Refrigerators installation: upright, patient, then the water line.
A refrigerator install is mostly patience: it rides upright, it stands before it is plugged in if it ever lay down, and it needs a day to reach temperature before anyone judges it. The water line for the ice maker and dispenser is the one real connection, and the one place a drip shows up two weeks later. The doors are leveled last, after the cabinet.
First use: what is normal
A new machine can do things on its first run that look like a fault and are not. Here is what the makers say is normal, what to do first, and where the line is.
Refrigerators
Normal the first time
- Popping and gurgling as the refrigerant moves and the walls settle.
- A new door gasket that whistles or squeaks for a few days.
- Warm sides, and a warm or even hot strip around and between the doors. That warmth keeps moisture off the outside.
Do this first
- 1If the unit was tilted or laid down at any point, let it stand upright for 24 hours before plugging it in; plugging it in sooner can damage the compressor and may void the warranty.
- 2Once it is running, give it 24 hours before loading food so you can see it is cooling properly.
- 3Ice can take up to 48 hours, and the first few batches should be thrown away.
- 4Keep only ice in the ice bin (no scoop or food), push the bin all the way in, and spread the ice out if it piles up under the ice maker: a pile there makes it read the bin as full and stop.
Where the line is. Not cooling after 24 hours running, a burning smell, or a tripping breaker is not normal: unplug it and text us.
Stand-alone ice makers
Normal the first time
- A little water inside when it is new. It is left from factory testing.
- Gurgling, a compressor hum, popping, splashing, ice dropping and a buzz when the water valve opens.
Do this first
- 1Throw away the first batch of ice. Good ice follows in 1 to 2 hours.
- 2It takes about 10 to 12 hours to fill an empty bin.
- 3Give it its own outlet with no extension cord. The maker does not recommend a GFCI outlet.
Where the line is. Water on the floor or a burning smell is not normal: unplug it and text us.
Wine and beverage coolers
Normal the first time
- Gurgling, rattling, and crackling or popping as the coolant moves and the walls expand and contract.
Do this first
- 1Let it stand upright before plugging it in: at least 6 hours if it rode on its back or side. The makers' numbers run from 2 to 6 hours, so use the longer one.
Where the line is. A burning smell, a tripping breaker, or noise that stays with the cooler sitting level is not normal: unplug it and text us.
What is typically not in the box
Surplus inventory — open box, cancelled order, overstock, minor scratch & dent — is priced for exactly this: a unit can arrive without the small items that ship with a sealed machine. Have these on hand before install day.
The water line kit — 1/4-inch braided stainless or copper line, long enough to reach without a splice, and a proper shutoff valve (not a self-piercing saddle valve, which most makers and many codes no longer allow).
Handles or the handle screws on a few French-door and side-by-side models that ship with the handles off.
Shelves, bins, the ice bucket, the dairy door, the egg tray — a surplus unit can be missing one; look inside before you buy.
The printed manual — download it by model number.
Power, water, gas, venting, space
What the room has to have before the appliance comes through the door. The manual gives the exact figures for your model; these are the shapes to check.
A grounded 120V, 15 or 20 amp outlet on a dedicated circuit, never an extension cord or a power strip — every maker's manual says so, and most say not a GFCI outlet. Most French-door and newer units soft-start on an inverter compressor and are easy on a circuit; an older top-freezer or a garage refrigerator with a single-speed compressor pulls a short eight-to-fifteen-amp surge at every start, and a GFCI, an arc-fault breaker or a circuit shared with a freezer or a garage door opener trips on it. A trip at the compressor's click is the circuit, not the machine.
A 1/4-inch cold-water line from a shutoff valve within reach, 20 to 120 psi (the manual's range). A reverse-osmosis system usually needs a booster for a dispenser.
The manual's inches at the top, sides and back for airflow — typically about an inch at the sides and top and two at the back — and room for the doors to open past 90° so the bins come out. A counter-depth unit is still deeper than the counter with the doors.
