Fridge stopped working for a few hours

I came home yesterday from work and noticed the power must had gone out during the day cause I had to reset the microwave. Then I noticed the fridge was not running. The compressor was very hot, not running and the inside of the fridge was not as cold as it should have been. This happened 2 years ago during another power blip when I was home to witness.

So I let it sit for about 1 hr unplugged thinking I needed to let the compressor cool; although I doubt I really needed to unplug it. It finally kicked back on and ran for about 1.5 - 2 hrs straight cooling the fridge down properly. It worked fine overnight and so far this morning.

Chances are this has happened other times and it has reset itself without my realizing cause I've sometimes noticed a thin layer of solid ice on the bottom of the ice maker bin.

One thing I noticed when I pulled the fridge out was that the tile grout under the compressor had absorbed some oil. Does that mean it is freon, or could it be something else? How could it loose freon without continuing to do so and without completely not working?

Thanks in advance

Compressors often will not restart immediately after stopping because of the gas pressures. They will try to start and get hot until the thermal overload cuts them off. When they cool down a little, the overload will close and the compressor will try to start again. If it still doesn't start, this cycle may repeat several times. Eventually the gas pressures will equalize and the compressor will restart when the overload closes. It is pretty normal and generally causes no damage, but it is easier on the system if you keep it turned off or unplugged long enough for it to restart on the first try.

The oil may be from the compressor and eventually it may lose enough refrigerant to cause a problem. However, it might take a very long time and there isn't much you can or need to do to prevent it in the meantime. The oil may be from the fan motor or just left over from the manufacturing process. A slight oil stain under machinery is fairly common and should not be a cause of concern. I don't know but would not be surprised if the heat from the compressor and normal airborne oil in a kitchen might cause a noticeable stain.

Don Young