"James" wrote in message

Well, now I find that at the midrange setting of both the freezer and
fridge sections, the freezer is right at about 0 deg and the fridge is
at 40 which is what I gather is considered optimal. None of the
sweating I saw a year ago. I.e., it seems to be operating normally.

I'm not strong on refrigerator theory, but what could be a reason why
it seemed to be exhibiting symptoms and after a year of mostly
collecting dust now it isn't? Is it possible that sitting empty isn't
a valid test of whether it's working well or should it not matter?

Thanks for all input

40 is not optimal, but the maximum you want to see. 35-36 is better.

An empty fridge is not the ideal situation for testing. The sweating is
cause by moisture condensing and is more likely to happen in warm damp
weather and around the door, especially if the gasket is starting to leak.
Since appliances don't fix themselves, conditions have either changed or
you've not given it enough time for the sweating to start. Load in some
jugs of water and see if it makes a difference.