Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Old fridge

2»

Comments

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 12,896

    I want one of those sub zeros from the 50's. Wait, who makes the compressor in those?

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 17,891

    The could use hot gas defrost.

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,743

    Wouldn't that be awesome?

    I've seen ice makers that do it.

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 12,896
    edited May 28

    Many GEs from the 60's or so did. They had a solenoid that operated a sealed reversing valve like a heat pump. People trying to work on them now get confused. They can't use modern generic replacement defrost timers because they need it to be a one shot, once the defrost thermostat opens, it needs to shut the compressor off and not run it again whereas an electric defrost heater will cycle until the defrost period is over on the defrost timer.

  • MaxMercy
    MaxMercy Member Posts: 545

    Are gaskets available for post war fridges, or are there universal gaskets that can be had? Also, can the death latch doors be modified?

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 12,896

    Most gaskets are available somewhere or can be retrofitted but there isn't one source that has all of them. retrofitting a latch isn't straightforward in most cases. It is less of an issue with a working fridge full of food than when one is discarded.

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,743

    I believe there's some custom gaskets out there for certain ones but for Monitor Tops etc off the shelf weather stripping etc works excellent.

    The door latch is only an issue when leaving refrigerators outside where kids are likely to climb in them. this is why years ago people were told to remove the doors when throwing them out. When assembled and in use I'm not even sure anyone could ever fit in between the racks etc. I don't think it's possible with a Monitor Top.

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

    MaxMercydelcrossv
  • MaxMercy
    MaxMercy Member Posts: 545

    LOL, I was wrong - it's not a post war fridge like I always thought it was. Curiosity got the better of me so I pulled it out and looked behind it - the model is B6-39-A, so it's over 85 years of continuous operation.

    I'm selling my commercial building this summer where it's at - do these have any value or should I just leave it with the buyer? It needs to be stripped and painted and it needs a new gasket, but otherwise it's ice cold and dead quiet.

    kcopp
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,743
    7ab79a7917fbbe88e559240affb52a9a.jpg

    They can have value, it all depends on the condition and finding a buyer.

    Where is yours located and what condition is it in?

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

  • MaxMercy
    MaxMercy Member Posts: 545

    Mechanically fine - it's been in daily service at my shop since 1971 when my dad found it for sale on the side of the road - I told him he was nuts - he said it was only $20 and if didn't work no big deal. It's quiet and always cold.

    There are no dents in the metal, but the paint is bad. It would need to be stripped and repainted if used for something other than man-cave beer keeping. The other problem is the door gasket which means I have to defrost it twice every summer.

    Located in Waterbury, CT

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 12,896

    Try facebook marketplace or ebay. People are more likely to want it as a second fridge in their basement or garage than to restore it. It probably should be rewired because the wiring is likely very crispy now. It probably was fine in 1971. Does it have the butter warmer in the door?

  • MaxMercy
    MaxMercy Member Posts: 545

    No butter warmer in this model. If I was younger I'd take it apart, sandblast it, and give it a show quality paint job. Definitely has that deco look to it.

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,743

    I'm redoing the wiring in a 1938 as we speak, and I wouldn't want that left plugged in the way it was.

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

    mattmia2
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 17,891

    Reminds me of my neighbor, His house was built around 1953ish. Around 1990 he asked me to look at his refrigerator because it wasn't working. The cord had been seeing condenser heat for about 40 years and when I pulled the fridge out I don't think it had been moved in 40 years, There was nothing left to the cord. It literally crumbled in my hands

  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,435

    My parents brought a new fridge in 1949. Had the look of Chris's picture above. IIRC, it was a Coronado ?? from Gambles store.

    When I lived there it got moved to the basement. I did change the door gasket.

    It was running when we moved in 1994. I unplugged it and noticed the cord was rotten and cut it off the unit. Manual defrost only.

    The gas would most likely be on the metal ID plate of the compressor.

    You usually can do a "rubbing" of the raised lettering. I use thin paper and pencil lead or crayon. It may not use R-XX, rather spell out the entire chemical formula.

    We later did have a 1970's fridge. The tstat in it was single pole double throw.

    When cooling was satisfied, the stat shut the compressor off and turned the defrost heaters on until it warmed up enough to require cooling again. I think the heaters were not very high powered, it may have had the butter warmer also. It never needed additional defrosting.

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,743

    The 1970s one turned the heaters on until it needed to cool?

    That seems insane……….. wow.
    When did defrost timers become a thing?

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 12,896

    Mid 50's. By the mid 60's most of them were the type we use today. GE used a lot of proprietary defrost timers in the 60's or so. A lot of mid 50's to early 60's models would have a constant cutin t-stat that would let the evaporator in the fresh food compartment heat above freezing before it would restart the compressor. It would cool to the setpoint but it would always warm to something like the mid 30's before restarting the compressor. You can still get that type of control from Ranco.

  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,435
    edited May 30

    Chris, maybe it was pre 1970's. It was the typical modern box with square corners.

    Frigidaire brand IIRC. Remember a defrost timer was a fair amount of money at the time compared to a simple SPDT tstat. I looked at the wiring diagram and that was the mode of operation.

    This was in a rental and sold it to a neighbor for $50, as long as he took it down the staircase and away. It went to his garage to store fishing bait in.

    Our 1980's GE had a defrost timer, it and the timer still working.

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 12,896

    The rectangular cabinets and doors with magnetic seals started showing up in the late 50's.

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 6,121

    refrigeration Hardware Supply

    Case parts

    Both have gaskets that will fit!