Moving a fridge-freezer and switching it back on 25 January 2009 at 6:55AM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving 10 replies 100.8K views

stilernin

I am moving to a house only a mile away and have a full freezer

I know that the usual advice is to let a fridge stand for a while before it is switched on a again but I wondered if I could get away with switching it straight back on.. Or just letting it stand for an hour say.

It would really help me out it I could defrost it etc later.

TDA10

Is the FF going to need laying down when moving?

If it's kept upright there won't be a prob at all, as far as I'm aware, and even if not, for a mile long trip it shouldn't matter - I've done it for much further journeys without a prob. I'm no expert though!

frugalmacdugal

Hi,

if you keep in upright it'll be fine, though I would leave it to last, empty it, pack food

into boxes and then switch on as soon as at new house and transfer food back in, for

such a short distance things'll be fine.

ormus

yes thats right. if it stands up then you can use it straight away.
if you lay it down, it needs 24 hrs before you can use it again.

Magnolia

We moved more than several times with the RAF and I never had a clue if the fridge was upright or not but plugged it in as soon as it was in situ and never had any problems - mind you - we could have been lucky!

Shimmyhill

We literally did this yesterday, was a Bosch and it said to stand it for 2 hours before being switched on - did this and all is well so far *touches wood*

Sirbendy

I've heard this said, I've debated it, and I've ignored it...heh..fridges/freezers in this house get moved flat, put upright in the kitchen, and get the time it takes to sort the rest of the stuff out before it goes back into service.

In the case of our latest Beko (spit) fridge, it had a 30+ mile trip on its side, and once here it was powered in 30 minutes. No issues.

We're moving in 3 weeks...both fridge and freezer will be laid down for the 5 minute trip, carried upstairs, plugged in and powered up straight off. If I'm feeling overcautious I'll put them on a timer delay for maybe an hour, but I doubt it.

mikey72

The reason for letting them stand is to ensure no liquid is settled in the compressor. If you lay them down it is possible that liquid will trickle through the evapourater, and then when the compressor starts, it can't compress the liquid, and will break. If you let them stand. any liquid will eventually evapourate, and the gas can be compressed as normal.

stilernin

Thanks for all the replies on this. It looks like the plan is load it last, get it in the house first and give it a few hours to settle.

I'm sure that the frozen food will be fine put back in the freezer with the door closed until it is switched on.

Thanks again everyone.

Fire_Fox

Why would you take the food out of the freezer at all? Gaffer tape the door closed and it will stay cold for hours. Move the freezer upright if you can, leave it to stand in a cool place for as long as you dare, and then switch back on.

stilernin

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Why would you take the food out of the freezer at all? Gaffer tape the door closed and it will stay cold for hours. Move the freezer upright if you can, leave it to stand in a cool place for as long as you dare, and then switch back on.

To stand more chance of lifting up some stairs and into the back of the van I suppose. Although I'm not doing the lifting