Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not
so great) words of knowledge:

It shouldn't be freezing stuff at the back. You will need to keep an
eye on stuff in the bottom of the fridge (vegetable crispers, etc) since
cold air sinks down. The crispers tend to get colder than the main unit
even in new fridges. Pick up a refrigerator thermometer(s) (about $3 -
$5 ) and put it in the area(s) you are concerned about for freezing.

Provided the gaskets and insulation in the unit are OK, you won't be
stressing the compressor (they should be or you would be out looking for
a new unit by now).

The compressor needs to run periodically to maintain the temperature, so
the only major additional running it is going to do is to get the unit
down to the temperature initially. Once the temperature is there the
compressor should not be running any more than it is now, provided you
do not leave the door open for long periods of time.

FWIW - I recently had to purchase a new fridge. Since the new ones use
a very small motor it takes awhile to get the unit where you want it.
After about 2 - 3 weeks of "playing", my freezer is at -8 to -10 degrees
and the upper part of the fridge is at 35 degrees while the crisper
drawers are at 33 - 34 degrees. When I was in the service (back in the
60's) the military standards were to keep the freezers at -10 to -15
degrees and the "cooler" (refrigerator ) at 34 degrees to provide
optimum food safety and longevity.


>>
>
>
> Won't that tend to freeze stuff at the back of the refrigerator tho'?
> I've been tempted to turn the Hobart thermostat down a bit, but I was
> afraid of stressing the compressor! This is a very, very old unit and
> I'm spending about $250.00 per year in repairs to keep it alive......
>
> but it's been worth it. ;-)
>
> I'm told tho' that if the compressor goes, it'll run me $1,500 to
> replace it unless I can maybe get one directly from Hobart.
>
> 40 cubic feet. Dad gets half of it for his Kombucha and colloidal silver
> concoctions, and I get the other half for FOOD! I use the bottom area to
> store seed and nuts for my cockatoo.
>