1926 Frigidaire M52...

[turbokinetic]

Some of you fine folks may have seen this in the videos I'm sharing on YouTube. For those who haven't, I present the Frigidaire M52. This was the first metal-clad cabinet refrigerator sold by Frigidaire. The condensing unit was also the first air-cooled style they produced. (Earlier models required a water hookup and drain connection for cooling water.)

 

It was owned by a fellow collector and historian who retired from the HVAC-R industry. He lives near Dayton, OH where Frigidaire was located.

 

As you can see from the trailer picture; I got quite a haul of really neat antique and vintage parts.

 

 

[turbokinetic]

Repairs to condensing unit....

The compressor was locked up solid. I was afraid of bending or breaking the shaft trying to get it to rotate. Many of these are stuck because of the corrosive nature of SO2. In this case, it wasn't that. The unit was not expected to have any refrigerant in it; however it had a LOT of SO2 remaining. Due to a clogged valve, it did not evacuate overnight and I got a nasty surprise when trying to dismantle the unit. There was enough SO2 in the receiver to frost the receiver all the way across when it boiled off!

 

It looked like someone had packed the seal area with red epoxy putty, as well. What a mess..

 

There was absolutely zero oil in the compressor. As if it was washed dry inside.

 

I had to use a hydraulic press to remove the shaft from the unit. It was that stuck!

 

 

 

[repairguy]

Congratulations! And thanks for keeping one more vintage appliance alive.

 

[turbokinetic]

Compressor rebuild...

After pressing the shaft out of the compressor, it was time to clean up the parts and reassemble it.

 

In the haul of parts, there was a box of gaskets but none for this compressor model. Had to cut and make gaskets.

 

The seal journal on the shaft was corroded as you might expect. That was turned down and polished to a mirror finish.

 

All joints on the unit were checked with soap water with 125 PSI nitrogen in the unit. The shaft seal was filled with oil to check for leaks, since I didn't want to put water in that area.

 

 

 

[turbokinetic]

Motor repair...

Reply #2; Thanks Melvin! I do get a sense of satisfaction keeping these alive.

 

The motor is a Century repulsion-start induction motor. It is the exact same model which would have come on the M52, however it was not "the motor" from this unit. I got two motors in the parts haul. One was supposed to be good, the other one not. This one may have been missing a spring. I did have what was necessary to repair it!

 

I also cleaned up the control. It is copper plated steel. Never seen that before.

 

The condensing unit looks good all back in one piece again!

 

I have been documenting it with videos. At the suggestion of my friends who watch my videos, I made the videos longer and gave a lot more detail than before. It may be boring to those of us who have done this sort of repair many times; however there are plenty of guys who haven't done this and they find it beneficial to have all the details.

 

The link to the next video is at the end of each video. There are at this point six parts.

 

Video part 1:

 

Sincerely,

David

 

[combo52]

Wow, Another Great Restoration

Hi David your restorations are incredible, I always look forward to watching your work and seeing the before and after.

 

Seeing these overbuilt old FD machines it reminds me that I need to pull out our 1937 Frigidaire room Air-Conditioner and take some pictures, I think you would really enjoy this machine.

 

Here are a few pictures of the 1927 FD refrigerator that we used in our mountain house for over 25 years and is stallion use in a home nearby in University Park Maryland, these pictures were taken from the book that came with the model AP-7-2 refrigerator we had.

 

[rp2813]

I love a good contraption as much as the next guy, and if I could own one of these early Frigidaires, I sure would enjoy it.  The cold control alone is a work of art.  Awesome job as always, David.

 

Hey John, you forgot to attach your pictures!

 

[goatfarmer]

Another fantastic job!

 

[turbokinetic]

Evaporator......

Thanks guys, for the positive comments!  It means a lot to me. Makes it worth the time to make the videos.

 

So; today I got the evaporator cleaned out. Also partially finished the float valve modification.

