Freezer is brand new. FCM7. I have an electronic thermostat as well as a dial type, both read the same. The temperature in the freezer fluctuates between 0 and -14. The temp dial is set at 5. The freezer is half full. Is this temp swing normal or should the range be closer? What are the set points for on and off? Is on always at 0 and the temp adjust dial sets the lower limit? Thanks for your help.
Michael Geary
Sunnyvale, TX
The users manual does not cover this particular issue as to the temperature swing. I have seen some thermostats that are the "constant on" type that you are describing. No way of telling from the vague manual. As long as you are not storing ice cream for a long period of time, 0 degrees is usually fine for most home applications. Sorry I can not give you more info.
SOURCE: freezer problems
you could try a 3 in one hard start kit... comes with a copacitor to help start compressors with age and having trouble starting
SOURCE: Frigidaire 25' chest freezer alarm goes off eventhough it is very cold
The temp sensor for the over temp alarm is probably maifunctioning if you are sure that the temp isnt rising
SOURCE: Proper temp. range in freezer
Hi dgh1,
The freezer should stay within 5 degrees of 0 while in operation. While in defrost the freezer may reach as high as 20 to 25 degrees. If any higher temperatures are reached your food will spoil as they are defrosted and refroze everyday. If you find that the temperature is allowing your food to defrost you may want to replace your defrost thermostat. This device is located on top of the evaperator coil inside the back of the freezer. It is made to turn the heater off when a temperature of 55 degrees is reached. One other possible problem could be your defrost timer is taking to long to restart the cooling cycle after defrosting. I hope this will help you and please send any other questions you may have, I am happy to help. and dont forget to rate me.
Mike Anderson
Anderson Appliance
(865)945-3808
SOURCE: My wife and I bought a Kenmore chest freezer (14.8
This is well with in factory specifications. Hot air rises and cold air drops. Because a chest freezer does not have a fan to circulate the air it is normal for the basket to be warmer than the bottom of the freezer. The bottom of the freezer is used for food you want to keep for a longer period of time.What you store in the basket is food you will freeze for a short period of time. Ice cream should not be kept in the basket. As you fill your freezer with food you will find that the temperature will equal out because the frozen food will take up the place of the frozen air which will give you a more stable freezer temperature.
Try your test when you have it full of food.
SOURCE: Temperature swing specification in a chest freezer.
It depends on the control that your freezer utilizes.
If your temp control dial has the numbers 0-9 or 1-9, then you have whats commonly known as a coil temp sensor.
Unlike an air temp contol that measure the air temp inside the freezer and comes on and off with a 3-5° swing, the coil temp sensor runs a little bit different.
With a coil temp control or sensor, the temp control has a capillary tube and bulb that is inserted into the coil either at on of the ends down a guidetube or just into the center of the radiator type fins. This temp control measures the temperature of the coil, and not the temperature of the air inside the freezer. When the unit runs, the coils typically gets 20° colder than the air temp. And when the control satisfies (shuts off), it will not call for cooling again until the sensing bulb has reached the cut-in point which is typically well above design box temp.
So, to quickly answer your question, yes it is possible to have a 25° temp swing and not have anything really wrong with the unit. That is how its been designed to operate and that is how it will operate. Your only option (although not recommended) is to replace the coil temp sensor with and air temp control. That will give you more consistent temps.
Also, when taking temp of a freezer with a coil temp sensor, be sure to temp the product in the freezer and not the air temperature.
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