Finally gave in and tried a torque wrench on fridge compressor bolts after years of just feeling it out

I used to think torque wrenches were overkill for appliance work until I had a compressor fail on a Samsung fridge 3 months after I replaced it. Customer was livid and I had to eat the cost of a new unit and my labor. Got curious and checked the spec sheet - 45 ft-lbs on those bolts. My calibrated elbow was probably way off. Been using a click-type torque wrench for the last 6 weeks and no leaks or stripped threads yet. Anyone else had a comeback from not torquing to spec?

2 comments

2 Comments

ninah106d ago

Oh man... did you re-torque all the bolts after the first few heat cycles?

wyatt_garcia7d ago

Yeah man, that Samsung fridge bit me once too. Nobody likes paying out of pocket for a mistake like that.