If you are not sure what to set it to, then set it somewhere in the middle. Setting it to 5 will make your fridge the coldest. If you have a lot of food 3 or 4 may be appropriate. Either contact the manufacturer to get "approximations" or use a thermometer and recheck every 6 months because those settings won't mean the same thing on a brand new fridge and one that has been used a while. This is the correct answer. Apparently the higher the number the cooler the fridge but it's better to check. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Or is it 5 degrees Celsius? This is because the whole time the food is being defrosted its temperature is being kept outside the “Danger Zone”. So on a refrigerator what setting is coldest (1 to 5)? If not, get a thermometer from the dollar store and conduct some science. There are a few options for places to defrost food; the fridge, kitchen counter, defrost setting on the microwave or even running it under cold water. Just like volume controls, or toaster oven settings, they are just relative to each other and there isn't even a guarantee that it is a linear transition between each setting. There is no physical quantity the button represents. Mine is the opposite, 1 is the coldest and 6 is the least cold. Get The Kitchen Right; Everything Else Follows. Quick Answer: The higher number is the coldest setting. With pretty much all fridge freezers the numbers 1 to 5 indicate the refrigerant power with the higher the number, the colder the machine will be. Easy way to find out. On every fridge the rules for the coldest settings are always the following: The numbers on the fridge’s temperature dial indicate refrigerant power. Make sure you plan enough time for the food to thaw as it can typically take up to day. You can try looking in the user manual but that’s not always helpful. It’s not a temperature gauge, it’s a power gauge. It usually takes about 24 hours for any changes to take full effect. It usually means that the unit struggling to keep the temperature low enough to chill your food sufficiently. Refrigerator Temperature Settings How do I know what temperature my fridge is? This may be due to issues with the condenser coils or perhaps an overworked motor. They have no meaning. Here are 8 signs that you need a new fridge freezer. Good idea, They’re just arbitrary settings. A good way to do it is to take food out of the freezer the night before you need it or in the morning if you’ll need it in the evening. If you don’t tend to store a much food then 1 or 2 may suffice. What is the ideal number between 1 to 5 for your fridge? This is a tough one especially as a lot of fridge freezer models don’t always make it clear. Also a full fridge versus an empty fridge may give you different readings. 7 is the coldest. This is an issue that may need an engineer or may mean you need to consider buying a new fridge. The higher the number goes the colder the fridge will maintain. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Here are a few other key questions you might have about your fridge…. We are on the honor system here. Everyone's saying buy a thermometer, and you could do that, but what you should do, instead, is buy a fridge that has degrees on the dial. In some fridges there should be writing near the dial that says "7 is coldest" or "1 is coldest". Just googled it and google said buy a thermometer too. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the NoStupidQuestions community, Press J to jump to the feed. In addition if the temperature is too high, ice may form in the fridge which could cause you problem with running it. 8 Signs That You Need A New Fridge Freezer. Is it temperature or freezing power? By Danny Katz. 7 is the coldest. The easiest way to find out what the temperature of your fridge is, is to use a thermometer. The highest setting is usually the coldest. 7 is the coldest temperature on these units with a setting from 1 to 7. Remember that a lower temperature doesn’t necessarily mean better food storage conditions. usually on the dial there is an arrow that says "colder" or something like that pointing one direction. … Many refrigerators have a Temperature setting dial which has numbers 1 to 9 or 1 to 7 etc depending on the type of fridge. This does not affect how much you pay for the product. So what number on the refrigerator denotes the coldest? However, the best place to defrost your food is the fridge. If you dial it back past the 1 it will probably shut off the compressor. You just have to judge by the effects (or measure with a calibrated tool under the conditions you use them) and adjust. I will have to use freezerness in the future when speaking of freezer temperature. You can hear the compressor stop as you turn the temp down. 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