The freezer is set to 6 degrees but will not go below 13 degrees. Sears says they cannot come until Wednesday and I am concerned that it will ruin all of our meat inside before they can get here.

This information does not mean anything to us if you didn't specify the model. In what temperature range a freezer works we knew thanks to the stars.
One star (-6 degrees centigrade) is perfect for making ice cubes and is sufficiently cold to keep food for three or four days.
** Two stars (-12 degrees centigrade) stores food for fifteen to twenty days.
*** Three stars (-18 degrees centigrade) will keep food safe for up to three months.
**** Four stars (below 18 degrees centigrade) means that the compartment provides the ideal conditions for freezing down fresh and pre-cooked foods.

Dado

look in your onwers manuel and it should tell you what your temperature for the freezer should range from.if it was not giving to you when you bought the freezer then it should be behind the pannel down where the compresser is taped to the side.but as you know any thing below 32 degrees is freezing so 5 degrees is pretty cold.i dont under stand about the noise but if you think your freezer is not working right and if it is new then call place where you got it and tell them your concerns and then they should send a technician out

The settings are "relative". Someone with this fridge in Montana may need to run the same fridge with different settings than someone in Texas to get the same temperatures.

Many manufacturers recommend that the fresh food compartment should be 34 degrees F, and the freezer -10 to 0 degrees F. To set this properly, place a thermometer in the freezer (that can display temperatures as low as the desired temperature). Adjust the thermometer for the correct freezer temperature before going on to the fridge. A fully stocked freezer could take 12 hours or more for temperatures to stabilize after making changes to the thermostat. Once the -10 to 0 degree temperature has been achieved, set the fresh food compartment temperature.

Place a thermometer (that can display below freezing) in a 6 (or so) oz flexible plastic cup of water and place on a shelf in the fridge. A glass of water could break if the temperature gets below 32 degrees if the water turns to ice. The water acts as a buffer to rapidly changing temperatures when the door is opened to read the thermometer. If the fridge is "full", allow 24 hours for the temperature to stabilize before making changes.

If the fridge and freezer are empty, changes may be seen in just a few hours or less. Otherwise, wait the 12 / 24 hours for the freezer / fridge compartments.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Must be kept at 0*F (-18*C) minimum

This is well with in factory specifications. Hot air rises and cold air drops. Because a chest freezer does not have a fan to circulate the air it is normal for the basket to be warmer than the bottom of the freezer. The bottom of the freezer is used for food you want to keep for a longer period of time.What you store in the basket is food you will freeze for a short period of time. Ice cream should not be kept in the basket. As you fill your freezer with food you will find that the temperature will equal out because the frozen food will take up the place of the frozen air which will give you a more stable freezer temperature.
Try your test when you have it full of food.

The freezer get the first crack at cooling and combination units have a fan and adjustable vents to steal some of the cooling capacity for the refrigerator. The vent are normally located in the back of the refrigerator compartment and with these, you can balance the cooling capacity between freezer and fridge. I recommend you swap your thermometer back and forth until you get the balance you want; typically the freezer should be at 5 degrees F or below and the fridge at 35-40 degrees F. Adjusting the control for temperature and having the vents set to supply the cold air you want in each compartment should give you the range you want in each.

Make sure the evaporator coils behind the rear cover inside the freezer are not iced up too much. This would indicate a defrost problem and will get worse.
If the compressor is still cycling off and on the cold control could be at fault.

in general, a freezer will go into a defrost cycle about every 6 hours and usually from 25 to 40 minutes. After the defrost, the unit should function normal. Pull down to temp and cycle off. If the product shows signs of thawing, then I would be concerned about the box temp. Defrost may be too long or some other issue may be effecting it. Otherwise, if no signs of thawing, I wouldn't be too concerned. It's the product condition that is the concern.

i doubt that.def sounds like bad cold control though,good news if your producing cold. Hair dryer good---- Ice Pick no good!!!

Big...this is likely normal. I'm not sure where you're measuring that temp from. If it is the fan outlet, this is possible. The fact that the unit is staying below 5 degrees means that it is within spec. You do have a warranty. Ask Sears to come on in and check it out.

Your 'duty cycle'...that amount of time that the compressor is on should be about 20% of a unit of time...say 25 minutes out of 2 hours. Is that about right? If so, enjoy your ice cream.