# picked up a free fridge



## sirtokesalot (May 15, 2008)

i picked up a free welbilt model w8/210 fridge. i was told it worked when i picked it up. i had to transport it on its side and did not know i had to wait to turn it back on. i ran the fridge for about an hour it will not get cool now. i can hear something moving around in the cooling lines inside the freezer. i noticed the compressor was getting a bit warm and turned it off then did some research. im still not sure. did i kill it by turning it on too soon?


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## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

You may have hurt it. Turning it on its side, oil found in the compressor may have gone into the lines. Can't compress a liquid, only gas. Leave it set for several hours, like 12 and try again. It could come back to life, if in fact it did work.

It can be fixed, but requires a service tech to do it and a service call, not cheap.

BG


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## sirtokesalot (May 15, 2008)

well i tried to plug it back in this morning the compressor wont come back on. it was running when i shut it off last night. i think i killed it.


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## sirtokesalot (May 15, 2008)

haha. spoke too soon i plugged it back in and gave the compressor a few light whacks with a rubber mallet and it started running. ill see if it get cool. it has been off since last night around 7:30 so its been about 13 hours sins i unplugged it last night.


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

24 hours is the general rule for running the fridge after transport on its side.

Transporting on the side is last resort and should be avoided if possible. A little too late in this case but is something worth remembering......good luck.


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## sirtokesalot (May 15, 2008)

well in another note i cant seem to find any good info on the web about the fridge. how fast should the fridge get cold? from the moment its plugged in and turned on how fast should the cold line from the compressor take to get cold to touch? how warm should the compressor be getting? the fridge does not have any fans in it it works the same way a mini fridge works.


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

Without a circulating fan it may take an hour or so to detect any real cooling inside the fridge. The chiller line should feel cool/cold within minutes I would think.......give it some time and see what happens. 

Not finding much info on the web either......


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## sirtokesalot (May 15, 2008)

well i think its dead. its been on for almost 3 hours and the temp inside it has not moved. i had a thermometer inside the fridge. i can hear what sounds like liquid moving around inside the freezer the compressor is running but will not cool. did i ruin it by transporting it on its side? can i repair it? if its low on freon could i build a recovery system and use the freon from another bad fridge to recharge this one?


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

There may be liquid in the lines.......I have no clue because I'm not a cooling tech. I would unplug the unit and leave it sit another 24hrs and try again tomorrow. Not much you can do without the equipment to recover the freon and recharge the system......there's no guessing when it comes to refrigeration.


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## sirtokesalot (May 15, 2008)

well i got hold of a friends dad who is an hvac tech he said the sound im hearing in the freezer is air the system has leaked down and there's no more freon im hearing the air hitting the corners in the lines. i believe him the thing is not getting cold at all.


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## bruiser (Jul 30, 2005)

If your friend's dad is correct, the box needs recharging.


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## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

maybe you found the real reason why the fridge was free...


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## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

Fixing is more than possible, one trick finding where the Freon is leaking from.

BG


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