I moved the thermometers from the top section to the middle shelf of the bottom section, which was set to 50 F, and watched the temperature rise to an average of 51.9

I checked with four different thermometers, from old analog to modern digital, and all four said that the top section is consistently about 11 degrees F higher than what I set it to

Here’s a screenshot from my smart thermometer, showing that when I set the top section temperature to 40 F, the actual temperature oscillates around 50.5 F, ranging from 51.1-49.8 as the compressor goes off and on

The bottom section does better, at only a degree or two higher than what I set it to (at least when the top section is set as low as it can go, which might help keep the bottom section

The cooler white wine section is set for the top and the red wine section for the bottom

’s a photo of two thermometers I stuck inside the top section of the fridge, which was set to 40

If 50 degrees is the coldest the top section can manage, it should admit that, not display “40” in boastfully bright blue numbers