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Fridge Freezer temperatures

Radfordman

Radfordman

pfm Member
I recently bought a new fridge freezer. I believe that it has just the one compressor, and one control inside the fridge compartment.

With the control set to about mid position, the fridge temp is about 4.5 Degrees C, and the freezer temp is about -29 Degrees C.

I am thinking that the freezer temp is too low as I believe that a normal temp is -18 Degrees C.

The manufacturers service engineer visited and said that the unit is working very well. I mentioned that the freezer seems too cold and would be wasting energy. He then said that my thermometers might not be accurate. (I have tried several, all give similar readings).

I suggested that he tried his own thermometer which should be calibrated, his reply was that he did not have one.

He then said he would fit a new thermostat, he did not have one of those with him either.

Advice appreciated.
 
What is the manufacturers range of working temperature for this device? If it operates within that you don't really have anything to complain about.
 
Thank you, I tried phoning Hotpoint, but got no joy, but I did find this on the internet:

"To conform to DEFRA (The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) guidelines, our freezers are pre set to operate between -18 and -26 degrees.
We recommend that prior to putting large amounts of food into your freezer you put your appliances fast freeze switch/button (if applicable) on for 24 hours before.
If you are in any doubt as to how to achieve this always refer back to your appliances user instruction manual for guidance. If you do not have your user manual you can download a replacement here
If you need further assistance please call Hotpoint customer service on 0344 822 4224".

The above extract was copied from: http://www.hotpointservice.co.uk/appliances/fridge-freezers/troubleshooting/
 
The description per Hotpoint is correct, minimum temp for a freezer is -18'c. However single with compressor fridge/freezers - depending on make (design) location/ambient - the freezer temp will vary. The critical temp control is the fridge compartment, freezer compartment control is a "by-product" of that & will be designed to reach at least -18'c as part of the fridge compartment control cycle.
My Liebherr freezer is at -24'c & fridge is +4'c
 
Mike-B said:
The description per Hotpoint is correct, minimum temp for a freezer is -18'c. However single with compressor fridge/freezers - depending on make (design) location/ambient - the freezer temp will vary. The critical temp control is the fridge compartment, freezer compartment control is a "by-product" of that & will be designed to reach at least -18'c as part of the fridge compartment control cycle.
My Liebherr freezer is at -24'c & fridge is +4'c
Click to expand...

Surely that should read "...maximum temp for a freezer is -18deg C..."
 
Thank you Mike-B, that is helpful, so my combination of 4.5 Deg C and -29 Deg C is not a million miles out. Perhaps just out being below -26 Deg C.

So there is only control of the fridge temp, i.e. thermostat in the fridge, no sensor in the freezer compartment.
 
with so little control, one thermostat and one pump, your fridge temperatures are always going to be a compromise.

More sophisticated ones will be multiple thermostats, sensors, independent pumps and will be able to keep the temps better.
 
As others have said, a single circuit fridge (which seems to be what you have) is compromised in various ways. If the load in the chilled/fresh compartment is high compared to the load in the frozen compartment the fridge/freezer can't divert more cooling to the chilled/fresh section, so you will have unnecessarily cold temperatures in the frozen section. This is certainly inefficient from an energy point of view.

In more sophisticated fridges you will have separate thermostats and controls, separate evaporator coils, and/or fans that can be switched on/off separately, and/or separate compressors. This all makes the fridge more expensive but can reduce energy consumption.

The load in each compartment depends mostly on how much warm food you introduce, the number of door openings per day, the insulation of each compartment, the ambient temperature in your kitchen and how cold you keep each compartment. I bet this means a bigger load in your chilled section, so having a colder freezer is probably quite normal.

Having a temperature lower than -18C is not really necessary unless you want to freeze food quickly, but it doesn't hurt (just means higher electricity bills).
 
Thank you, so it loks like perhaps I should have bought a better fridge freezer.

Strange thing is I also have a small 30 year old Fridge with a small freezer compartment inside, and that has about 3 Deg C and -18 Deg C.
 
-18 and 5 recommended on my Zanussi combi.

I accidentally set the dial on the freezer to -32 and couldn't get the controls to equalise again for a month, I'd previously just submitting a meter reading so it was easy to tell, my electricity usage went through the roof!

If you've got empty compartments, throw in a few cheap loaves of bread, it'll save energy and help the freezer work more efficiently.
 
I'd always go for dual circuit, on our Indesit we're at 4 and -18 with a setting somewhere between Eco and Holiday making it clear that too cold is expensive.
The office fridge is dying so it's around zero, might use more power but milk lasts about a fortnight after the sell by date.
 
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