Why are you sad, fridge? Is it the election?

November 10, 2016 10:30 PM

My fridge has been in storage for four years (just elsewhere in the house, normal conditions). I just plugged it in and no lights, no camera, no action.

I'll ring and get a repairman, but why might this have happened? Do fridges need to be used regularly or they degas or something? It was only about three years old when it went into storage, so if I'd been using it consistently I would expect it to still be working.

posted by superfish to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Did you blow a fuse somewhere?
posted by speakeasy at 1:33 AM on November 11, 2016

That's the first thing I would look at, too. If you plug an appliance in and there's NO response at all, most likely a fuse has blown in the power supply.
posted by tel3path at 2:04 AM on November 11, 2016

Thirding that the actual fridge is likely to be OK but there is a short or some other interruption of power. Check the cord & plug.
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:40 AM on November 11, 2016

Check if the fridge has an on-off switch or thermostat which does the same thing. Plug a known working appliance like a lamp into that socket. Determine if the socket is functional or not, if it is check fridge fuses.
posted by epo at 5:10 AM on November 11, 2016

Before calling anyone:

1. Verify you have power at the receptacle. Pluggin something else into the same receptacle is a quick and easy way to verify.
2. Plug the fridge in and, after making sure the cold control is set to a middle setting wait. If the bulb was burned out/filament broken and the fridge was last unplugged when the fridge was in a defrost cycle then nothing would appear to happen. However the fridge should start cooling within the hour.

If still nothing then now is the time to call a repair person.

superfish: "Do fridges need to be used regularly or they degas or something? "

Storing a fridge doesn't hurt anything under normal conditions. If you have high moisture or salt laden air the storage conditions could cause thing to rust but that would be true for anything stored like that. And mice can sometimes chew up the wiring of electrical equipment in storage.
posted by Mitheral at 6:45 AM on November 11, 2016 [1 favorite]