8 ms·

Dumb question: Can I lay down my vertical door fridge on its back to achieve these efficiency gains?

masklinn 4y ago
I don’t think so. Part of it is that chests tend to have more insulation (also the reason why mini-fridges are absolute dreck efficiency wise), and the coolant / radiator circuit won’t be set up properly: in a traditional vertical fridge the coolant circuit is through the back or racks (for freezers) and the radiator are on the back, if you lay it on its back the radiator is now on the bottom, and trying to heat up the insulation, with the coolant circuit also at the bottom.
deleted 4y ago
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ben_bai 4y ago
No, because the heat-pump (compressor) in the back needs to stand upright. Also the back has cooling fins that need air circulation FYI: After transport you need to wait some time to let the oil in the compressor settle before turning it on. A level ground is also highly recommended.
- defrost 4y ago
  These can be detached and rotated ...
  - freeqaz 4y ago
    You'd have to sweat together new copper fittings though and probably deal with draining + recharging the refrigerant lines. Not a trivial project for a novice.
    - ErikCorry 4y ago
      And if you accidentally just vent the refrigerant lines instead of draining then you can release a year's worth of global warming in about 20 seconds. Best not to try.
      - kortilla 4y ago
        > you can release a year's worth of global warming in about 20 seconds What does this mean? I know you’re not saying that it leaks that much refrigerant over a year normally.
        BongoMcCat 4y ago
        Not op, but I think it means that the cooling system contains a gas that if released (it would normally not be released at all), it would do the same amount of harm to the environment as you would normally do in a year. (I have no idea if this comparison is accurate, but I do know that coolers commonly contain gasses that you don't want to release)
        Akronymus 4y ago
        Releasing the equivalent greenhouse gases through leaking coolant in a few seconds as running the fridge in a year would produce, maybe?
        wcoenen 4y ago
        Refrigerants typically have a greenhouse effect that is thousands of times more potent than CO2. For example, the refrigerant R-410A does about 2000 more greenhouse warming over a 100 year period. So a leak of 1 kg of R-410A is equivalent to about 2 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
        ErikCorry 4y ago
        Yes this is what I meant. 10 years ago I bought an expensive tumble drier with a heap pump in order to be nice to the environment. After a few years there was an issue with it and I called a repairman. He vented the refrigerant and refilled it as part of his repair. My calculation said it was an equivalent emission of about 1300kg CO2. Environmental impact immediately went negative. This will be an issue when everyone is heating their house with heat pumps. They are amazing, but you have to follow the rules when repairing and scrapping them.
    - vjk800 4y ago
      In essence: yes, you can build a chest fridge out of the parts you scavenge from your vertical door fridge.
    - LorenPechtel 4y ago
      Not a legal project for a novice in many places. I'm fine with sweating copper. I know nothing of dealing with the refrigerant beyond the fact that you need a license to do so here.
- londons_explore 4y ago
  Check the datasheet for the fridge compressor. Some models are designed to run in two orientations. If you're very lucky, the other orientation for your compressor will be 'on its back'. If you run the compressor in an orientation it isn't designed for, the motor will get 'liquid slugging', which is unrecoverable - you'll need to buy a new fridge.
  - londons_explore 4y ago
    By the way, if liquid slugging is caught before the motor burns out (some motors have an overload disconnect), then you can normally switch around the start capacitor onto the run wiring and vice versa to run the motor backwards. Running it backwards for a second can release the liquid and 'fix' the fridge.
defrost 4y ago
Qualified 'yes' ... if you build a support to keep the heat exchange grid from being crushed and to vent the flow of air across it to an exhaust exit.
- progre 4y ago
  Having the heat pump in the wrong position will reduce it's lifetime. Very likely there is a vat of lubricants at the bottom. If you flip it on the side one side of the pump cylinder will be flooded and possibly leak into the coolant curcuit. The top side will run dry and jam pretty fast.
throw_a_grenade 4y ago
What siblings said, and also some (mostly older) refrigerators have radiators on the back and depend on air convection to cool them. But the insulated container itself, including the cooling circuit, is OK to lay sideways. Long story short, you can do it, but you need to reconfigure some pipes. Also, the question is not dumb at all.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

