|
Post by turbokinetic on Jan 8, 2020 16:10:54 GMT
Please help. Who has "been there, done that"? I'm moving it this Saturday. I don't want to damage anything nor injure ourselves. Can two guys handle this? Maybe there'll be a third person (smaller female) to help some. Can two guys safely tip it over and lay it on a side (with the refrigeration unit in place and strapped down)? About how much does the cabinet weigh? ---- Or, can two guys safely remove (and maneuver) the refrigeration unit with it upright? That's 180 pounds- that's how much I weigh. I don't see two guys lifting that off the top and setting it down, especially with the fragile evaporator lines. It seems we would need to be standing on chairs and be able to set it down into a crate that's on the counter. ---- Any other ideas? It might be tough to get a third or fourth male, unless I hire day workers. But we might not want strangers at this vacant house. ---- Should I rent an appliance hand truck versus using a regular hand truck (to help tip it over, and we probably have to wheel it down outside concrete stairs)? Thanks, Kurt Note: I do see Travis's post with a few upvotes, but there's the two versus three guys part, and I could use some assurance. Travis has done this many times, safely and I trust his opinion. I have also done it myself, safely via this and different methods as well. There are many right ways to do it, as with most things. It all depends on the equipment and help you have available. One thing to remember is that the cabinet protects the easily damaged lines. If you have the top strapped securely on the cabinet, you will have a safe condition. Two nylon straps around the cabinet holding the unit on will be safe, with some redundancy. The top may be "glued" on with an old hardened gasket. This may make it hard to separate without the top "suddenly releasing" from the cabinet. This is where lines get broken. You should be sure the top is broken loose and free to move before getting the fridge in its side. I would just pry the top of from a couple inconspicuous areas (to break the seal), before strapping and tipping. As for two guys being able to tip the assembled fridge over and remove the unit, for a CK30 style machine, this is questionable but possible if you have a GOOD appliance dolly with the fridge well attached to it with straps before tipping. The dolly will need to be laid down fully horizontal, before removing the straps, so that both people are available to move the unit and nobody is tied up holding the dolly. You would need more hands to undo the straps and move the unit out of the cabinet. This is very possible and can be done safely if you plan carefully. As for two guys lifting the top off an upright cabinet.... that's a definite no. That would be a blind lift where you couldn't see the evaporator lines, and you would be lifting an unfamiliar object (strange topheavy weight) with delicate lines under it. It has to go up more than 12 inches above the cabinet, precisely, which two people won't be able to do. There are very few people who can lift 90 pounds over shoulder height in a controlled manner. Anyone who tries is a showoff and will damage your refrigerator for you. The appliance dolly with "tank treads" on the back is a must-have. It will make the stairs more navigable. I realize you have stairs to deal with and haven't seen the actual interior of the building so I doubt this method below would apply for you. But, I try not to remove the units from these nor lay them over. When I transport them, I use a trailer which has a tilt bed. The fridge gets manually dollied onto a 4x4 foot square of plywood. This is then winched onto the tilt-bed trailer. Everything stays upright. And how bad is the sulphur dioxide if you break a line? It's an irritant. The only way it will injure you is if you are trapped in a place with it and can't get out of the cloud of gas. Most leaks are small cracks and the gas comes out slowly anyway. If you breathe it, it causes a sneezing spell and makes you close your eyes while they water. There aren't any delayed after-effects. Once you are out of the SO2, the effect wears off quickly.
|
|
|
Post by turbokinetic on Jan 8, 2020 16:33:06 GMT
Just to add some more about breaking a line - I've been involved in one like break when a friend and I moved his CK-2 after it had already had the top fall off once. The line was damaged and moving it again made it crack. We were able to move the fridge back into its storage building and leave it there to fully release the SO2 for a week or more. Then I brought it to my workshop for repairs and it STILL HAD a lot of SO2 in it after leaking (and stinking) for more than a week. Then I got a suposedly long-decommissioned 1926 Frigidaire to restore. That one still had an entire charge of SO2 trapped in the system, in spite of the seized compressor and corroded system. It started leaking in my shop and all I could do was put the thing outside and leave it until it finished. If this happens, you will have to work around the SO2 and stay upwind of it, or else abandon the fridge. It won't all escape and be done in a few minutes. It will be a leaking mess for days. So it's important to do your best not to break a line. But if you do, be aware that the lines do get broken and repaired and it's not scrap iron if that happens.
