Old fridge

use extreme caution moving that system. Probably SO2 Sulfur Dioxide as the refrigerant. You Do Not want a leak indoors.

he'll know which ones where SO2, which ones were methyl formate, and which ones were Freon 12. I think only the earliest ones were SO2.

1927-1932 and then again 1935 - 1940s were SO2

Only 33-34 were methyl formate. Some later were allegedly R12 but I've never seen one.

I have both methyl formate and SO2 machines. Both have pros and cons.

Didn't some of them contain ammonia? Mad Dog

Domestic mechanical systems, at least mass produced systems, never used ammonia. Absorption systems use ammonia which were used a few domestic systems, especially ones designed to run off of kerosene or propane in areas without electricity although there were a few gas or electric systems marketed for general use. Absorption refrigerators are still common in RVs where they can run off of both propane or electricity depending on what is available. Many large commercial systems used ammonia.

it was the main company that made the domestic absorption refrigerators.

They had/have gas fired absorption system for household refrigeration. My grandfather had one back in the early 70s they were still using on natural gas that was probably made in the 30s or 40s.

They used ammonia

Don't they still use them in trailers and campers?

Bar I worked at back in the early 70s had Servel absorption units that cooled the place. The gas utility used to push those so they had more gas usage in the summer.

Servel was taken over and is now called "Rober" or "Roper"? They were still in business the last I knew.

Robur. Still does absorption AC.

I think the video you're talking about is from a guy named Dusty? He knows his stuff.

I don't know much about 1948 stuff, but I'd guess R12 or similar on something that modern.

No, the really old refrigerators never were energy hogs.

I've had a 1933 GE Monitor Top running in my kitchen for 10 years now and it averages around 30kwh a month running 33-34F. Right next to it is a 1935 GE Ball top which has been running for 4 years, that runs about 18kwh a month and it's used and opened constantly. Most of the mid to late 1930s - 1940s machines use very little power, 1935 is when GE really perfected things. There's usually no fans, and no defrost heaters etc. For what it's worth, we have a 2022 manual defrost mini fridge in the office that uses 20kwh a month, according to energy star but I've never measured it.

Here's the other problem.

What about more modern refrigerators that are "Energy hogs"? I'm picturing 1960s-80s side by side refrigerators etc. What's it going to cost to run, $10-12 a month? The most you're going to save is a few dollars a month at best even replacing a so called hog. Replacing a 1930s-40s refrigerator with new will pretty much always result in quite a bit more power consumption unless something was really wrong with the old one.

This is not research, this is a google result that I need to explore further to properly understand its context. But I'm not sure I will have the time. The claim made by the figure is that per unit energy use was at its worst in the mid 1970's, and that a 1950 refrigerator used less energy than a 2002 refrigerator. The 2002 refrigerator was some 2x the volume for similar energy use, and probably has automatic defrost, ice maker, etc. included in its energy use.

Taken at face value, if you have a fridge from 1950 you take a small energy hit to keep it running, but if you have a fridge from 1975 you should replace it because the efficiency is so horrible.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/US-refrigerator-energy-use-between-1947-2002-Mid-1950s-models-consumed-the-same_fig1_317751623

The quality problem isn't with the compressor, it is with the tubing. it leaks the refrigerant out.

tubing that was designed, specified, ordered, and accepted by American companies. I hope my point is discernible

Frost free is where you lose efficiency. The insulation on a modern fridge is far better than on a fridge from the early 80's or earlier but heating it up to defrost then removing that heat uses a lot of energy.

You will never make up the difference in cost of energy consumption between a 60's frost free fridge and a modern fridge before the refrigerant escapes from most modern fridges.

In to the early 70's frost free fridges had a timer that ran all the time and ran the defrost cycle every x hours. Newer fridges run the defrost timer only when the compressor is running so it runs it on hours of compressor operation. In the last 25 years or so they have got electronic controls that sense temps of various parts and only run a defrost cycle when necessary.

Closed cell foam insulation on a modern fridge has a higher r value, over the past 20 years or so has become much thicker, and doesn't absorb moisture and both become ineffective and waterlogged if there is an air leak in the cabinet like fiberglass will.

I don't think it meets the specification that was ordered. I'm not saying that the distributors in the us aren't responsible for the quality of what they distribute but they aren't getting what they ordered.

I'm pretty sure when Whirlpool or Frigidaire or whoever is about to ship millions of refrigerators around the world from their manufacturing plants, they do some testing and certification of some of them to make sure they're getting what they asked for.

And if they didn't, well that's still on them. You have to verify you're getting what you ordered whether you're a homeowner, a manufacturer, or anyone.

It isn't so much that they made it easier, it is that the freezer compartment is so tiny compared to even a 50's fridge that it doesn't take long for the ice to melt. The defrost setting wouldn't work on a freezer compartment that was large enough to be useful.

I only have one freezer so it can only happen when it is cold enough out for the food to take a vacation in my garage. I think it had been a couple years.

If anyone actually cared about energy consumption refrigerators would reverse and defrost via heatpump. They would also be substantially smaller. But, it's not about that, it's about moving product.

@ethicalpaul Your modern insulation isn't any better than what's in a Monitor Top. It's only corrugated cardboard but it's 3" thick which has a fairly decent R value. Very similar to 3" of fiberglass.

Is that freezer big enough @mattmia2 ? :)