# Matanzas Kitchen Service — Thermador appliance repair, St. Augustine FL — (904) 442-8210 > Independent Thermador Service. Booking by telephone on (904) 442-8210. Independent: not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Thermador. ## Thermador Freezer Temperature Settings Page: https://thermadorrepairstaugustine.com/notes/thermador-freezer-temperature-settings/ The right freezer and fridge column settings, how to confirm them with an appliance thermometer, why readings drift and what the two alarms are telling you. Topic: maintenance Published: 2026-10-11 Set a Thermador Freedom freezer column to 0°F (-18°C). That is the setting Thermador's own use-and-care guide recommends, and it matches the FDA's target for frozen food. The control lets you pick anything from -11°F up to +7°F, and Eco mode moves the target to +3°F (-16°C) to trim energy use. Whatever the display says, confirm it with an appliance thermometer tucked among the frozen packages, because that reading is what tells you whether the food is actually holding. ## The settings worth knowing Freedom freezer columns come as the T18IF905SP, T24IF905SP, T30IF905SP and T36IF905SP, and all four share the same control logic. These are the figures to keep in mind, with the matching refrigerator column numbers for anyone who has a pair installed side by side: - **Freezer column, normal use:** 0°F (-18°C), adjustable between -11°F and +7°F. - **Freezer column, Eco mode:** +3°F (-16°C). - **Refrigerator column:** +39°F (+4°C) in the main compartment and +34°F (+1°C) in the chill compartment, with a usable range of +36°F to +46°F. - **Federal guidance:** the Department of Energy's efficiency program puts a freezer between -5°F and 0°F and a fridge between 36°F and 40°F. Eco mode suits a lightly used column, but +3°F sits a little above the 0°F mark that food-safety agencies use, so go back to the normal setting if you keep meat or fish for months. ## Super freezing before a big shop Fresh food loaded warm into a freezer drags the air temperature up, and the slower something freezes, the larger its ice crystals and the softer its texture once thawed. Thermador's answer is Super freezing: switch it on 4 to 6 hours before you add roughly 2 kg of unfrozen food, so the column is already running cold when the load arrives. After a holiday shop or a good day of fishing off Anastasia Island, that head start keeps the packages already inside from softening at the edges. ## How to check the real temperature The number on the panel is a target, not a measurement of your food. To see what the column is really doing: 1. Place an appliance thermometer between two frozen items in a middle drawer, away from the back wall and the ice bin. 2. Keep the door shut for at least eight hours, ideally overnight. 3. Read it the moment you open the drawer, before room air warms the dial. A reading within a few degrees of the setting is normal. Brief rises after a defrost cycle or a long browse through the drawers are expected too, so judge the column by a settled overnight reading rather than one taken in the middle of dinner prep. ## Why the reading drifts When the thermometer keeps reading warmer than the display, the cause is usually ordinary: - Drawers packed so full that cold air cannot move around the vents. - A door gasket that no longer seals, often because of a fold or sticky residue along the hinge side. - Frequent or long door openings. In a humid St. Augustine summer, each one lets in damp air that turns into frost and extra running time for the compressor. - A large load of room-temperature food added without Super freezing. The column also has two separate warnings. A door left ajar too long sets off the door alarm. The temperature alarm is different: the display shows the warmest temperature the column reached, and you clear it with the confirm button once you have dealt with whatever let it warm up. Note that figure before clearing it, because it helps you decide whether the food is still safe. ## Demo mode, outages and when to call If the display and interior lights work but nothing is getting cold, open the Appliance settings menu before anything else. Thermador's guide points out that demo mode keeps a column at room temperature while everything looks normal, and switching it off is the whole fix. During a power cut, keep the door closed. A full freezer stays at a safe temperature for about 48 hours, and a half-full one for about 24. Book a technician when the thermometer stays well above the setting for a full day after you have cleared the vents, checked the gasket and ruled out demo mode, when frost keeps coming back on the rear wall, or when the temperature alarm returns. The diagnostic visit is $80. If the fault turns out to be in the refrigeration column's sealed system, the typical range is $850–$2,520, with the firm figure given after diagnosis. For a warm fridge beside a cold freezer, read [Warm Fridge, Cold Freezer](/notes/warm-fridge-airflow-or-sealed-system/), or see how we handle [built-in refrigeration repair](/service/built-in-refrigeration/). ### What this costs Completed work, parts and labor together. Most of what this page covers lands between $850 and $2,520; the $80 visit comes off that once you approve the repair. - Refrigeration column sealed system: $850–$2,520, parts and labor together. - Diagnostic visit: $80 flat. Flat $80 diagnostic covering the visit and the full diagnostic sequence, credited toward the repair once you approve the work. - You get a written estimate before any part is ordered or any labor is billed. - These are ranges for completed work, not quotations. The firm figure is written down after the diagnosis, at the appliance, and nothing is ordered before you have it. - The whole table, every band we keep figures for: https://thermadorrepairstaugustine.com/pricing/ --- Source page: https://thermadorrepairstaugustine.com/notes/thermador-freezer-temperature-settings/ Phone: (904) 442-8210 · Hours: Monday to Friday 8:00am – 6:00pm; Saturday 9:00am – 4:00pm. Closed Sunday. Scheduled appointments only — we do not run an after-hours line. Area: St. Augustine, FL and St. Johns County, about 40 miles out. Matanzas Kitchen Service is an independent appliance repair company. We are not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Thermador or its parent company. All brand names and model numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used only to identify the appliances we service.