You're supposed to set the fridge to 34. Don't know why you're trying to set it so high.

Samsung owners manual says the recommended temps are 0F for freezer, 38F for fridge.

My GE Profile in my previous house had the default fridge setting at 37F, so I didn't think that Samsung's 38F was that unusual...

This post was edited by Helena2013 on Sat, Nov 29, 14 at 17:51

What does the thermometer say in the location of the sensor?

hvtech, when I put the thermometer directly in front of the sensor (which is behind the topmost shelf) it did read what the fridge display setting was. However, when I moved it even slightly forward (to the middle of that same top shelf) the temperature reading is at least 2 degrees higher. And even higher for any of the other shelves.

For example, about an hour and a half ago I adjusted the fridge setting to 34F (from 36F previously). The thermometer remained placed at the rear of the second-highest shelf, which is 6" below the topmost ("sensor area") shelf. It reads 42F at that location!

It looks as though the ONLY part of the refrigerator that is being maintained at a safe (under 40F) temperature is that one small area closest to the sensor. :-(

Is this normal refrigerator behavior?

The fridge is not opened often, either, as it's just me in the house. I'd guess, hm, definitely less than a dozen times a day if even that; and the door is never left open for more time than it takes to quickly remove or replace something,

Opinions?

The fridge temp settings are in 2-degree increments and so if I drop it down below 34F, the next step is "freezing" (at least on the top shelf); should I do that and see if I can get the rest of the fridge to be below 40F?

(heaven help my electric bill, though)

The fridge is not next to anything heat-generating, btw. There aren't even any cabinets flanking it.

This post was edited by Helena2013 on Sat, Nov 29, 14 at 20:00

Colder and less-cold areas inside a refrigerator (and freezer) are not unusual.

A thermometer placed in direct exposure to the incoming airflow will reasonably read lower than elsewhere.

The temperature setpoint can be considered an average across the interior as a whole.

The more the door is opened to check the temp, the more there will be fluctuations.

Most accurate readings can be obtained by placing a thermometer in a glass of water, which compensates for variations from the unit cycling on/off and from opening the door. Let it sit in a given location for at least 24 hrs (longer is better) for the temp to stabilize. Wait 24 to 48 hrs between temp setting adjustments for the system to stabilize before adjusting again.

Move the sensor.

I would imagine that cold air tends to drop, therefore the coldest, apparently located right next to the sensor (top shelf) should sink towards the bottom of the fridge.

It's really strange that the Samsung in question doesn't do so.

Can solid glass shelves impede on the airflow? Would wire shelves be better in that regard? And, in general, are there fridges that do forced air circulation inside the box? That would improve the temperature uniformity for sure.

dadoes, thanks for the hint! I do have an instant-read thermometer (probe type, that I normally use to check cooked meats) and so I put a plastic cup of water in the fridge last night, on the center of the lowest shelf. (I decided to use a plastic cup instead of glass, because I wanted to get the reading closest to that of the "air")

Just checked it now, 12 hrs later, and the instant-read says 37.7 degrees (I set the fridge temp last night to 36).

The Taylor thermometer, which is the metal/dial type, right next to the cup, says 42F, btw. Hmmm.

Out of curiosity I then used the instant-read probe to check the actual internal temperatures of several foods in the fridge. These are the results:

Plastic container of canned peas in water, on center shelf: 43F
Container of vanilla yogurt (on top shelf): 40F
Spreadable butter in plastic tub, on second-highest shelf: 42F
Glass container of homemade hummus, bottom shelf: 45F

Interesting.

gigelus, I too always assumed that since cold air sinks, the coldest part of the fridge would be the lowest shelf. However this article in Cooks Illustrated talked about microclimates in refrigerators, and it said that the coldest spot in the fridge is always the back half of the TOP shelf (which is where the sensor is on the Samsung model).
www.rifoodcouncil.org/sites/default/files/Cooks-Illustrated-Produce-Storage.pdf

Then again, this one from Saveur cites the front of the top shelf as the coldest spot.
http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/Know-Your-Fridge

And just to confuse things, part of this page cites the "center of the middle shelf" as the best place to put a temperature sensor/thermometer.
http://www.temperaturealert.com/blog.aspx?CntTagID=4f900350-7677-4060-9b65-0c8ce66e8d64

I'm now curious about how much the fullness or emptiness of a fridge affects the temperature inside it. Does a fridge stay cooler "better" if it's 50% or more full? (like a freezer does) As a single person I don't store much in my fridge but my freezer is always filled to capacity or almost, LOL. So there's more empty space in my fridge compartment than not.

I may do an experiment by placing (unfrozen) sheets of Blue Ice in the fridge to simulate additional food items being there, and see whether that affects the temperature readings on both the Taylor dial therm and the probe-in-water method...

hollysprings - i had problems with my lg french door and the first question was Regarding the temp setting. it is supposed to be at 37 and -2 per lg. i had it lower and they made me change it.
that had nothing to do with the malfunction but there must be a reason for it.