Level front to back and side to side, strong enough for a 300-pound cabinet. The front leveling legs or rollers tilt the cabinet back slightly so the doors swing shut on their own.
A refrigerator in a garage needs a model rated for it; below about 55°F many compressors stop running and the freezer thaws.
The install, step by step
An overview of the manufacturer's own sequence, so you know what a good install looks like whether you watch one or do one. The manual's page for your model is the authority on every figure.
- 1
Transport upright, and let it stand
Strapped upright on the truck. If it ever rode on its side, stand it upright for the manual's time (most makers say at least four hours; many installers wait 24) before plugging in, so the compressor oil drains back where it belongs.
- 2
If the doors have to come off to clear a doorway
Measure the doorway first: a side-by-side or French door is about 36 inches wide with its doors on; the handles come off (two set screws each) for two inches, the doors for two to four more. Unplug the unit and shut the water off. Under the top hinge cover sit the door's wire connectors — the dispenser, the ice maker, the door sensor, the light — and on a dispenser model the water tube through the hinge. Take a photo, unplug each connector, unclip the tube, back out the ground screw where there is one, and lift the door straight up off the bottom hinge pin onto a blanket, never inside-face down. LG and Samsung say two people, and the unit off at the wall the whole time.
- 3
Putting the doors back on
The door drops onto the bottom hinge pin, the wires run back through the top hinge, and EVERY connector clicks home — the one on the freezer side is the one that gets missed. The ground screw goes back, the water tube pushes to its stop and takes its clip, the hinge cover goes on. Shut both doors and watch the light go off before the plug goes in: a door the control still reads as open holds the fans off, and the box never pulls down.
- 4
Remove the packing and tape
Shelf clips, foam blocks, the tape on the doors and the plastic on the trim. Check every shelf and bin is in its slot and the drawers slide.
- 5
Run the water line and the shutoff
A proper shutoff valve on the cold line, the new 1/4-inch line to the fridge's inlet with the compression fitting hand-tight plus a half turn, a loose coil behind the fridge so it can roll out. Open the valve and look for a drip at both ends before the unit goes back.
- 6
Roll it in and level it
Set the front legs or rollers so the cabinet is level side to side and tilted back about a quarter bubble, then adjust the doors so they align at the top and close on their own from a few inches open.
- 7
Plug in and wait
Plug in, set the controls to the middle, and give it 24 hours before loading it or judging the temperature. The first ice in a new line is thrown away: run three or four buckets and two quarts through the dispenser to flush the line.
- 8
Check the drip after a week
Pull the fridge out once after a week and look at both ends of the water line — the slow drip at a compression fitting is the one that shows up as a wet floor later.
The diagram
Drawn by us, schematic on purpose: the shape of the connection with every part named. Your model's wiring and hookup page in the manual rules on the details.
Mistakes that look like a broken machine
Most first-week calls are one of these. Each is an install item, not a fault — and each is the reason we ask for every function to be tested before the installer leaves.
Plugged in right after riding on its side — the compressor starts without its oil; the manual's standing time exists for this.
A door rehung with a connector left apart under the hinge cover — the control reads the door as open or loses its door sensor, so the light and the dispenser misbehave, the fans hold off and the box never pulls down. Every connector clicks home and the light goes off with the door shut before the plug goes back in.
A saddle valve on the water line — they clog, they weep and most makers no longer allow them; a shutoff valve is the standard.
The cabinet level but the doors not — a French door that will not seal is a door not aligned at the top, not a bad gasket.
Judged after two hours — a new refrigerator takes a full day to pull down, and the ice maker another day after that.
No room behind it — a fridge pushed hard against the wall runs warm and loud because the coil cannot breathe.
On a GFCI or a shared circuit that trips when the compressor starts — a dedicated plain outlet with nothing else on it is the test; the unit is rarely the cause.
When a licensed installer is the standard
We recommend professional installation for every appliance we sell. On a refrigerator these are the parts of the job that the code, the permit or the manufacturer's warranty place with a licensed trade.
