Art & Inspiration OT buying a 50's Refrigerator to stick in the shop....

Id like to see a picture of that 61 G.E. if you got one.

 

We have a 1933 monitor top GE. Works jewel. Have to keep it turned down to 2 (out of 10) or else things start to freeze! Still has the bad stuff they had before freon. It doesn't have a fan , so it is very cheap to operate. The only repairs in the last 14 years is to replace the bulb.

 

In March of 1953 my folks bought a new GE fridge. I remember when I couldn't jump and touch the blue GE emblem on the freezer door. They used it until the mid sixties and it went to the garage. It moved in and out with me for a few years and is currently in my garage with beer, ice tea, garden veggies, etc. It has never had a service call in its almost 60 years of constant service. Wish I had kept the '53 Mainline two door they bought the same year.

 

here my 1937 ge frig. lady that lived next door bought it in 37 when she got married. i got it at the family sale 15 years ago and it is still running fine. all these 50,s models with the rounded edges are very cool looking. remember them from when i grew up.

 

My inlaws have a '57 Philco that was a wedding present that's never been moved from its spot in the farm house dining room since new, and still running strong, though it could use a new coat of paint and replating of the door handle. I'm lusting over it - when they decide to sell the farm and move to Arizona I want to keep it in the family and move it to my workshop. A Ford-made product needs to reside in a workshop of ''40s-50s-'60s Fords/T-birds!

 

Cool thread guys. I pulled out the old Kill-a-Watt meter and did another test just to double check myself.

Yep. Our newer (1987 or so) fridge in the house runs $8.05 a month at .123 kw cost. The old GE unit in the shop (around 1953) runs about $4.75 a month to run.

There have never been ANY repairs except a new door gasket during the 55 plus years of service.

SWEET!

PS: The P4400 Kill-a-Watt meter is available for around $20 on that unmentionable site and is great fun to plug things into and check your power consumption, maybe even your old welder (well, maybe not!) I bought mine a few years ago and have used it many times to dispel a myth or find out certain items DO take amazing amounts of power. Check it out!

 

that high cost to run stuff is nonsense. if you keep it de-frosted regularly, and keep the coils (radiator looking part in back) clean and dust free, it's about 8-12 bucks per month i figure. I've been running one non stop since 2005 in my apartment, it's a 1940 Philco and works great. Bonus is that it looks great too. If saving the environment is your goal, you're in the Wrong hobby lol...figures us car guys would run an old 40's fridge on aesthetic value alone....why not? makes no sense to love old gas guzzling smog exempt hotrods and customs and then want to do your part to eliminate your "carbon footprint" lol.....Oh boy.....Love that fridge dude, but i wouldn't paint it....just sand scuff it up for a worn look and pinstripe it here and there.....adorn the inside with decals......
here's mine....

 

theres a company called big chill, that makes retro looking appliances

http://swipelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/bigchill3.jpg

 

ive seen those...i'm actually going to get one next year, prolly in spring when i get my bonus- not a bad price to pay for the look and high quality. There are several people making retro appliances now, but there used to be only one company and they wanted like $5-6 thousand for their fridges...crazy.

 

i would just keep using mine, but i need more freezer storage space, at least twice-three times what i have now...my teenage son is eating meat faster than i can stock it in the philco so the upgrade is in order....gettin tired of shopping weekly like the 40's. That kid needs a meat locker...lol

 

http://www.antiqueappliances.com/gaskets.htm

 

I'll have to post some pics when i'm not using my phone to browse. I got an old Norge that I flamee years ago. I've also got a few other old fridges that i've not touched yet. Not really sure how I ended up with so many. LOL

 

Thanks nioc32!

 

this is my beer box!

 

Really bad camera-phone snap of one of my GE's

 

If running costs are a worry, get a new compressor for it...it is no big deal.A local fridge firm should be able to cross reference a suitable Danfoss ,Tecumseh, Hermetique or Aspera etc for it.The R12 refrigerant can be replaced with R409 (if your quick)the condenser,and evaporator should have no bearing on running costs if in good clean condition and is defrosted when the ice is no more than 1/8th"..you could fit a different stat with an off cycle defrost period built in, or just get a simple defrost timer and programme a couple of defrost periods per day to keep the evap clean...and as for door seals, you should be able to get bespoke ones made....we have a sample board in our office with loads of different sections that can be made up and sealed like the originals...I`m sure you will have the same over there.

