's bad enough that my robot dog keeps trying to get it on with the vacuum drone.

Who KNOWS where we are going? I think you might be right!!

[jbolty]

just fyi

ice cream melts well below 32 because of the sugar, which is why packing it with ice makes it melt faster. for most flavors and styles the cone dipping cabinets are set to +2

[swnoel]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

Simple question from Stymied Sue. Our fridge wasn’t working when we arrived in sunny Florida. Repairman was here for 2 hours, and we thought it was okay. We bought a thermometer, stuck it in the freezer....reads 2 degrees, but the ice cream is still quite soft after 2 days. We are both puzzled. How can this be? Thanks for your expertise in advance. 😎

Can I assume he clean the dust bunnies from the condenser and intake?

[MeredithMan]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

Thanks for your comments. I detest today’s technology in appliances! We had a fridge that we bought in the early 60’s that survived 3 moves, and was still going strong in ‘99 when we gave it to someone who had no fridge. This thing is 3 years old and it appears that we can go to the poorhouse fixing it.....or buy a new one.
🤨

Sue:

Is it an LG fridge? They are notorious for failing in the first few years. When we bought our house in MA in 2015, the previous owners had just bought a new LG fridge. In 2018, we noticed, (similar to you), that the ice cream and other things in the freezer were soft. Then, it started making this grinding noise. The previous owners had bought it at Home Depot, and they were of no help, so I contacted a family friend in the appliance business who said that he didn't sell or service LG because they don't last. He referred me to an independent appliance repair guy. He came out to look at it and said that LG went to a sealed compressor on their fridges and they are notorious for failing. Because it's a sealed unit, it has to be swapped out with a new one, not repaired. Long story short, it would have cost about a grand to fix the LG, (with a refurbed compressor, not a new one), so we bit the bullet and bought a whole new fridge for 2 grand, (GE Profile). The LG was only 4 yrs old and was sent to the scrap heap.

The independent repair guy told me that Samsungs aren't far behind. But, the LGs and Samsungs are very popular, because they have lots of shiny lights and gizmos at an attractive price point, so the average homeowner buys them at Home Depot and Lowes, but then has to replace them a few years later when they conk out.

[MotorHead]

I do not believe an household freezer cooling to 2 F is normal.

[DickR]

The matter of a fridge cooling some but not enough has come up before on this forum. What can happen (not necessarily has in this case) is that something massive is pressing up against the cover over the evaporator coil in the freezer. This can interfere with the automatic defrost cycle that is entered every so many hours. That massive roast beef or whatever absorbs a lot of the heat from the defrost heater, keeping it from melting all the accumulated frost on the coil. After so many cycles, so much ice has accumulated on the coil that the air can't flow over it very well, cutting its cooling capacity drastically.

It usually isn't too difficult to see if this is the problem. Remove a lot of the freezer contents to coolers or blanketed boxes. Remove whatever shelving is required to get at the panel over the coil, and remove that. Visual inspection will tell you if there is relatively little frost or a massive block of ice in there. If the latter, a hair dryer can hasten the defrosting.

The above may be a long shot, and it doesn't take all that much time to check, and if a coil overwhelmed by ice is the problem, the cost to fix is zero. Then you know to keep big things from being crammed into that area of the freezer section.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by 8gv

What if the refrigerator gets into an argument with the dishwasher and they both decide to shut down?

Or what if my "smart" thermostat decides to self identify as the stove and decides my house needs to pre heat to 350°?

It's bad enough that my robot dog keeps trying to get it on with the vacuum drone.

Alexa makes a great mediator for your misbehaving "smart" household items.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

It’s a Whirlpool...very basic....top freezer....BUT....you press the on/ off gizmo for 4 seconds, then 3 flashing lights appear....and then the da## thing is supposed to settle on the correct setting....then you have to give it 24 hours to decide whether or not it’s going to work. Meanwhile, it’s not a good idea to get loaded up with perishable items, which of course we did, not suspecting we owned a dud. 🤨

[Descant]

First things first. EAT THE ICE CREAM !! Then, 2.)call the repairman to come back and finish the job.
3. While waiting for the repairman to come back, put ice cream in a blender, add 1/2-1 cup of vodka, blend an drink with those big straws that we're not supposed to be able to recycle.
4. Put the remainder of the vodka in the fridge. 35F is perfect.
5. Sign up with the appliance insurance that George Foreman sells on TV. They will repair or replace when you come back next fall.
You may have to rinse and repeat step 3 more than once.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Originally Posted by Descant

First things first. EAT THE ICE CREAM !! Then, 2.)call the repairman to come back and finish the job.
3. While waiting for the repairman to come back, put ice cream in a blender, add 1/2-1 cup of vodka, blend an drink with those big straws that we're not supposed to be able to recycle.
4. Put the remainder of the vodka in the fridge. 35F is perfect.
5. Sign up with the appliance insurance that George Foreman sells on TV. They will repair or replace when you come back next fall.
You may have to rinse and repeat step 3 more than once.

That’s just what the doctor ordered: a practical solution! We don’t normally drink alcohol, but maybe we’ll have to reconsider. Your “milkshake “ sounds delectable.
🙄

[thinkxingu]

It sounds like you accidentally pressed the "Pfizer vaccine storage mode" temp button but that your model doesn't actually have it—it's just the same panel they use in all their models because it's cheaper to manufacture...

Sent from my SM-G950U using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

[tummyman]

Tell HUBBY to get the ice cream he sneaks out for a snack back into the freezer faster ! Problem solved....just the snack ghost !