[jyl]

I'm trying to decide if my new refrigerator is working properly. The problem is, various thermometers are reporting different temperatures.

The dial thermometer on the fridge's upper faceplate says 45F. My digital probe fridge/freezer thermometers say 30-34F depending on where I place them in the box. If I place a probe in a bowl of water that has been sitting in the fridge for a day, it reads 30F. (Yet note the water is not frozen.). My digital meat thermometer in the same bowl of water reads 40F.

I am thinking the probe thermometer is faulty and the fridge is 40-45F, but it bothers me that I have to guess at which thermometer is accurate and which is not, and that I only have a rough range of temperature rather than a point.

Can you suggest a guaranteed reliable way to determine the temperature of the water in the bowl? That doesn't involve more than, say, $40 in new instruments.