fridge / freezer temps

My experiences taught me to be careful of what I stuck on door shelves and back near the evaporator fins. Warmer and cooler than the bulk of the refrigerator. I gave up and started storing veggies in bags with a half cup of water added.

TechWriter wrote:
That takes care of raw meat. What about all the other food?

Depends on what food. Some will last longer, some shorter. This chart may be of some help. As you can see, at 40F it's days and weeks, and at 0F - months. The worst at 40F is raw fish, lasts only 1-2 days.

Slightly higher freezer temps is not much of concern. FDA doesn't give any data for temps from 0F to 14F but I recall Canadian research for frozen fish at 14F, it was definitely more than a few days, can't find it now. Anything else, if it can be frozen at all, can stay at 14F for quite a long time.

Since fridge and freezer chamber in RV don't - usually - have separate temp regulation, if it's warmer than 5-10F in the freezer, then it's way too warm in the fridge, more than 40.

To summarize, temps from 0 to 5 in freezer is fine, temps up to 40 in fridge is fine, and when going for a weekend there isn't much need to freeze your food, as it will be consumed in less than 2 days.

Almot wrote:

I've done some digging and found that at 40F raw meat will remain edible and without notable loss of quality for 3-4 days, and FDA says so too. In a freezer at 14F it will remain edible for a few weeks according to sources other than FDA.

That takes care of raw meat. What about all the other food?

sign man wrote:
What should the appropriate/ideal temps be for fridge & freezer?:@

According to FDA, 40 and 0. This is, I guess, what constitutes the "ideal".

As to the "appropriate" or "reasonably expected", given the design of a typical RV frig, it's 38 and 0. Meaning, if it's warmer, you should try and fix it, because it is not where it should be, by design.

Having said this, - don't sweat it too much if it's a little warmer.

I've done some digging and found that at 40F raw meat will remain edible and without notable loss of quality for 3-4 days, and FDA says so too. In a freezer at 14F it will remain edible for a few weeks according to sources other than FDA.

OP......What are yours?

We also put a small fan inside the fridge. We bought one off eBay that connects to the campers 12 VDC. Installed it with an in-line fuse and switch. The interior fan really helps too!

Moved from TC Forum.

Wayne
Moderator

Cobra21 wrote:
Refrig. about 35 to 38
Freezer from 0 to 10

This typical of my fridge.

Wayne

Refrig. about 35 to 38
Freezer from 0 to 10

Fishinghat wrote:
About "0" for the freezer, and 35 for the fridge. In warmer weather or if the door is opened frequently, then a little higher.

Ditto!
-Mark