Fridges, what temperature do you set them at?

Brett C

Brett C

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Senior Staff
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I am curious of what temps you all set your 12v fridges to? A little background, I used to set mine pretty low (35-36 or so) because it never felt cold when I stuck my hand in it and I always worried my food would spoil or something. Then I gained some incite to restaurant industry standards (more on this in a bit). I also felt my battery was going low faster than it should but chalked that up to a poor system of actually reading my battery correctly which I later fixed and never had an issue with again.

I was just reading a Q&A between a customer and an industry professional I respect, and he touched the nail on the head. The restaurant industry standard is 42 degrees, food stays fresh and drinks cold. Anything below that the fridge is more than likely cycling on and off more often that required draining your battery faster. So again, I ask, what have you been setting your fridge to?
 
3 or 4.

Yeah, my Dometic doesn't do specific temperatures, it's a scale from 1 snowflakes to 5 snowflakes.
 
Think this is going to vary on the environment. My ARB 47L Classic, sitting on a slide in the open bed of my truck, I set at 29-31 degrees. It is in an insulated cover, but exposed to the elements. It has never failed me (knock on wood). At home I have run it for weeks on end as a freezer, off AC set to 0 degrees and it can maintain. I think the insulated cover is the real hero here. *Edit, I always pre-chill my fridge off shore power and keep it full with cold things. Cycle in fresh drinks, 2L water jugs to keep it at capacity. Really helps keep at temp.

I spend a lot of time in the SouthWest deserts in temps from 70-100 degrees and it can keep up during the day, when I’m driving. I plug it into the 400W inverter outlet in the bed. When I get to camp I switch over to a 12v outlet on a powerbank. Never had any issues with fridge or power on 2-3 day trips, in camp for 24-48 hours.
 
34. I set it and left it alone. Empty it takes the battery down to about 85% capacity remaining overnight. If it's full it runs less so it maintains more battery capacity.
 
I’ve found 27° works best for me, though that’s the setting, not a measured temperature. ARB 50QT Classic Series I, no cover, but with a dual battery/150W solar panel set-up.
 
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Bacteria grow rapidly between the temperatures of 40°F and 140°F. So I set the thermostat at 37°F on the ARB 35QT. This keeps the thermometer I placed at the top at or below 40°F. I'd recommend doing the same. Get a thermometer and hang it on the internal basket at the top or tape it to the underside of the lid and set the thermostat on the fridge to whatever you need to keep the lid thermometer at or below 40°F.
 
Since I'm in S. California you can really get varying temperatures. If it's hot outside I generally set it around 33f -35f and check the internal thermometer fairly regularly when I go in and out of it. When I'm out and about in the winter 36f - 38f is probably the norm. I do want to try and find a thermometer that shows the high and low temperatures to better keep an eye on things.
 
I have an Engel MT-45 Platinum from Australia so it’s readout is in Celsius. I run my Engel at 3 degrees Celsius which equals 37.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that you keep your refrigerator temperature at or below 40°F and your freezer temperature at or below 0°F. However, the ideal refrigerator temperature is actually lower. Aim to stay between 35° and 38°F (or 1.7 to 3.3°C)
 
I keep my older Engel-35 at 1.75 snowflakes. If left undisturbed that will freeze water bottles eventually.
 
My Engel MR040 set @ 39 degrees same as our home refrigerator seems to work fine & keeps fresh vegetable from freezing.
 
WashingtonTaco said:
My ARB is set @ 29, I like cold beer and its not accurate. Doesn't freeze at that setting even when plugged into 110.
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Perhaps you should verify temp and if necessary recalibrate your fridge? I don't believe there should be any temp differential between 12V and 120V.
 
Here’s the calibration instructions. Mine was way off too.
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I have an ARB that I like to keep just above the freezing point of lettuce, which in my case is 27 degrees F. With that temp frozen meat stays frozen, when stored at the bottom and eggs and cheese don't freeze on the upper shelf. There seems to be some variability depending on manufacturer, model, and temperature/thermostat readout. It may take some monkeying to get yours right.
 
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