What setting do I use to make the freezer freeze food

Have you checked that the door is closing ok and that the door seals are meeting the door frame all round?
Do the things that freeze sit at the top of the freezer? if so it could be
the coolant gas has slowly leaked out. A good indication this has happened is that the bottom of the freezer is a lot warmer than the top. To repair a serviceman will first cut the coolant pipe and drain (and capture) the existing gas and then recharge, re-pressurise and seal.

Turn the t'stat up to 9. You want to save the meat and ice cream. It sounds like you may be losing freon. Get it looked at soon so you won't come home and find meat soft and ice milk.

ice cream is always the last to freeze and a temp of minus -10 degrees is usually required to get it to get hard. if you put the ice cream in the door it will be especially tough to freeze. a good thermometor is a good investment as you can observe the temps. usually ten degrees or 20 degrees is what they run. yes they do cycle on and off as long as they hold temps thats good. the outside of the freezer gets warm because the hot compressed refrigerant is spread through piping near its surface giving up its heat of compression . setting the stat to max will freeze the ice cream eventually but utility bill suffers . good luck

Ice cream has to be colder than 0 degrees C /32 degrees F. You need a cheap thermometer If your Ice maker Ice is not sweating in the bin, -10 degrees F ice stops sweating. you need not to sweat the freezer untill your cheap freezer thermometer can be compared to -10 degrees F

If this is a self defrosting model make sure that you don't have frost build up on the back wall of the freezer causing the air not to circulate like it should. If you do have frost build up other items will eventually start thawing as well. If this is the case you have a defrost problem.

If this is not a self defrosting model then make sure it does not need defrosting.

You normally will notice ice cream being soft before you notice other things thawing.

Also make sure the door is shutting good and you may try putting the ice cream in a different location.

You need to remember heat rises and cold air falls. The best way to load a freezer is to put meats on the bottom. They take alot longer to freeze and thaw and can save your stock if you have a power failure. Keep non-critical things like ice cream, ice, and other thing towards the top for quicker access.

bread and ice cream are the 1st things to defrost and it sounds like a gas problem and at 25 years old time for a new i think.

Check the freezer back wall for snow or frost.If it's there you have a defrost problem.

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ice cream is always the last to freeze and a temp of minus -10 degrees is usually required to get it to get hard. if you put the ice cream in the door it will be especially tough to freeze. a good thermometor is a good investment as you can observe the temps. usually ten degrees or 20 degrees is what they run. yes they do cycle on and off as long as they hold temps thats good. the outside of the freezer gets warm because the hot compressed refrigerant is spread through piping near its surface giving up its heat of compression . setting the stat to max will freeze the ice cream eventually but utility bill suffers . good luck