Home Improvement → [Appliances] Freezer is too cold?

I get a build-up of ice in some of my frozen items in my freezer. I think the dial is inside the refrigerator that controls both. Does this mean it is set too cold? I'm guessing food won't last as long if it's too cold?

Temp should be right at or around zero.

Farenheit.

the buildup of ice is from moisture freezing. too much humid air is getting in there, from either opening the freezer too often, or leaving it open too long. OR bad seals. high humidity in the house, from an improperly set AC can contribute to that ice.. the colder it gets in the freezer, the longer food lasts, but things like ice cream may be too hard to eat..

Inside the fridge the dial goes from 1 to 9 with 9 being the coldest. I was at 6 so now I put it to 8 and will see how it is. I took some readings of the freezer with my thermal gun and it read around 15F. I will see what it reads in the morning when the new settings have time to kick in.

you may have to turn up(warmer) the refrigerator temp if it goes too far below 40F so things don't freeze. sometimes you get cold spots..

Guess you do not know how cold real freezers get... like -20F -40F...

No such thing as "too" cold...

I have home automation on my fridge and freezer. The freezer runs between -18 and 19 as the average range. The temp changes based on when it cycles, when it's opened, and how long it's open. It's generally around -6 to -8 when it hasn't been opened recently and it's not cycling to cool down. My freezer will go into alarm state if it hits 20 or higher. The fridge side runs between 40 and 52 as the average range. A typical fridge temp will be around 42. When the fridge hits 55 it goes into an alarm state. Any colder then 40 as the FDA recommends causes stuff on the top shelf to freeze a little so the best I can do is 40-42 in the fridge.

As other's have said. The build up of ice on stuff means there's a bad seal on the freezer or you are leaving it open too long. It's getting too WARM which causes moisture which then freezes when it cools down. There's no such thing as too cold for a freezer.

The recommended fridge range is 32 to 40 and the freezer recommended range is below 0 with an ideal being between -10 to -20.

why not get your self a real thermometer?

-4F or -20c on standard setting or manufacture default setting

I really easy way to tell if a freezer is to warm is the "ice cream" test.

Put some ice cream in the freezer for 24 hours. If, after reaching freezer temperature, it is soft and scoops out easily with a teaspoon, the freezer is too warm.

If you need an ice cream scoop and break your wrist scooping, you probably are too cold.

A build up of ice in some of your items in the freezer could be caused by a lot of things. Typically it is caused by too much moisture entering the freezer or you have been storing that item too long without properly protecting it. Food contains moisture and over time this moisture will escape and form ice inside the package.

I worked at a frozen food distributor that delivered ice cream. It was always minus 15 in there

The first question to ask:

Is this something new? How long has this been going on?

If it is relatively recent, you have to find out what changed. Did you move the refrig recently? That can affect how well the door closes and how the seals do their job. Room moisture may be getting in. The cure is to check the seals and adjust the "feet" on the unit so the doors close properly. The seals contain a magnetic strip. You should have to tug on the door to break the seal loose from the chassis. Seals do not fail very often. Most of the time it is the door that is twisted or the inside door panel getting cracked. The inside panel helps hold the door rigid and square with the face of the refrig. I learned this from 23 years as the owner my appliance repair business.

If no recent changes, then maybe you are seeing only part of the frost build up. Maybe your defrost system is not working properly.

Seeing frost in the freezer in no way indicates the freezer might be too cold.
Wrong deduction. The freezer is supposed to be that cold. It is also supposed to be dry. Frost indicates moisture getting in and not being removed by the defrost system.

you need air circulation too.. if the freezer is really packed, that would stop proper air circulation. that can cause the same problem in the refrigerator section...

Are you talking about frost/ice buildup INSIDE frozen food packaging? If so, it's normal for some buildup, but the amount increases with time.

Use a regular thermometer, IR will give you bad readings for measuring "cold". Point it at the sky during a clear night and you'll see...

an IR thermometer has a range. anything in the sky is way too far away to get a proper reading..