Old fridge
Comments
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I want one of those sub zeros from the 50's. Wait, who makes the compressor in those?
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The could use hot gas defrost.
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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.
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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.
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Are gaskets available for post war fridges, or are there universal gaskets that can be had? Also, can the death latch doors be modified?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The rectangular cabinets and doors with magnetic seals started showing up in the late 50's.
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refrigeration Hardware Supply
Case parts
Both have gaskets that will fit!
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Here is another one…. Looks in great shape.
Marketplace - Antique unrestored 1931 Frigidaire Automatic Refrigerator | Facebook
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they pointed the camera at the bottom rail of the condenser compartment so i can't see what's going on in there, if it has the original belt drive compressor or some sort of retrofit and if the controls are still there. that r 12 label is some sort of modification but i can't tell if they are running it in the original compressor. i do see a motor and the original fuse. It was originally SO2
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that is a belt drive compressor.
good eyes.0 -
I don't know much about them, but I "think" this is a similar unit running.
davida1hiwaaynet does a lot of work on a huge variety of antique refrigerators including these belt drives.
I'm 100% a GE hermetically sealed guy, but I have to admit those belt drive units are kinda cool to listen to and watch function.
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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There are still some belt drive units out there.
40 - 50 years young and still running.
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The old timer I started with back in the early 70s was originally an ammonia guy. Came over from Canada in the 1920s and worked in ice plants.
To him an open drive was the only machine he liked. he would sneer at a semi-hermetic and a tin can was a piece of junk to him!!!! LOL😂
I guess its all what you grew up with.
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Kind of like those who think cast iron soil pipe is superior to PVC. 😆
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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more like 85-115. as long as someone replaces the refrigerant that leaks out the shaft seal.
did he figure out where that direct drive ge he found came from, why they were making it long after they had hermetic technology?
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CI does reduce noise but some insulation around the PVC can fix that.
For some strange reason Western, MA is usually ABS and Boston is usually PVC. but MA doesn't generally allow plastic in a commercial building.
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Now that I think about it more, the way that ratings plate was modified to change it to say freon 12, the condenser was probably removed as a unit and sent to a GM shop to refurbish it at some point.
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there’s a guy in Chicago that still has the shaft for the old tecumseh
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No acid caused motor burnout with open belt drive.
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It doesn't happen in a truly sealed system either.
If you watch David's videos I don't think he has ever found a compressor that was destroyed by acid. A few where someone removed the overload components and cooked the windings when it failed to start for some reason, most of the compressors he finds with issues are stuck because someone left them open to the atmosphere and the oil turned in to an adhesive.
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I'm not sure, but I believe GE was still making non-hermetic systems into the early 30s because they were cheaper alternatives to the hermetically sealed Monitor Tops.
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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Matt, so why the use of suction line filters on compressor replacements?
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Aren't they mainly used to clean up soot / garbage after a burnout?
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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