So, I moved house recently, which involved transporting furniture from my granddad’s old house about 120 miles in a van and then getting it up 2 flights of stairs. One of the items was his freezer (no fridge, just a normal, stand-up, front-opening freezer), about 5 years old and in good condition. It worked perfectly when my granddad was alive, but since his death it has been empty and switched off for about 6 months.
We think that we were pretty careful moving it, certainly don’t recall bashing or anything like that. However, we note the instructions say that if it is turned off, you should wait at least five minutes before turning it on again, which we may have failed to do when installing it. Also, I have heard that when a freezer is moved, you should wait at least 24 hours before turning it on to let the gases settle.
Anyway, when we turn it on, the compressor starts up but switches itself off after about 2 seconds. About every 30 seconds it will do the same thing. So, most likely there is either a mechanical fault with the compressor, and/or a relay is tripping it out, somehow. We have a suitable replacement available so this isn’t a massive worry, but if anyone has any suggestions to fix this easily (it’s probably not worth calling a professional), that would be great. Otherwise I’ll be heading down to the local river late at night next week, and believe me, that bank can be dangerous if you’re carrying something heavy :).
Sounds like it may have leaked out its coolant.
Save your back and the riverbank, call around for a second hand appliance shop. If it looks good and still operates they may pick it up for free. Then they will fix it for resale. If for some reason fixing it is not feasible they may use it for parts.
I hope you were joking about taking it down to the river. But if you must, remove the door. Littering would be bad, but leaving a deathtrap for kids would be worse.
Did you tip it on it’s side? That’s a big no no. Somebody in refrigeration can explain, because I can’t
If you leave it alone and unplugged for a day, then try it again - does it still endlessly try to start? If so, it’s kaput.
Moving refrigerators and freezers on their side is not recommended, but it’s not necessarily fatal. IIRC, the rule of thumb is to stand it up and leave it alone for twice as long as it was laid over for transportation. This lets the refrigerant and compressor’s lubricant get back to where it needs to be.
Before chucking it out, check with your local electric utility about any buy-back programs they might have. Appliance stores may also know about these as well. Around here, they’ll give you something like $35 for an old or dead fridge and they’ll pick it up for free. Win-win all around - you get rid of the beast, you get money, it’s handled safely so no kids can be hurt in it, the refrigerant is reclaimed rather than released to the air, and one more energy-gobbling appliance is gone.
As the smiley didn’t make it obvious enough, yes I was joking about the river. If it cannot be saved I will be taking it to the local rubbish dump who have a collection point for safe disposal of such items. Unless I do find a second-hand electrical goods shop nearby, which I doubt.
Regarding tipping on its side, we did carry it in a position where it was on its back for a short time - presumably that is just as bad? But it was not stored or transported for any significant length of time in this position at all. Given the circumstances, I’m pretty sure we would have noticed a coolant leak, whether this occurred before, during, or after transit, but it is possible. I still think it’s more likely the compressor is damaged somehow.
ETA:
Yup, we tried this. Looks like we broke it by not leaving to stand long enough after moving it before plugging in. Thanks for the buy-back tip, I’ll look into it.