|
|
|
Post by bauhaus on Jan 8, 2020 17:36:13 GMT
Thank you very much for the excellent replies. I appreciate the time, energy, patience, knowledge, etc.
I'm leaning toward leaving the unit on top as being the better option with the likely two guys and one female helper.
At this point, I'm thinking I will:
1. Have a crate built before driving there, so I have that as an easy option should we decide to take the unit off.
2. Have two 2x6 boards to span the longer and the shorter side widths (for hand truck), if needed.
3. Find a "tank track" appliance hand truck to rent.
4. Have my hand truck for backup.
5. Take everything out of the cabinet before moving at all.
6. Check if feet are stuck to floor (that might be what's making it seem like it weighs 1000 pounds).
7. Wrap with one or two moving blankets.
8. Strap down unit to cabinet with two ratchet tie-downs.
9. See if we can tilt the whole refrigerator back to the balance point.
9a. If yes, move refrigerator enough to set it down in the middle of the small kitchen.
10. Reposition hand truck to the refrigerator's shorter side so we can get through doorways.
11. Have a stronger, longer (less of an incline) trailer ramp built (current ramp is trailer door which is steep and can come off the hinge points accidentally).
** About how much does the whole refrigerator weigh?
Whole refrigerator: 2000 pounds? No. 1000 pounds? Probably not. 800 pounds? Seems unlikely. 600 pounds? Maybe. 500 pounds? Could be. Does the cabinet weigh more than the (180 pounds) unit? 450? 400? 350? 300? Probably heavier.
Thanks,
Kurt
|
|
|
Post by turbokinetic on Jan 8, 2020 17:41:54 GMT
Thank you very much for the excellent replies. I'm leaning toward leaving the unit on top as being the better option with the likely two guys and one female helper. At this point, I'm thinking I will: 1. Have a crate built before driving there, so I have that as an easy option should we decide to take the unit off. 2. Have two 2x6 boards to span the longer and the shorter side widths (for hand truck), if needed. 3. Find a "tank track" appliance hand truck to rent. 4. Have my hand truck for backup. 5. Take everything out of the cabinet before moving at all. 6. Check if feet are stuck to floor (that might be what's making it seem like it weighs 1000 pounds). 7. Wrap with one or two moving blankets. 8.Strap down unit to cabinet with two ratchet tie-downs. 9. See if we can tilt the whole refrigerator back to the balance point. 9a. If yes, move refrigerator enough to set it down in the middle of the small kitchen. 10. Reposition hand truck to the refrigerator's shorter side so we can get through doorways. 11. Have a stronger, longer (less of an incline) trailer ramp built (current ramp is trailer door which is steep and can come off the hinge points accidentally). ** About how much does the whole refrigerator weigh? Whole refrigerator: 2000 pounds? No. 1000 pounds? Probably not. 800 pounds? Seems unlikely. 600 pounds? Maybe. 500 pounds? Could be. Does the cabinet weigh more than the (180 pounds) unit? 450? 400? 350? 300? Probably heavier. Thanks, Kurt Sounds like a good plan. As for the cabinet weight, Travis (our veritable cornucopia of knowledge) can probably estimate that quite easily. I would expect it to weigh about the same as the unit. As for the dolly with tank treads; U-Haul rents them. I've rented them on many occasions but always in combination with a trailer or truck rental. You can call them and be sure but I expect the dolly can be rented by its self. Open the following page by copying this into your address bar: https://www.uhaul.com/RentalItems/ Look for the "Appliance Dolly" which should be the third one down.
