Did I kill my fridge?

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Lorenzoid
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Did I kill my fridge?

Post by Lorenzoid » Sat Dec 19, 2020 22:03

I bought a small commercial beverage fridge on Craigslist to convert into a drying chamber. It worked fine when I picked it up, but now at home it will not cool below about 55F (which might actually work for my purposes, but that's not the point). I Googled for an answer, and--as you may have guessed--discovered that laying a fridge on its side in transport can cause this. Apparently, I am not the first bonehead to have discovered this in hindsight. A commonly suggested remedy is to keep it turned off for a day, a week, or more, and then try to run it again. I tried waiting as long as two weeks, and it did not help. It cools down from room temperature to 55 or so and then stops there.

I probably should have bought a cheap, brand-new consumer grade fridge and had it delivered. But I had it in my head that a commercial fridge would be more durable than the fridges and freezers I have used in the past for temperature-controlled homebrewing, all of which eventually crapped out.

Is my only recourse at this point to call a refrigeration service? I haven't been able to find any DIY repair advice online for this kind of problem.
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redzed
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Re: Did I kill my fridge?

Post by redzed » Sat Dec 19, 2020 23:38

If the compressor still runs then there might be some hope of repair. If only the fan runs then it's probably toast. Always a crap shoot when you buy used. And if you didn't run it for 2 weeks after standing it up, then laying it down during transport is probably not the cause of the problem. I junked two use all-fridges in the past two years because they crapped out on me. Bought a brand new upright frost free freezer, it's been running since March.
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Re: Did I kill my fridge?

Post by Lorenzoid » Sun Dec 20, 2020 20:15

redzed wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 23:38
If the compressor still runs then there might be some hope of repair. If only the fan runs then it's probably toast. Always a crap shoot when you buy used. And if you didn't run it for 2 weeks after standing it up, then laying it down during transport is probably not the cause of the problem. I junked two use all-fridges in the past two years because they crapped out on me. Bought a brand new upright frost free freezer, it's been running since March.
I am guessing it's not the compressor, as it does cool from room temperature (say, 70F) down to 55F. It was working like a champ as an office fridge when I picked it up from the seller, who was getting rid of it because everyone is working from home these days. I have to believe it was the transport on its side that did it. My understanding it that the longer it lays on its side, the farther the compressor oil can migrate and the harder it is to return it to normal by letting it sit. But it was only on its side for an hour or so in the back of my SUV. It's a Beverage-Air.

Again, my thinking was that Beverage-Air, True, or other commercial brands would be more durable than a Samsung, LG or whatever. :( I did some reading before buying a beverage fridge, and I bought it in spite of knowing that the glass door would need to have a cover, and that the fan speed may need to be tamed.
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redzed
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Re: Did I kill my fridge?

Post by redzed » Sun Dec 20, 2020 22:07

That's too bad. Sounds like maybe a leak in the lines. Did you try to override the fridge thermostat with an exterior one?
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Re: Did I kill my fridge?

Post by Lorenzoid » Mon Dec 21, 2020 20:47

I haven't tried anything other than leaving it unplugged for a couple of weeks before trying it again, out of fear I'll make it worse. I guess after the holidays I will call a service company.
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