Freezer stays at near zero all the time, does not respond to temp setting on thermostat. Replaced thermostat and the problem remains the same - either always on or off. Defrost timer appears to work as it does cycle off for defrost. Fridge side setting is at "cold", about halfway on the knob and the fridge temp is fine.

Not sure what to try next?

Thanks for the help.

Denman - thanks for the reply. I didn't realize that the freezer was supposed to be that cold. I thought 10-20 was a more reasonable range. So, perhaps I don't have a problem then. Although I'm still curious as to why changing the position of the thermostat knob in the freezer would have no effect on the temperature of the freezer - coldest setting to just before turning it off, the temperature remains constant at about 2 degrees.

Thanks - Viking

Thanks again. My orignal concern was that the compressor seems to be on quite a lot. It's actually quite rare that I hear the compressor off. I did notice a sticker inside the freezer door about a 'service kit' being applied to the fridge, something about R12 refrigerant (I'm not at home to look right now). So, my original hypothesis was that near zero was too cold, the result of a bad thermostat and the compressor running too much.

I'll do some more long term testing on changes to the thermostat to see how it does. We're getting ready to leave town for a bit, so the freezer is actually fairly empty right now.

Thanks for your help and insight. I'll post back to the thread if I find anything interesting.

Viking