New Kenmore not cold enough

[californiakulak]

I just returned home after a little vacation and was excited to check the temp in my Kenmore Kegerator. The kegerator is supposed to be between 34 and 38 when set on Normal. It is set nearly as low as it will go and the temp is 39.6. I have a glass of water in there for temp checking but there's nothing else in it. I turned it down to the coldest setting and am waiting to read the temp on the water again. I really don't want a kegerator that needs to be on full blast to barely reach 38, do I? My wife seems to think that maybe an empty kegerator is harder to cool than it will be once there is a keg in it. Is this a possibility?

[bonefish]

Is there ice build up on the cooling plate? If so, unplug until it melts.
SEAN

[californiakulak]

Thank you Bonefish. I checked the temp after having the Kegerator on full blast over night and it was 37.4. I wish it was a little cooler on full blast. There was some ice on the cooling plate so I unplugged it. Does this mean that something is wrong with my kegerator or what?

[bonefish]

I don't think anything is wrong. When you have ice build up, the fridge will not cool as efficiently. I put a lamp timer in the outlet I'm plugged into. It turns power off for 2 hours a day in the middle of the night.
SEAN

[Mike167]

is it a forced air fridge? if not, it will not do well in the garage or on the porch in warm weather. Keep it in the air conditioning in warm weather. If you dont have a keg yet, put the largest bucket of water you can in there, cool the water down with some added ice, and check the temp in 2 days- dont open the door. This will tell you how the fridge will perform with beer in it. You want 32 degs. 35 max. mflemming@comcast.net

[californiakulak]

The Kenmore was broken. I exchanged it and the new kenmore is cooling the keg just fine. I just checked the water temp and it was like 32 on full blast so I turned it up a few notches.