I think my 12v fridge is on the blink

[Chewbacka]

If you do tilt or invert your fridge then you must leave it the right way up for a good few hours as all the oil used to lubricate the compressor will have left the compressor and needs to drain back down.  Run the compressor without oil and it will not last long........

 

Turning a fridge upside down - my understanding is it might improve a gas powered fridge, but will do nothing for an electric ‘compressor’ fridge.  In fact after turning a compressor fridge upside down you may no longer need to be concerned as to wether you need a new fridge or not, the decision will have been made for you........

[Guest]

Ok, maybe I won't turn it upside down. I'll wait until I get a fridge specialist to have a look.

[Rebotco]

36 minutes ago, welly said:

There are a number of posts on various forums that confirms this may work. So with nothing else to lose I'm going to try it.

 

Watch this space. ?‍?

 

I may check the manual first though...

You have quite a lot to lose if you do this to a compressor fridge.  The oil in the compressor will flow down to the capillary or TEV where the lower temperature will convert it into a wax and prevent any flow of the refrigerant.  Goodbye fridge!

It could be effective on absorption type fridges, but they work on an entirely different principle.

[Richard10002]

My Waeco compressor fridge was delivered upside down a couple of years ago. It was double boxed and the outer protective box made it look like it was the right way up but the actual fridge box inside was upside down.

 

i reported it immediately to the supplier and they said not to worry, but keep it the right way up for 24 hours before powering up. It’s been fine since fitting a day or two later.

[Rebotco]

Yes, the crucial thing is to wait 24 hrs at room temperature to allow the oil to drain back down, before switching on.

[pearley]

14 minutes ago, Rebotco said:

Yes, the crucial thing is to wait 24 hrs at room temperature to allow the oil to drain back down, before switching on.

Well we've just ordered a new fridge freezer from Inlander and asked this very question and was told 4 hours was sufficient. 

 

Incidentally Inlander are canal side by Anchor Bridge in Oldbury. You could moor up, walk across to their workshop, put a new fridge on a sack truck and wheel it back to the boat. 

[Rebotco]

As a refrigeration manufacturer for over 30 yrs, that is not advice I would give.

In some circumstances 4 hrs could be sufficient, in others it will be inadequate.  It depends on the ambient temperature and length of time the equipment has been inverted.

[pearley]

36 minutes ago, Rebotco said:

As a refrigeration manufacturer for over 30 yrs, that is not advice I would give.

In some circumstances 4 hrs could be sufficient, in others it will be inadequate.  It depends on the ambient temperature and length of time the equipment has been inverted.

I would imagine that in most circumstances the unit wouldn't have been inverted but tilted as in tilted back on a sack truck so doubtful that any oil would have travelled far.