If you want to leave the original motor in place but cut your running costs, get one of those plug ins that goes between the socket and the fridge plug that cuts the consumption..they are called SAVA controls over here....don`t know the exact ins and outs of the workings but they are said to work.

Somebody said to get a "frost free" model....personally I would not have one given..over complicated things that break down a lot and real expensive to repair...we don`t even go out to them and pass the calls over to a one man band who messes with them.I guess I`m just an old dinasaur who like stuff fixable and chunky that you can mend with parts from the van.

 

Slamit...did you leave it standing up when you moved it? Does sound like a blockage..something probably dislodged during moving and clogged the line. Good luck.

 

Sweet fridge but that toyota sticker knocks the cool level down a lil bit

 

...I'm no alarmist but some of those really early refrigeration units (1920's, 30's, 40's?) used ammonia in the refrigerant ..some pretty volatile / nasty stuff and you wouldn't want to crack open a line in a confined space.
Remember the Andy Griffith episode where Gomer almost off'd himself fixing one for Aunt Bee....


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Agree very true ....very easy to detect using your nose,,,

most domestic home refer's had a small volume compared to commercial units,,,,
we still use ammonia today ,mostly in sub zero ice plants...and it still works great!

 

<small>Got my self a new refrigerator....
1950 FRIGIDAIRE</small><small> , made by GENERAL MOTORS, (only at 2years!)
in great condition.superb working....and dont uses more electricity than a new one!
Still need low set (1,5 of 10)to not freeze everything inside!

</small>

 

That thing is awesome!.....so Philco was Ford and Frigidare was GM...where's the Mopar 'fridgerators ?



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..Hey Ron, didn't I see a "cool" old fridge in your garage ?


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We have one at the shop.

I wish I had the extra room in my garage for something as unnecessary as a fridge. Or that I spent enough time out there that I would save time running to the house for beer.

Maybe someday though, I'd love to have a '40s Philco though.

When we get ready to move, I am really hopeful that we can find a house with an unrestored kitchen. My last house was a '26 bungalow and the kitchen was untouched.

I was just watching the new season of This Old House and their current project is a house from 1940. It had the PERFECT period kitchen. They even brought in a kitchen historian who staged it with period correct cookware, food, etc to explain just how perfectly period correct this kitchen was... then they proceeded to gut it and throw it ALL into the dumpster!

 

Another early 50's General Motors fridge here. Plans for 2 tone to match the malt shop/rec room............

 

No way!

 

I had a newer Maytag plus Fridge and it's been a POS. Several boards/defrost timers/ice makers later we decided to replace it with a 1942 Fridgidare fridge. I was at Ricks Restorations ( as seen on tv) checking on a Coke machine my buddy was having restored there and saw this thing and had to have it. It looks like 57 chevrolet colors, turquoise and ivory and the inside door to the freezer is painted to match. Compressor was bad so it has a newer more efficent running one in it now. Keeps the milk so cold it hurts you teeth when you drink from the carton Sorry honey.lol. So now that we redid the kitchen and took out all the old stuff we are now getting rid of all the new stuff and putting in all retro stuff.lol. I could post some photos in someone could tell an old fart how do place them on here. Any takers with lots of patience.lol. Could someone tell me what the URL of my link it to insert photos? Signed YRUHOT.

 

My '34 GM Frigidaire. Still works good. Needs a handle as part of it broke. May sell it as its just something to stack stuff on now where I have it.

 

Oh yes, my wife found an old vintage defroster for these non-frost free fridges on e-bay. It was still in the original box and it looks kinda like a old jiffy pop popcorn thing when the popcorn it ready. You pop it in the freezer and plug it in for a couple of minutes and frost it gone. It looks like it is from the 50's would guess. It also came with an Ice maker. They are these trays with handles on them you pull when ice has formed and empty in a bowl then refill.lol. yruhot

 

When did normal-size freezers hit the scene? That's the thing about the vintage refrigerators I've seen ... tiny freezers.