|
|
|
Post by bauhaus on Jan 9, 2020 1:06:34 GMT
Model number is said to be CK-30-C16. Does the serial number 4365841 yield any information?
|
|
|
Post by Travis on Jan 9, 2020 2:55:09 GMT
The cabinet weighs approximately 275 lbs. It’s possible to lay it down with two men, but they’ll have to be strong men. I’ve been involved in moving more of these than I care to admit to. I’ve worked with everyone from cornfed country boys to city boys that claim to work out, until they encounter vintage appliances.
You can remove the door, that itself weighs 60 lbs. The key is using a ratchet strap to secure the unit to the cabinet so it doesn’t come loose as you’re laying down the cabinet.
Since the cabinet top is larger than the unit deck, you’ll have no trouble in removing the unit. Yes, the gasket may be holding it. You can loosen the strap and wiggle it. Yes, watch the lines. Damage to the lines is a stinky mess and requires skilled repair that can be avoided by paying attention.
A CK30 C is the 1935 model I believe.
|
|
|
Post by Travis on Jan 9, 2020 3:03:20 GMT
Lay it on its side to remove the unit. If you lay it on its back you’ll be at risk of damaging a line and you’ll have issues going through doorways.
Remove interior parts, remove door with hinges attached. Dolly from the left side. The lines you’ll watch for will be on the back side and the top rear corner, when on its side.
|
|
|
Post by bauhaus on Jan 9, 2020 3:55:50 GMT
Thank you, Travis.
I found out there will be 3 guys, so I should be good.
|
|
|
Post by coldspaces on Jan 9, 2020 5:31:26 GMT
Glad to hear you have a third guy. This will be very top heavy as you have been told. I like how you formulated such a good plan of attack after such a short time here on the forum. Good luck with the move.
|
|
|
Post by Travis on Jan 9, 2020 14:52:41 GMT
Great. With three guys use your judgment on whether to remove the door. They’re a pain to reinstall, but you probably need a new gasket anyway.
Good luck.
|
|
|
Post by bauhaus on Jan 9, 2020 15:30:43 GMT
Thank you coldspaces and Travis.
The frig door (or maybe just the handle?) may have to come off to get the frig through doorways.
I'm still leaning toward leaving as much of the frig intact as possible because it looks to be in very good shape, is said to work, and I don't want to mess with what I don't need to.
|
|
|
Post by turbokinetic on Jan 9, 2020 15:36:07 GMT
Thank you coldspaces and Travis. The frig door (or maybe just the handle?) may have to come off to get the frig through doorways. I'm still leaning toward leaving as much of the frig intact as possible because it looks to be in very good shape, is said to work, and I don't want to mess with what I don't need to. I would encourage you to remove the door because it's a lot easier to remove it "at leisure" before beginning the move than it is to have to remove it while halfway out and in a bind with the fridge, and hit a door you can't go through. Also, handles are easily broken, often asked for here, and very rarely found without paying a significant premium for. Keeping the door and its hardware safe is always a good idea.
|
|
btfarm
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 103
|
Post by btfarm on Jan 9, 2020 16:16:51 GMT
x2 on removing the door (with hinges attached). It can easily be worked on across a pair of padded horses for cleaning and replacing the door gasket. Then it's an easy job to put it back on with the cabinet laying on its back before standing it up.
|
|
|
Post by bauhaus on Jan 10, 2020 19:10:15 GMT
More questions.
Are the legs strong enough to put all the weight on two of them?
Legs easy or hard to remove?
Bottom of cabinet strong enough?
The concern is getting the frig on the hand truck plate. I'm bringing wood (2 x 6) to span the legs. Considering jacking frig up to take legs off. But nobody has said anything about that, so I assume they're plenty strong.
Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by Travis on Jan 10, 2020 20:21:04 GMT
The legs are strong, just be nice to the porcelain finish.
|
|