A new water line through a wall or a floor, or a new shutoff on a copper or PEX line, is a plumber's job.
A new outlet or a GFCI question in a garage or basement is an electrician's job.
A built-in or a panel-ready refrigerator is installed by the maker's authorized installer — the cabinet, the anti-tip and the panels are part of the warranty's install rule.
Asked at the counter
The fridge was on its side in the truck. Can I plug it in now?
Stand it upright first for the manual's time — most makers say at least four hours; a full day is the safe habit. The wait lets the compressor oil settle before it starts.
The doors came off to get it through the doorway and now it isn't cooling.
Unplug it, take the top hinge covers off and look at every connector the door carries — the one on the freezer side feeds the dispenser, the ice maker and the door sensor — and push each one until it clicks; put the ground screw back if there is one and seat the water tube to its stop with its clip. Shut both doors and watch the light go off. Plug in and give it a full day. If the display reads OF OF, Cooling Off or Demo, that mode was set by a button combination while the doors were off — the manual's page names the two buttons to hold to leave it. A unit that still will not cool after that is a warranty call; text us the steps you took and we will set it up.
Does it come with the water line?
No — the line, the shutoff valve and the fittings are sold separately on every refrigerator. Buy a kit with a braided line and a real shutoff, not a saddle valve.
How long before it's cold?
Plan on 24 hours to reach temperature and another day for the first ice. Loading it full on day one slows both.
A shelf or bin was missing from my unit.
Surplus units can arrive without a shelf, a bin or the ice bucket, which is part of why they are priced as they are. The maker's parts site sells every one by model number, and we are glad to help you find the part number.
It trips the breaker or the GFCI when it starts.
Move it to a plain grounded outlet on a circuit with nothing else running and give it a day — change one thing at a time so you know which it was. A refrigerator on a GFCI, an arc-fault breaker or a circuit shared with a freezer or a garage door opener trips at the compressor's start surge; the maker's requirement is a dedicated 15-amp outlet. A unit that trips a dedicated plain outlet the instant it is plugged in is a warranty call.
What your receipt says about installation
Installation & testing
Apex Sales does not perform installation, and we strongly recommend professional installation. Moving or installing an appliance without the proper steps — transported upright and secured, every connection checked, and the unit leveled — can loosen parts or cause problems, and improper installation can void the manufacturer warranty. Have a licensed plumber, electrician, or appliance installer test every function of the unit before they leave, so any issue can be reported right away. Damage caused by improper installation is not covered.
Condition & warranty
All units are surplus inventory (open box, cancelled order, customer return, overstock, or minor scratch & dent). Every unit includes the manufacturer's full factory warranty. Please inspect thoroughly in person before purchasing — cosmetic imperfections or missing accessories are possible.
These pages are a general reference for the appliances we sell. They do not replace the manufacturer's installation instructions, the local building, electrical, plumbing, gas and mechanical codes, or the judgment of a licensed installer. Apex Sales does not perform installations and is not responsible for installation performed by the customer or by a third party. Damage caused by improper installation, transport or connection is not covered by the manufacturer's warranty or by Apex Sales.
When it's not a DIY moment
Everything on these pages is safe to look at with the machine unplugged or the gas shut off. These three are not a look — secure the appliance and call.
Gas smell
Close the appliance's shutoff valve if you can reach it safely, open a window, leave the room, and call the gas utility from outside. No switches, no flames.
Burnt smell, a melted plug, arcing
Shut the breaker off, not just the appliance. A scorched cord, plug or outlet means an electrician looks before anything is plugged back in.
Water that will not stop
Close the supply valve at the appliance first (washer, dishwasher, fridge line, water heater cold inlet), then unplug. Mop before you diagnose.
Text us the model number and what it's doing — we'll point you at the next step.
A fix, a part, or a warranty call — the plate's model and serial plus one line about the symptom is all it takes to tell which.
These pages are educational. Every appliance is a little different — follow the manufacturer's manual and local code, and leave gas, water heater and 240V work to a licensed installer.