On Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:01:48 -0400, Nate Nagel
wrote:

Hi all,

got a really old fridge in my kitchen, nothing special just a 15-20 year
old typical white boxy thing. Bought myself a new gadget the other day,
one of those wireless thermometer thingys that also records max and min.
Well here it turns out that while after I'd moved in I thought I'd
calibrated the fridge correctly (PO's of the house were kind of
eco-nuts, and had set the fridge too warm, presumably to save energy) it
was still running a little warm. Tweaked it a little last night, reset
the thermometer thing before I left for work (figuring it'd stabilize
overnight,) and came back home to find that while I'd gone the fridge
temperature had ranged from 32F to 42F. weird. obviously since I was
gone all day nobody had opened a door. So it seems that it's not
holding the temp in a narrow enough range (since the fridge portion
should, ideally, be between 33 and 39F at all times)

Also, it seems like every time I walk through the kitchen, the darn
thing is running. Is this typical? Seems to me I don't recall that
anywhere else I've lived, usually the fridge would only be running 50%
of the time or less, correct? Typical room temp this time of year
ranges from 62F (away) to 67F (morning and evening) so it's not like
it's especially warm in the kitchen. I don't have a kill-a-watt, but
might get one. Would that tell me anything about whether it is time for
replacement or not? (do they tend to draw more or less current if
they're low on freon?) I know for a fact that this is a sealed system
(was just under it not long ago for its first cleaning probably ever)
and it's not a particularly special fridge, so getting a new one
wouldn't make me cry at all.

Along the same lines, were I to buy a new fridge, it'd probably be set
on its side to fit in the back of the truck to get it home. How long
should it sit in its installed position before being plugged in? 12
hours? Longer? Wouldn't want to blow up a new compressor for doing
something dumb...

nate

Check the door seal. If it leaks, the appliance will run longer.

Transport: position the compressor on the resting (down) side.

Allow to set for a day and THEN plug it in.