14F freezer is good enough
Have been having these doubts for some time, 0F/-18C "recommended" by FDA and similar Canadian health authority, while my meat and fish remain quite hard and I am still alive with freezer temps rangin...
Forum Discussion
So, - forget FDA guidelines 0F/18C. These are temps that will keep your food from spoiling indefinitely. You are not going to live indefinitely. If your fridge keeps 40F/4C, and freezer 14F/-10C - this is enough for most vacation trips and more than enough for a weekend trip. Don't lose your sleep over that. Manufacturers have detailed specs that consumers don't usually see - like max 0F in the center of freezing chamber and max 14F at the door, and even those max values you might not get in real life. I am not talking about deep freeze chests that can do -22F, those are different.
a person must remember
FDA guidelines were not set for RV's on vacation
guidelines were set for HOME 'deep freeze', YES for 'indefinite' storage so you could keep food 6 months or even a year
so a snow bird gone for 4~6 months or a full timer, would do good to remember and use the FDA guidelines
while those on a weekend trip, it is Not so critical, as they will eat the food
unless of course the are bring home the 'fish/game' in which case it should be frozen rock hard as soon as possible, to prevent possible spoilage
