[Cheese] HELP??? New

[Meyer, Aaron D.]

Brian wrote:
>  I was hoping 
> that I could raise the temp of the fridge a few degrees and still keep
the 
> freezer as food storage.
> I'm guessing this is not possible with these controllers?

I don't make cheese yet, I've just been lurking here in the shadows for
a few months. However, I am a homebrewer and have some understanding of
what you want to do with your fridge. The documentation you received
with your temp controller is correct, it cycles the power of the entire
fridge and because the fridge compartment temp is dependant on
recirculation from the freezer the freezer temp will be raised above
freezing. Depending on the fridge temp you need the freezer section may
still be useful for cooling to normal fridge temperatures.

There is another way you might get around this... Note that I've never
done anything like this with a fridge...

The operation of a fridge is to chill the freezer to a specified
temperature and then circulate that cold air into the fridge using
either a fan or just relying on gravity to pull the cold, dense air down
to another preset temperature. If your fridge uses a fan, and you are
comfortable digging into your fridge you could modify it so that your
temperature controller switches the fan off and on and the freezer will
operate as usual. If, however, your fridge does not use a fan you could
constrict the airflow from the freezer until you get to the temperature
you want. This method won't use your temperature controller and the
temperature won't be as stable.

I can't see how either of these methods would harm your fridge or
shorten its life, but like I said before I've not done this before.

Before digging into your fridge you may check how warm you can get the
fridge compartment using the built in controls. My fridge has separate
freezer and fridge temperature sliders. The freezer slider controls the
temp of that the compressor brings the freezer down to, while the fridge
slider controls the circulation fan to the fridge. I would recommend
setting the freezer to as low a setting as you are comfortable with
(maybe 25F?) and the fridge to as warm a setting as it allows. (If you
do this you might use your new temp controller with the probe in the
freezer to keep the temp where you want it since the built in is not as
accurate and you sound like there is a lot at stake.) The more stable
the freezer temperature is the more stable your fridge temperature will
be.


My 2-1/2 cents.