I live in Spain. I own a refrigerator. I just moved. The moving guy and my wife (both Spanish) insisted that after the refrigerator had been moved it had to “settle” for 24 hours before being plugged in. The guys who brought the fridge to my old house four years ago when I bought it told me the same thing. Apparently inside the fridge there are mysterious liquids that circulate and if they are not allowed to settle down before the fridge is plugged in very bad things will happen.
This is a modern, standard refrigerator, not some museum piece. I had never heard about this settling down business during all the many long years I lived in America. Is there any truth to it or is it some Spanish refrigerator urban legend?
Sounds like an urban legend to me. I’ve never heard of it here in the states. My Refrigerator manual doesn’t say anything about waiting before plugging it in. however, it DOES say “Give your refrigerator time to cool down completely before adding food. It is best to wait 24 hours before adding food.”
I suspect this is the source of what you’ve been told, and common wisdom has misinterpreted this to mean wait to plug it in.
You don’t have to let it settle if you kept it upright, but if you tipped it back, or had to lay it down for any reason, you have to let it stand for a while. If you don’t, the compressor will be damaged. Take it from an old appliance mover (moi).
TT
“Believe those who seek the truth.
Doubt those who find it.” --Andre Gide
Inside the refrigeration system there is about a cup of oil to lubricate the compressor, if the refrigerator is layed on it’s side the oil can drain out of the sump and into the lines and coils.
When the refrigerator is pluged in right after being set upright the oil can be sucked into the compressor and hydro-lock it.
24 hours is long enought for the oil to settle back into the sump of the compressor.
Peace
t lion
" I Wonder What Happens When I push THIS Button? "
Methinks LION is right. I bought a new fridge about three years ago, and the delivery folks told me the same thing. They said it wouldn’t neccessarily harm anything, but that it would be better if I cound let it sit till the next day before turning it on. I did, no problems.
Peace,
mangeorge
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Lion is correct…if you layed the fridge down…you have to give the oil time to settle back…if you kept it upright while moving it…then it’s fine to plug it back in…depending on how long you had it unplugged…you need to let it cool back down before putting food back in…if you kept it upright while moving…add more time to the additional 24 hours to plug it back in to let it cool down…
Yes…but only if your fridge was layed on its side.The oil that lubricates the compressor is “entrained” by the freon inside.The oil moves around the system with the freon gas.This lubricates the compressor lobes and bearings.If the fridge is on its side the oil will run out of the compressor “sump” and when started right side up immediatly after being on its side it could cause bearing damage.Never heard of “Hydro Locking”? Is that a new trade term???
Rich G7
I used the term hydro-lock in describe what happens when a compressor ingests a noncompressable liquid.
At best it overloads the motor at the worst it totaly locks up the mechinism.
All my experence has been with industrial air compressors and automotive air conditioning compressors.
Peace
t lion
" I Wonder What Happens When I push THIS Button? "
