Wow! Thank you for your generosity and interesting discussion. (1) My fridge is a ABB2227. The manual does not say anything about the "normal" variation. "If the fridge is too warm, set the control down; if it is too cold, set it up"... Dah... (2) I typed my model number on the Web. I did not know there was a Amana community that has as a hobby the periodic thawing of our fridge... how fun... (3) A precision: I remove from my readings all the meal time since my vegetables and nuts are in there (the service guy told me that a fridge cannot hold a normal temperature if it is empty). No kids in the house to screw up my readings. My readings' variations cannot be explained by the door opening. This I am sure. (4) The board and sensor were changed when the fridge once again went up over 50 degrees last week. I got fed up and instead of doing the thawing routine all over again, I called the service guy. This is where our opinions go into different directions; he says that my fridge is now normal, but I think that something is still wrong because of the large temperature variation (but one good thing though, the temperature never went back to 50 degrees with the new board; the problem is that I don't have anymore the readings before the last problematic episode... this is where I kick myself; I should have kept them). Since the new board, the highest reading I got is around 45 degrees. (5) Tonight I opened the door and put an instant 3-sec thermometer in everything liquid that had spent a couple of days in the fridge and was not in the door (yes I also have one of those... I know; I may sound like a crazy thermometer woman by now...). The cup of water I put in yesterday night, the water the radishes were in, the 1-liter of milk, the water the celery was in... were all showing 40 degree readings. (6) I went through the study that was linked to. Very informative. They seem to think that 5 degrees is an acceptable upper limit and 5 C is 41 F. So maybe my stuff showing 40 degrees is all right despite the very large air temp variation. (I will go on and calculate my average and median over several days... I think that the median is more telling than the average... my stat husband reminded me that on average everybody is normal...). Where do I go from here: - Tonight before going to bed, I will put the control to 5 to see the impact it will impact. (I am just a bit afraid it will freeze my tender vegetables; I have periodic readings between 31 and 32 F, so I hope that it will get the upper limit down, but not the lower limit). - Since there is nothing in the manual, tomorrow I will call Amana and ask them what they consider a normal variation (but I have to admit that my hopes for a meaningful answer are not high). - In the next weeks (we do not live in the same city), I will go to my sister's home and test her "perfectly functioning" fridge, just to see if she has the same variation as I now have. It may just show that this fridge has never been able to keep a stable temperature. Thanks again, Lynn This post was edited by l_mtl on Wed, Jun 25, 14 at 22:05

After MUCH research , I bought a Kenmore French Door w/ice & water in the door. I previously had 3 different side by sides. My last SBS was two years old and ruined by Hurricane Ike. I also had a separate freezer in the garage that wasn't replaced. I discovered that I didn't need a separate freezer due to the extra freezer space gained with the French Door model. The French Door style accommodates larger items that will not fit in the narrow side by side freezer. I love the french door style. The ice and water feature on the outside causes the loss of some fridge space, but I was willing to make that sacrifice. My first SBS was one of the very first made by Sears, a Coldspot. It lasted 26 years or so. I hope this Kenmore will last as long. (I know I won't last that long)

Regarding longevity, our last fridge, a Whirlpool, was 18 years old... and we are giving it away as it's still very nice and running perfectly. The ice maker had a couple minor repairs, and never once did anything leak. Fridge before that was also reasonably priced, and when I sold the home I sold it with the house, also older model, ice maker never broke, still in working order. However, it should be noted these were older models, therefore manufactured back when quality control was better, IMO. I honestly can't speak to that now. It does concern me, though. I replaced 18 year old still working perfectly washer and dryer set with a new set a few months ago, and bought an extended warranty (something I never did before, and never needed). Hope we won't need it. This time around we purchased a Sub Zero to replace our Whirlpool - wanted a much larger fridge, and built-in. FWIW, it was not remotely $20,000. We purchased it for the 2 condensers, the reputation, and the fact it's simply a nicer fridge as regards what is inside. We are an older couple, with savings for retirement, and the fridge was affordable to us, albeit I would never consider it inexpensive.

that is always the problem with low volume appliance mfgs - they just don't have the backup for after sales Service. The sales numbers just don't justify holding a big supply of parts and service personnel. They almost always rely on a dealer or service group that has a group of underpaid field service people that can't know everything about everything. In addition, refrigeration is a whole 'nother animal for field service - it takes skill who did you buy it from - local or some far off dealer?