Cool! Bad pun. I have Gagg columns and use thermometers as a result of previous problems. I haven't observed temps more than 1 deg off.

Two degrees off is what happens if you keep opening the door and letting the cold air out. :) I'm amazed at the short recovery times.

I observe when I open the door. The Gagg freezer uses a vacuum and won't let you open the door until it is back to temp. Usually 2 to 3 minutes. The fridge may get further off but I don't generally look at the temp if I open it a second time right away. I'll start doing that to verify. The temp. In the drawers is much different also.

I had trouble with a Maytag so I just left the thermometers in the new unit.

I've got a 3 y.o. Kitchenaid FD which replaced a Maytag top-freezer that I bought in 1998 (which got passed on to friends). I have the KA fridge section set to 37° F and the freezer to 0° F according to the digital read outs. Using probe thermometers in water jars on on several shelves in the fridge, the termperature in the door bins is around 39°-40F. The temps for the shelves is about 37° F at the rear of the main shelves, 38° on the fronts of the shelves, 35° F in the deli-meat drawer (which has its own temp control), and about 38°-39° in the crisper drawers. Air temp in the fridge section can vary widely, sometimes registering as high as 43°-44° --- although the water jars stay constant at the temps stated above. The freezer section's air temps stay pretty close to 0°F. The old Maytag had a slightly wider range in the water glasses,

BTW, have you seen this thread on this topic from last year?
http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2297926/fridge-temperature-fluctuation-normal

Two degrees off is what happens if you keep opening the door and letting the cold air out.

I wasn't maligning your fridge, nor trying to get a scientifically accurate picture of mine, JW. I'm glad to hear that your fridge is accurate too! My Marvel drawers don't even pretend to have that kind of accuracy, and certainly the 25 y.o. Kenmore didn't. Isn't it nice having an accurate fridge? When people talk about how much longer their food lasts, I wouldn't be at all surprised that the constant temperature is part of it.

I asked my fridge how wide it was. It said "35 inches". It's more like 36" so I guess it isn't very accurate. Of course, all of us gain a little width as we age...

>>>"I wasn't maligning your fridge,.."<<<

Never occurred to me that you were.

>>> Isn't it nice having an accurate fridge? When people talk about how
much longer their food lasts, I wouldn't be at all surprised that the
constant temperature is part of it.<<<

Exactly.

>>>"For best measurement put your thermometer probe in a glass of water.
The water will act as a stable medium and will be the best indicator of
the temperature of the food."<<<

Yup. Also, a point discussed in the link.

LOL, WeedM!!

Good fridges are designed to have slightly different microclimates throughout the interior space that vary in temperature and humidity. So essentially, you're fridge is a tiny version of San Francisco.

The manufacturers make their engineering decisions based on surprisingly in-depth ethnographic studies in which they look at what food the average American buys and where they put it in their fridge. I've seen some studies from brands that surveys hundreds of homes.

This is all to say what @jwvideo was getting at about measuring all around the fridge. That number on the thermostat is just a rough approximation, and the temperature sensor(s) inside is just measuring the air. But a fridge's job is not to keep the air cold; it's to keep your food fresh. Those are two related by slightly different things. So you can use that thermometer in water technique to gauge different parts of the fridge, then load your food in accordingly. For example, things that spoil more quickly should not be loaded on the door bins, where the temperature climbs higher than average.