I would like some straight dope here. How long should I wait to plug in a new refrigerator after it has been through transport laid on its side? Googling this gave me answers from "just plug it in, to wait 24 hours… this for the coolant to “settle”.
Any one have any factual experience one way or the other. Thank you.
Have you checked the owner’s manual? If this is an important consideration, then the manufacturer will explicitly say so.
If the fridge was on its side for just a couple minutes to carry it into the house, it’s probably OK to turn it on once you get it in place, but if it’s been transported laying down, wait a day. It’s not so much the refrigerant needs to settle, but the oil that lubricates the compressor needs to get back where it belongs.
Hmmm… The manual says: “after the appliance has been transported, carefully place it vertically and wait for at least 3 hours before connecting it to the electricity mains.”
guess that’s the answer…
read the manual and follow the instructions.
if no instructions let it wait half a day upright. you can destroy or severely shorten the lifetime of the fridge if you don’t.
Correct it is an oil question, refrigerant does not settle.
Refrigerator installed…
let’s see, the manual said to wait 3 hours, talking to the service rep by telephone, she said 6-8 hours, the guy who delivered it said 48 hours. I waited about 22 hours.