I don’t think so. Part of it is that chests tend to have more insulation (also the reason why mini-fridges are absolute dreck efficiency wise), and the coolant / radiator circuit won’t be set up properly: in a traditional vertical fridge the coolant circuit is through the back or racks (for freezers) and the radiator are on the back, if you lay it on its back the radiator is now on the bottom, and trying to heat up the insulation, with the coolant circuit also at the bottom.

deleted 4y ago

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ben_bai 4y ago

No, because the heat-pump (compressor) in the back needs to stand upright. Also the back has cooling fins that need air circulation FYI: After transport you need to wait some time to let the oil in the compressor settle before turning it on. A level ground is also highly recommended.

defrost 4y ago
These can be detached and rotated ...
- freeqaz 4y ago
  You'd have to sweat together new copper fittings though and probably deal with draining + recharging the refrigerant lines. Not a trivial project for a novice.
  - ErikCorry 4y ago
    And if you accidentally just vent the refrigerant lines instead of draining then you can release a year's worth of global warming in about 20 seconds. Best not to try.
    - kortilla 4y ago
      > you can release a year's worth of global warming in about 20 seconds What does this mean? I know you’re not saying that it leaks that much refrigerant over a year normally.
      - BongoMcCat 4y ago
        Not op, but I think it means that the cooling system contains a gas that if released (it would normally not be released at all), it would do the same amount of harm to the environment as you would normally do in a year. (I have no idea if this comparison is accurate, but I do know that coolers commonly contain gasses that you don't want to release)
      - Akronymus 4y ago
        Releasing the equivalent greenhouse gases through leaking coolant in a few seconds as running the fridge in a year would produce, maybe?
      - wcoenen 4y ago
        Refrigerants typically have a greenhouse effect that is thousands of times more potent than CO2. For example, the refrigerant R-410A does about 2000 more greenhouse warming over a 100 year period. So a leak of 1 kg of R-410A is equivalent to about 2 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
        ErikCorry 4y ago
        Yes this is what I meant. 10 years ago I bought an expensive tumble drier with a heap pump in order to be nice to the environment. After a few years there was an issue with it and I called a repairman. He vented the refrigerant and refilled it as part of his repair. My calculation said it was an equivalent emission of about 1300kg CO2. Environmental impact immediately went negative. This will be an issue when everyone is heating their house with heat pumps. They are amazing, but you have to follow the rules when repairing and scrapping them.
  - vjk800 4y ago
    In essence: yes, you can build a chest fridge out of the parts you scavenge from your vertical door fridge.
  - LorenPechtel 4y ago
    Not a legal project for a novice in many places. I'm fine with sweating copper. I know nothing of dealing with the refrigerant beyond the fact that you need a license to do so here.
londons_explore 4y ago
Check the datasheet for the fridge compressor. Some models are designed to run in two orientations. If you're very lucky, the other orientation for your compressor will be 'on its back'. If you run the compressor in an orientation it isn't designed for, the motor will get 'liquid slugging', which is unrecoverable - you'll need to buy a new fridge.
- londons_explore 4y ago
  By the way, if liquid slugging is caught before the motor burns out (some motors have an overload disconnect), then you can normally switch around the start capacitor onto the run wiring and vice versa to run the motor backwards. Running it backwards for a second can release the liquid and 'fix' the fridge.

defrost 4y ago

Qualified 'yes' ... if you build a support to keep the heat exchange grid from being crushed and to vent the flow of air across it to an exhaust exit.

progre 4y ago
Having the heat pump in the wrong position will reduce it's lifetime. Very likely there is a vat of lubricants at the bottom. If you flip it on the side one side of the pump cylinder will be flooded and possibly leak into the coolant curcuit. The top side will run dry and jam pretty fast.

throw_a_grenade 4y ago

What siblings said, and also some (mostly older) refrigerators have radiators on the back and depend on air convection to cool them. But the insulated container itself, including the cooling circuit, is OK to lay sideways. Long story short, you can do it, but you need to reconfigure some pipes. Also, the question is not dumb at all.

deleted 4y ago

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