New Fridge not getting below 40 degrees F

[gusdog]

I bought a brand new 10.3 Cubic foot Magic Chef Fridge at Home Depot last Friday, I got it home and let it set for about 3 hours (it was transported and loaded in the upright position). I leveled it side to side and front to back and I set both the freezer and the fridge to a bit below max as suggested in the manual and then I plugged it in. The manual suggested to let run for about 2 hours until it cooled down before putting food into it, and also leave about 5 inches from the back to the wall. On one side the fridge is against the counter, the back is 5 inches from the wall and the other side has nothing against it. Well the freezer gets as cold as it should but the fridge would not get below 40 degrees. I returned the unit and exchanged it for another one and again transported it in the upright position and this time waited 4 hours before plugging it in. This one fluxuated between

36 and 40 degrees set on the max setting. I am not turning the setting control knob beyond the max setting either as I have read that this can actually turn it off on some models. Is magic chef junk or is it something I am doing wrong? I own a smaller magic chef tall dorm fridge and that is set to 3 and does a great job keeping cool. Any suggestions?

[The Freon Cowboy]

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Two things:

1) Every refrigerator I've ever owned said the temp would not completely stabilize for almost 24 hours. After my current one broke and was repaired back in May, I pretty much confirmed this using a couple of high-low recording thermometers.

2) When you called the manufacturer with this same question, what did they tell you? You did call them, right?

[gusdog]

After 24 hours, I have put things in this fridge from the other one and it is still hasn't changed anything and it has been three days now.

I did call the manufacturer and am waiting for a return call, who knows when that will be.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

My rule: "Forever" is defined as how important the service is. For a refrigerator, I'd define "forever" as about 2 hours. If I don't get a return call in that time, the refrigerator gets returned and I buy a different brand. It's too important to wait for a call from a company that has underfunded its customer service department.

By the way, did you check with any locally owned appliance specialty stores before making your purchase? Many of them are part of nationwide buying groups, so their prices are very competitive with Home Slobbo. And, the smaller stores often have their own service departments. They'll bend over backward to keep you happy because they actually give a damn about your business, and how many friends you share your good experience with.

Home Slobbo is not the place to buy major appliances.

[HeyBub]

Did you turn down the thermostat?

I assume you're talking about Farenheit and not Celsius...

[gusdog]

[gfretwell]

I think that is basically a Whirlpool. The cooling comes from the freezer. Be sure the little door down on the side of the crisper is open. The cool air comes in the top through those louvers on the left side and circulates back into the freezer through the hole next to the crisper. The fan in the freezer drives it.

[jmagerl]

My new whirlpool did the same. I took it back and got a new one. Works fine now. Something about quality now a days. to get one working, it took: 2 refridgerators, 2 stoves, 3 dishwashers Buy somewhere with a no hassle guarentee. You'll need it.

[gusdog]

[JoeSpareBedroom]

How are you measuring the temp, and how often are you opening the refrigerator?

[Noozer]

It can take more than 24 hours for a fridge to get to is optimum cooling point.

Also, many fridges use a single temperature sensor, and then simply vent from freezer to fridge. Setting the fridge too cold will make it take longer for the freezer to catch up.

Set both at the middle setting and wait a day, leaving a thermometer inside if you have one. Adjust it the next day, etc... If after a week you can't get both sections to optimum temps, I'd return the machine.

BTW, you get what you pay for... What did this fridge cost you?

[Don Young]

On many combination units the refrigerator actually has no temperature control. Some adjustable amount of cold air is blown into the refrigerator when the freezer is cooling. If you load the refrigerator or open the door a lot, it will get warmer. If you load the freezer or open the door a lot so the cooling units runs more, the refrigerator will get colder. You basically set the freezer for the desired freezer temperature and adjust the air door for an acceptable range of refrigerator temperatures based on your usage patterns for the freezer and refrigerator. It is actually sorta like the old refrigerators with the freezing compartment for ice cubes except the thermostat now is actually in the freezer instead of the refrigerator.

Your refrigerator may be working just fine but hasn't reached a stable balance point because of your unusual or erratic usage during testing.

Don Young

[gusdog]

Thanks to all, Many of you were correct on the info regarding the controls. After returning home yesterday I found that the Freezer control was a bit above Med (which I had thought was at Max) and the Fridge was at Max. I turned the Freezer a bit below Med and the fridge to Med and sure enough my fridge went to about 20F, now I just have to find a happy medium where my frozen goods stay frozen and my refrigerated goods keep from freezing.

The space for the fridge is not so deep, about 22", so I wanted a shallow unit, all counter depth units are extremely expensive for my budget so this $360 POS seemed to be the best affordable option and will hopefully last a couple years until I gather enough clams to buy a nice unit. I have my eyes on a nice Fisher & Paykel that runs about $1500, only 24" deep but much wider that the Magic Chef that I have.

Thanks again for all of you help!