Moving a refrigerator

rminon

Member
My missus bought a new frig and it looks like relative is going to take the old one. They are going to lay it down to put in the truck. I moved a freezer one time and it was upended for a half hour just to get out of a basement. We set it in it's new home and let it sit for 24 hours, plugged it in and it worked perfect for years.
I'm wondering how long can a frig lay down before there will be a problem?
Where it's going they are liable to plug it in right away.
 
I've always heard it will screw up a refrigerator to lay it down and to always transport it standing vertical. A google search tends to say the same thing but if it has to be done that way to first shut the fridge down long enough to defrost. Then after moving leave the fridge sit upright for at least 24 hours before starting again. GE says not to lay any of their refrigerators down at all.
 
Moved one laying down 120 miles one time. Stood it up over night before plugging it in and it worked fine.
 
(quoted from post at 19:27:19 02/15/17) My missus bought a new frig and it looks like relative is going to take the old one. They are going to lay it down to put in the truck. I moved a freezer one time and it was upended for a half hour just to get out of a basement. We set it in it's new home and let it sit for 24 hours, plugged it in and it worked perfect for years.
I'm wondering how long can a frig lay down before there will be a problem?
Where it's going they are liable to plug it in right away.

We were told to stand it up for as long as it was laying down before you plug it in...
 
The problem is the migration of oil away from the compressor.
When you turn it on the compressor has no oil so it burns up.

But if you have no other choice find the suction line.
The big line coming off the compressor.
Lay it down most likely on its side so the suction line is the highest point.
Then when you get it in place let it sit preferably 24 hours but for at least as long as you had it laying down so all the oil can drain back into the compressor.
 
Some manufacturers say to never transport laying down. Others say it's fine, it is my thought you are taking a chance of it not working long if you lay an old one down. An appliance repair man told me one time to let one set for 48 hours if it had been on it side for any period time.
 
I've always moved refrigerators standing up to avoid any problems. I strapped them to my appliance cart and strapped the cart tight to the truck. Never had a problem. Wheel it off the truck into it's place and plug it in.

An appliance cart is a handy thing to have around, but be careful who you loan it too. One fellow borrowed it to move a fridge, brought it home with a broken strap. Turned out he had also moved a heavy soda dispensing machine for his friend! I had that cart for many years; when I made our last move, I sold it for more than I had paid for it.
 
First fridge I ever owned was a second-hand one I bought off a co-waorker. I hadn't heard they need to be transported standing up, and neither had he, so we hauled it 25 miles laying in the back of his van. I plugged it in as soon as it was in place. It was still working fine eight years later when I sold the house. I dropped by a year later and the new owner had put a fresh coat of paint on the old avocado fridge. YMMV.
 
I leave mine strapped to appliance cart standing up, then strap cart to truck. That way when I unload it cart is on refrigerator. Use 8 ft mower ramps to load and unload. Why lay it down?
 
I seem to remember someone not long ago that posted about seeing someone at a box store buying a new fridge and transporting it standing up in the back of the truck with not so much as a piece of twine on it. When they pulled out from a stop the fridge turned over tearing up the tailgate and the freezer door.
 
In 1972 I was given a five year old Sears refrigerator for the taking. Problem: It was 350 miles away and I didn't have anything to haul it with. So, away we went, intending to rent a trailer one way to bring it back. At the time I could rent a U-Haul (smallest) trailer for about $25 one way. Not bad even then. Not knowing any better we laid the thing down on it's back, the coils were contained underneath on this on. I looked at it and decided to duct tape the compressor so it wouldn't be dangling sideways on the mounts or coming loose.

After getting it home I put it in the garage and left it for a week so I could find something to do with my old one. This was not on purpose, just a matter of logistics. Moved it in and everything worked, until 2012, that is. Oh, I did have to replace the defrost heater and the timer one time, but that is all. 40 years ain't bad. Spent maybe $50 on parts during that time. Now it resides in my shop with the original chocolate brown decor as keeper for oil and other things. I did run some sealer in the vents so the varmints couldn't get in it. Never have had a problem with condensation either. Probably because it's inside my shop.

Two things about this story: In my case transport didn't hurt it, and the fact it lasted nearly 50 years. Find a new fridge that will be around that far in the future now!
 
It depends on the design of the refrigerator, some ok to lay down ohters not, some on one side only others only on the other side so no correct answer. And it is due to the oil in them. I have my refrigeration licence but never used it.
 
Also has to do if the compressor was bolted down. A used one won't have the compressor bolted down and if the rubber mounts break--disaster. Oil is the primary concern with a new fridge, The 24 hour 'wait' time is sufficient.
 
As with anything, transporting the fridge laying down is not a sure-fire recipe for disaster. MOST will not have any issues, even if plugged in immediately after standing them back upright.

Every deviation from the IDEAL situation of transporting upright, though, increases your risk of having a problem. Let's say transporting upright is a 99.99% chance of success (1 in 10,000 failure rate). Transporting laying down and letting the oil settle for 24 hours before plugging in would have a 99.9% chance of success (1 in 1000 failure rate). Plugging it in immediately after standing the fridge upright would have a 99% chance of success (1 in 100 failure rate).

Even in the worst case scenario, 99 times out of 100 you will not have any issues. Manufacturers don't want a bad reputation or excess warranty claims so they are going to tell you to use the method with the best chance of success.
 
Years ago I had a job installing appliances in an apartment complex.
We were told to lay the fridge on its side for 15 min, then on its top, then the other side (air bubbles in condenser), sit 24 hours (oil) , then good to go
 

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