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Freezer goes from -10 to 29 degrees. It seems like its not kicking on when it should. Fridge stays around 45 degrees. Top mount, Kenmore, 7 yrs old?

Marylou
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  • confirm the read out by using manual thermometer – asinine Oct 16 '23 at 23:09
  • Are you questioning whether the Kenmore is 7 years old? That's the only question I see here. Please clarify exactly what it is that you need help with. – FreeMan Oct 16 '23 at 23:22
  • We have lots of power failures/fluctuations, and every year or so, our fridge just stops cooling properly. We have found that cleanly cutting the power for a couple of minutes and then cleanly supplying power again gets it going, and it is back to normal temperatures within a day or so. Cut the power either by unplugging it or flipping the breaker for that circuit. Free and quick way to at least troubleshoot the state of the electronics. – Rob Oct 16 '23 at 23:55
  • Basic refrigerators with a top mounter freezer are fairly simple. There's a fan in the back of the freezer (behind a panel) that circulates cold air around the freezer. Then there's a vent between the freezer compartment and the refrigerator section, so that cold air from the freezer just drops down into the refrig section. There may not be a separate fan or cooling loop for the refrigerator. – SteveSh Oct 17 '23 at 01:25

2 Answers2

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Important: 45 F is high for a refrigerator. Ideally a refrigerator should be between 35 F and 38 F, and anywhere between 32 F and 40 F is acceptable. So if this is an accurate temperature (e.g., get another thermometer to verify) then either you should set your refrigerator temperature lower or, if this is as low as it goes, it may need repairs.

The basic problem with typical residential refrigerators is that they have a single refrigeration system for the refrigerator and the freezer. There are typically two controls that adjust (essentially) the thermostat (which is only in one place, normally the refrigerator compartment as it is more of a concern both for safety and consistency than the freezer compartment) and some method of adjusting the balance between the two compartments. So if due to malfunction or the way each compartment is packed vs. empty or air flow issues or outside temperature (standard refrigerators are designed to run inside a climate-controlled room, not in the garage or, even worse, outside) the run-time needed to keep a good temperature in the refrigerator makes the freezer run hot and cold (relatively speaking) that is tough to fix.

The good news is that while a freezer should ideally be close to 0 F, as long as it stays at least a few degrees below 32 F, things will generally stay frozen solid and safe for a long time. But some things are affected, and closer to 0 F (even a little below) is generally better.

manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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You have two thermocouples that report the temperature.

It look like the one for the freezer is broken.

If it is reporting incorrect temperature the compressor will not start.

If you want to repair it your self, find the manuals for it to learn how.

asinine
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