Real fridge temperature

[ericmark]

I am using a freezer 32 litre as a fridge, using a temperature controller built to brew beer. So set at 4 degrees C and works fine.

However on return from supermarket and filling unit with drinks inside shows 16 degrees not surprising and the motor fires up. But instead of running until at 4 degrees, it cuts out, clearly the built in sensor has reached -10 degrees which I think is what set at, so it seems to reduce temperature in steps.

This is OK for my drinks, but once one hears the fridge or freezer start to cycle one assumes it has reached set temperature with frost free models with circulating fans I am sure it has reached a safe temperature, but what about cheaper not auto defrost types, if loading in a load of food to freeze can it cause existing food to defrost?

We have in the past put loads of fresh products into the chest freezer without considering how it could defrost existing food.

 

[jj4091]

Doubt your food will defrost given the length of time it takes to defrost a freezer under normal conditions. Having said that you would really need to know the exact temp. the frozen food was when you put it into your freezer to have any chance of working out the change it would make to the existing contents. Perhaps there is a formula somewhere but it is beyond my knowledge.

 

[ericmark]

It was only by accident that I had a sensor centre of the freezer, the normal thermostat has a sensor which goes into a pocket, so no idea where that pocket takes the sensor to. As I have said for what I am cooling being over temperature does not matter as long as it does not go below freezing and freeze contains of the cans.

The motor could return air temperature to 4°C in less than half an hour, but the sensor extended that time to 4 hours.

I have used an old fridge/freezer to brew beer, and putting in a fermenter at 24°C instead of 19.5°C with sensor on the fermenter the air temperature would drop to 8°C before the fermenter temperature had dropped to 19.5°C and it took slightly over half an hour, but that was 40 pints, the circulating fan clearly was doing its job but with a thick plastic wall on the fermenter it was to be expected and the cooling did not over shoot.

It however makes me question putting warm stuff in a freezer without a circulating fan?