Fridge Temps

Most perishables (milk/meat etc) will last far far longer at 1 degree than at 4 or 5. Eg:milk will last 2 weeks at 1 degree, only a few days at 5. If power is your main concern then run the higher temp- if you want meat, milk etc to last, then use as close to zero as you can get without freezing your veges etc. It's your choice- and the situation will probably vary depending on your individual needs.
I suggest you get a good thermometer though- there are good digital ones available at Jaycar/Tandy/Dicksmith etc with a wire and probe.

I usually have in mine a mixture of frozen meat and general drinks and food stuffs. I run mine at -4 and stack the frozen stuff around the edges of the fridge. This keeps the meat frozen, and the other stuff cold. Ocasionally end up with something frozen that shouldn't be.

Grinner

Buggerlux
If you've got the room, a freezer and esky combination works great. We run 40L Engel at -10C and have a separate 40L esky. The esky uses 4 large freezer blocks which we swap every morning after breaky so that 2 are re-freezing and 2 are cooling the esky. At this time we also remove meat for dinner so we minimise the number of times the freezer is oopened. This system allows us to carry enough meat for a 1 month trip. Another advantage is that the esky stays dry compared with using ice. Even in the hot outback the freezer blocks never thaw. We put a few beers in the freezer at about 4pm each day so they are chilled in time for "sundowners". Hope this gives you some ideas.

I am like the previos guy, freeze the meats on the bottom and carry longlife milk and put it in the fridge daily $1 alitr on special.Only prob is fruit and veg I use canned and dry and use fresh for as long as it lasts.
I camped on the liechart for 2 weeks and had fresh for most of the time. Had to go to Burketown once (ran out of beer) and stocked up with only fresh fruit and a few vegies. spuds onions and carrotts etc keep in a dark place maybe in a calico bag,Cucumbers tomatoes, keep in the top of the fridge. Put beer in at about 3 hour to drink time at 1 degree and everything is hunky doree!!Take canned drinks.

Found some interesting info on food storage at
www.dfst.csiro.au/handling.htm

Following is a precise of their recommended storage temps

Recommended refrigeration storage temperatures for some foods
Food Storage temperature °C Shelf life in the home
Seafoods 0 - 3 3 days
Crustaceans & Molluscs 0 - 3 2 days
Meat 0 - 3 3-5 days
Minced meat & Offal 0 - 3 2-3 days
Cured meat 0 - 3 2-3 weeks
Poultry 0 - 3 3 days
Fruit juices 0 - 7 7-14 days
Milk 1 - 7 5-7 days

Cheers

Buggerlux
Cream 1 - 7 5 days
Cheese 0 - 7 Variable (1-3 months)
Butter 0 - 7 8 weeks
Oil & Fat 2 - 7 Variable (6 months)
Margarine 2 - 7 Variable (6 months)
Chilled meats and
meal components 0 - 3 No longer than
'use by' date
Leftovers 0 - 3 3-5 days

Hi
Red meat lasts quite a while for me when vacum sealed. Alot of butchers do this (especially in country areas) and it makes an incredible difference. I think this is also called cryovacing (something like that). I have had no problem in my little Waeco frodge keeping meat for up to 3 weeks not frozen ( I have never needed to test it beyond that)

Dont confuse the packaging you get pre-packed meat from the supermarket in with vacum sealed. The vacum sealed packaging is a very tough plastic bag that is heat sealed.

As already mentioned I use the long life milk as well and it lasts for ages

Cheers
Groove

I also get cryovac meat. Most butchers will do it for you. I select the meat I want and get each meal in a separate cryovac. Its mess free and actually keeps for several months at fridge temps - no need to run a freezer.

Also I run my engel at 1-2 degrees measured low down at the rear with a digital thermo probe. I velcro the unit to the front of the fridge.

We run our fridges at 4c to 6c as required by the health authorities. I am paranoid to ensure our fridges in the bus are held at the correct tempreture. I have recording digital thermometers that keep track over 24 hours that I check every afternoon before cooking to make sure they are always right. Run the Cryovac meat fridges and beer fridge at 2c to 3c.

Time all the above are good but for interest try measuring temps at various positions within the unit,in mine there are signifigant differences,find the warmest point,away from walls as use this as your reference point to apply settings,then everything should be the right degree of cold.

happy camping and cold beer.

To save on power I run fridge flat out whilst traveling 1-3 hours then turn it down when stoped.

I too use cryovac meat, and it has kept ok for 5 weeks at about 1-2deg. Just goes a bit darker, but it is fine. Also means no bloody mess in the bottom of the fridge. Butchers do not recommend keeping cryovac chicken for more than a few days.
What you need to watch is the temp at the bottom of the fridge. Earlier (but not the latest) 39L Engels had a chiller plate which only went 2/3 of the way down. The result was that the food at the bottom could get warmer than that further up. Not a problem if air can circulate, but if the bottom is packed with solid stuff like meat, then conduction is the only way to transfer the heat out. This was particularly noticeable when operating as a freezer - I had trouble getting the bottom to stay frozen, whereas the rest was nicely frozen. The new Engels are fine.
rgs
Gerry

B'lux, We have a couple of coolrooms that run at 2-4 degrees, that we store fruit, veges and big mobs of beef. Everything lasts well, the beef hangs for up to a month. The beef gets a bit hairy when the coolroom needs a clean.

Have an Engel 40L that we run on #1, on the few times we use it. Hooroo...