# New fridge has to be left undisturbed for 3 hours before plugged in. Why?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 20, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772 "2010-10-20T13:58:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/1 "2010-10-20T13:58:13Z")
I bought a new fridge yesterday. One guy at the shop told us to leave it sitting for 24 hours before plugging it in. The guy at the check-out told us to leave it for 12 hours. The manual says if the refrigerator was tilted during transport it has to be left undisturbed in the upright position for at least 3 hours or else the compressor might get damaged.
My question is what exactly happens when the fridge is tilted and why could the compressor get damaged?
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### Author:  [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/2 "2010-10-20T14:01:23Z")
I believe it’s something to do with letting teh coolant settle.
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### Author:  [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/3 "2010-10-20T14:02:26Z")
I wrecked a fridge once by turning it on immediately I got it home. The coolant is frothy until it’s settled and it wrecks the pump.
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### Author:  [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/4 "2010-10-20T14:28:22Z")
It’s the coolant, as much as it is the compressor oil, which has to drain completely back into the compressor case before you start it. During transport, tilting and such, the compressor oil gets throughout the system. It has to settle back out.
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### Author:  [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/5 "2010-10-20T14:57:50Z")
I once destroyed a fridge by transporting it on its side and the plugging it in immediately. I now know that you should not tilt them more than 30 degrees or so (or what the manual recommends) and let the sit for several hours to overnight before plugging in.
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### Author:  [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/6 "2010-10-20T15:01:46Z")
I am going to attempt to move a working 1950 refrigerator almost 1000 miles.
Keep your fingers crossed.
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### Author:  [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/7 "2010-10-20T15:09:27Z")
This is interesting. I’ve bought several new refrigerators over the years and don’t remember ever being told not to plug them in, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t told that. In every case, delivery was accomplished by the dealer, or his delivery service; is that enough to make a difference? I’m considering buying a new refrigerator in the near future; I’ll be asking about this. I’m glad the subject has come up.
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### Author:  [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/8 "2010-10-20T15:11:31Z")
> [@campp](#):
>
> I am going to attempt to move a working 1950 refrigerator almost 1000 miles.
>
> Keep your fingers crossed.
The best advice, is transport it in its normal operating position. Don’t lay it down. Then it should be fine, but still let it sit a bit before plugging it in.
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### Author:  [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/9 "2010-10-20T15:17:16Z")
> [@campp](#):
>
> I am going to attempt to move a working 1950 refrigerator almost 1000 miles.
>
> Keep your fingers crossed.
You’re going to need a long extension cord.
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### Author:  [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/10 "2010-10-20T15:18:30Z")
> [@LouisB](#):
>
> This is interesting. I’ve bought several new refrigerators over the years and don’t remember ever being told not to plug them in, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t told that. In every case, delivery was accomplished by the dealer, or his delivery service; is that enough to make a difference? I’m considering buying a new refrigerator in the near future; I’ll be asking about this. I’m glad the subject has come up.
Every time I’ve had a refrigerator delivered by the dealer it is upright in the truck. You only have to worry if it’s transported not upright.
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### Author:  [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/11 "2010-10-20T15:26:32Z")
> [@campp](#):
>
> I am going to attempt to move a working 1950 refrigerator almost 1000 miles.
>
> Keep your fingers crossed.
Does this fridge have sentimental value? Because if not, you can probably save yourself some real money by pitching it to the side of the road and buying a new one when you get there. Last time I replaced a fridge (and it was probably a 1985 model), the savings in electricity were staggering.
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/12 "2010-10-20T15:44:19Z")
refrigerators should be recycled with the refrigerant reclaimed. in the USA either the store or electric utility might do this and give you a credit. government bodies that run landfills will also do this.
payback in terms of electrical costs is quite rapid for replacement of older units.
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### Author:  [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/13 "2010-10-20T15:50:14Z")
\
Refrigerators don’t use coolant. They use refrigerant.
Refrigerant is used in things that are designed to get colder than ambient temperature, such as refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners.
Coolant is used to limit how much hotter things get than ambient temperature, such as automobile engines and nuclear reactors.
\
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/14 "2010-10-20T16:21:21Z")
> [@Zulema](#):
>
> Every time I’ve had a refrigerator delivered by the dealer it is upright in the truck. You only have to worry if it’s transported not upright.
Perhaps. However, if the warehouse people are not the same as the delivery people, you don’t know how it was stored. I’d err on the side of caution.
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### Author:  [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/15 "2010-10-21T01:31:53Z")
That’s interesting – when I was in college, we had rental services who’d take advantage of the student hordes and pass out small cube fridges to all and sundry. I don’t remember ever being told to let them stand for a bit before plugging in, and you can imagine the care that a couple of students would use when tipping a fridge all ways to get it up the stairs. We always plugged it in pretty soon after, and never had one go out on us.
Is this related to the size of the fridge or were four years of student dorms lucky?
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### Author:  [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2010, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/16 "2010-10-21T06:58:00Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> Perhaps. However, if the warehouse people are not the same as the delivery people, you don’t know how it was stored. I’d err on the side of caution.
Why would a warehouse store refrigerators on their sides? They take up…like 3x the floor space that way.
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### Author:  [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/17 "2010-10-21T07:04:35Z")
Thanks for the replies!
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### Author:  [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2010, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/18 "2010-10-21T08:19:55Z")
> [@Sue\_Duhnym](#):
>
> Why would a warehouse store refrigerators on their sides? They take up…like 3x the floor space that way.
Not if you stack 'em.
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2010, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/19 "2010-10-21T08:33:23Z")
> [@Sue\_Duhnym](#):
>
> Why would a warehouse store refrigerators on their sides? They take up…like 3x the floor space that way.
Sheer malice.
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-fridge-has-to-be-left-undisturbed-for-3-hours-before-plugged-in-why/557772/20 "2010-10-21T14:17:11Z")
> [@campp](#):
>
> I am going to attempt to move a working 1950 refrigerator almost 1000 miles.
You just have to keep your fridge … running!
:p:D:p:D:p
Some jokes never get old.
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