For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for July 11, 2017

Get Ted or Steve or whoever the next-door neighbor (the one who won’t do a thing with the collected construction remnants) is, John, to help you move the fridge in.

You’ll also need a hydraulic cart to get it up the stairs. Seen one used – so cool.

The way John phrases this: “They’ve left me to carry a 2,000-lb fridge up those stairs?!!”, it does imply that 2000 pounds is the weight of the refrigerator. The joke depends on the wordplay with the words “2000 pounds” meaning different things depending on if you mean weight or refrigeration. Commercial refrigeration systems can be rated in tons of refrigeration; however, cooling systems may be more typically specified in kW (or MW) or in Btu/h.

The roots for refrigeration are in the ice making industry, and the ice manufacturers wanted an easy way of understanding the size of a refrigeration system in terms of the production of ice. To be specific, one ton of refrigeration capacity can freeze one short ton of water at 0°C (32°F) in 24 hours.

One short ton = 2000 lb

And there you get the 2,000-lb refrigerator John is talking about. The weight John has to move is a different matter. Refrigerators in 1988 were generally about 250 pounds, or nearly 100 kilograms. 250 pounds is still a pretty good amount of weight, but it is not 2000 pounds.

And it’s only 5 stairs, lay it back a little, have the second guy push it up and, done.

Is Ellie some kind of flyweight? I help move appliances and large furnishings whenever needed. If you have the right equipment, it’s pretty straight forward work.

I have a hand truck for such things. Especially when I move my large potted plants to and from the garage, winter storage.

John can lighten the load by:

1. Removing the door; and

2. Removing the drawers, racks, and other removable items.

John needs to discover dolly (hand truck) technology. An appliance dolly with a “stair crawler” on the back would make schlepping that fridge pretty easy. I moved a bunch of huge fish tanks into— and later, out of— my upstairs apartment with and appliance dolly.

Since when do delivery men leave an expensive appliance on the front lawn? Every one I’ve ever bought, over 30 years, requires a “received” signature on paperwork, and, if you buy from the right people they’ll install it free of charge.

Awww Liz is so cute. Her heart’s in the right place.

I had a 385 lb fridge delivered a few years ago. The two delivery guys used Forearm Forklift (www.forearmforklift.com) lifting straps to bring it up my sloped drive and then up a flight of stairs. I was impressed.

Sitting close to the box, Lizzie is taking dibs on it all the while listening intently to her parents and offering a helping hand as the punch line. That’s so cute. Reminded me about my kids when they were young: always ready with a helpful suggestion or a helping hand. It showed me that they thought of themselves as part of the whole family. Just thinking about it makes me tear up…

Maybe you can find some boys to help, if they can have the box to play in later?

Poor Lizard Breath just doesn’t understand the concept.

The delivery people should have contacted the Pattersons before droping off the friggin fridge a day early. John & Ellie should leave it to the pros to bring it inside to avoid possible injuries.