Fridge Question

We have a house boat in KY. and will not be there in the winter. When winterizing we were going to unplug the fridge and let it sit over the winter. We were told by the previous owner that you never unplug a fridge. or it will not work in the summer. I hate to tell anyone that they are full of shi*, but am i missing something here. i have left many fridges unplugged. and they are still working today.. this is a regular fridge. nothing strange about it...

Re: firdg. Question

Re: firdg. Question

I cant think of any reason that just unplugging it will make any difference at all.

What do they think happens when the power goes out?

Re: firdg. Question

Re: firdg. Question

bifflefan said:

I cant think of any reason that just unplugging it will make any difference at all.

What do they think happens when the power goes out?

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+1. Empty it, wash it down and prop the door open so air can circulate.

Re: firdg. Question

Re: firdg. Question

Folks around here don't winterize......they summerize. This place is empty in the summer. A friend who is the local handyman and property manager shuts off all electric, including the reefer. In my case I had a reefer sit for 3 years and upon start it wouldn't run. Put on it's side and she started again. He told me this was common practice...lubricating the valves in the compressor. New to me, I hope it helps you.

Re: firdg. Question

Re: firdg. Question

Generally, you don't want to turn any type of appliance on its side if it has refrigerant in it. Keep upright is the rule of thumb here.

Unplugging the fridge is best. Some very old fridge's had bad relays, and when the power went out or they were unplugged they would need a friendly kick in the relay to start up.

What you are getting is old school advice and very outdated.

Re: firdg. Question

Re: firdg. Question

My 1974 camper still has it's original 3-way fridge. It gets used only a few times a year and still works great.

Re: firdg. Question

Re: firdg. Question

Philster said:

Generally, you don't want to turn any type of appliance on its side if it has refrigerant in it. Keep upright is the rule of thumb here.

Unplugging the fridge is best. Some very old fridge's had bad relays, and when the power went out or they were unplugged they would need a friendly kick in the relay to start up.

What you are getting is old school advice and very outdated.

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I agree......My statement was about placing on it's side was for a non-running reefer, not for storage. Old school or not, I revived an old reefer.

Re: Fridge Question

Hey, to revive stuff... sometimes you might have to kick it, too (as I posted). Whatever it takes!

Remember banging the side of old T.V.s when they were acting up? Now when a T.V. doesn't work, you write a check!

Re: Fridge Question

What lake do you have a house boat on?

We usually leave our fridge plugged in on our boat. Some people say that leaving it unplugged for extended periods doesn't keep the compressor lubricated, then when you turn it on it may be seized up, etc.

Re: Fridge Question

the main thing is to leave the door propped open. A couple of months won't hurt it and if it does, you were due for a new one anyway.

Re: Fridge Question

Since you have about a 50:50 mix of "off" and "on", let me make a suggestion:

Look in the owners manual or contact the manufacturer of the refrigerator.

Re: Fridge Question

the fridg is only about 2 yrs old.. I think i'll make a phone call Thanks...

Re: Fridge Question

well lets think about this for a second..... how much do you think it's gonna run during the WINTER.... unless you plan to run heaters it will be off for weeks or months at a time even if you leave it plugged in.... honestly it really makes no difference..... If a fridge is about to die then not running for an extended period can finish it off but in this case either way will be fine.... BTW the manufacturer will tell you to unplug it

Re: firdg. Question

Re: firdg. Question

xxxflhrci said:

My 1974 camper still has it's original 3-way fridge. It gets used only a few times a year and still works great.

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Your fridge in your camper works a bit differently than a regular electric type fridge, your is an ammonia absorption system, when all of the warm air in the fridge is absorbed there is nothing left but cold..

The coils are filled with an ammonia solution, that actually absorbs heat instead of a compressor that blows cold, it is three way, in other words, gas/propane, electric and 12volt, but it still heats the coils causing it to absorb the heat in the box. There is a heating element in the chimney that runs off of electric and there is a heating element that runs off of 12v. If the coils ever go bad, you will know it right away, because it will make your eyes burn when you open it up!

We used to turn them on their side, if they would not cool down properly, due to the fact the ammonia would crystallize in the coils and turning them on their side would mix the solution and kick them in the butt to start working again and allow the solution to circulate in the coils.

As others have said, I would not recommend turning a compressor system on its side, it could cause problems in the compressor...

I normally leave our house fridge/freezer running in the winter, when we leave for a couple of months and have never had any problems, but if unsure, just unplug it, it is no different than cutting the power or even when you purchased it new, when you buy them new they normally have not been plugged in for months, unless it is a floor model..

Also if you empty it and leave it running, and the door seals are good, it will actually run very little, because the door won't be opening and closing,, and you won't have anything in it to cool off..

Re: Fridge Question

We had several boats in Michigan and stored them over the Winter and never plugged in the Fridge. Never had a problem either, turn it off, that way you won't have to worry about something shorting out or causing a fire.

Re: Fridge Question

The phone call to the manufacturer is free and will provide advice specific to that particular refrigerator.

It doesn't really matter what anyone else does or has done.