 

The most surprising thing was the lack of oil in the evaporator. The compressor was completely dry. The receiver was "shockingly dry" and dusty inside. I was expecting the oil to all be trapped in the evaporator - but there was barely any! Seems that over the decades (or through one bad service) the oil was all lost. That was what caused the compressor seizure.

 

The evaporator wasn't bad, requiring only some degreaser and pressure washer blasting. The float I added the density compensation spring mounts, but didn't have the spring on hand. Also, there was one fitting stripped out which I will have to buy tomorrow.

 

 Here is some video footage of the evaporator service...

 

[rp2813]

Enjoying this

 

 

It just gets better.

 

[ken]

Really enjoy seeing your work David. And what kept going through my mind was if you didn't save these vintage units all that beautiful engineering and those beautifully manufactured parts would be crushed, melted down and be gone for good.

 

[turbokinetic]

Evaporator back together...

Thank you guys so much for the comments! I really appreciate it.

 

Here is the video from today's work. The evaporator and condenser are both ready for action again! Now to get the cabinet back from the painter.

 



 

 

 

[turbokinetic]

Cosmetic repairs...

So today I went to Birmingham, AL and visited the paint shop where the M52 cabinet is located. The exterior cladding has been dent repaired and has its primer on. They are still working on the paint stripping of the interior and the compressor door louvers.  

 

The main reason I went there today was to install a magnetic reed switch for a potential cabinet light installation. This is a modification which I've done on several other fridges. The door has a hidden neodymium magnet in the edge trim (breaker strip). There is a hidden magnetic reed switch in the cabinet breaker strip. When the door closes, the magnet lines up with the reed switch and changes state. That makes the light work with the door opening and closing.  

 

In the WM-5 and W-8 projects, I was able to hide the magnet at the lower edge of the door. Since you won't see it unless you bend down and look up, it was a non-issue that it's not painted over.  The M52, on the other hand, has structural differences in the cabinet which make the bottom of the door unusable for a switch location. For that reason, the top of the door had to be used. Since this is a highly visible area, I needed to have the magnet placed in the door, and then skimmed with Bondo and then the area painted over. They're working on the cabinet feverishly, so today was my chance.

 

Also I made some repairs and painted the evaporator cover. It needed a couple soldering repairs then got a coat of appliance epoxy paint.

 

The nickel-plated brass trim ring around the evaporator ice cube tray openings also got a hit with Brasso. 

 

Sincerely,

David

 

 

[rp2813]

David, I like your lighting idea.  What a great upgrade!

 

[turbokinetic]

Thanks Ralph. The lighting idea worked well on my WM-5 model and a W-8 I did for another collector. The difference with those two is they have a place to conceal the light so that it shines back in the cabinet from the front inner surface. The WM-5 has an upper angled surface inside and above the door. The W-8 has the door post in the front between the doors. With this one; the M52 has no such area. I have a couple possibilities to conceal a light in the evaporator cover, shining out of existing openings. I don't want to cut any holes - that's my first and foremost important point. Will probably have to get the cabinet back and begin reassembly to see how the light will work best.  Attached are pictures of the WM-5 light install.

 

[lorainfurniture]

David, your videos are awesome. Do you restore and sell these units?

 

[turbokinetic]

Eugene; I'm fascinated by most old mechanical things. I love bringing life back to bygone technology. This is just a hobby for me. The WM-5 and the M52 are permanent parts of my collection.

 

I do sometimes work on other peoples' antiques although this is an exception and not the rule. If I were to restore one to sell, it would be one that someone has already expressed interest in buying. That would be one way I would restore and then sell one.

 

As for the hermetic unit fridges I have collected, most of those I would sell to the right person for the right price - although I don't consider them actively marketed as for sale. I have more fridges than I need. They are in safe location and get run periodically - but I would be happy to see a few go to other enthusiasts who would use them and appreciate them.

 

Sincerely,

David

 

 

 

 

[ken]

David

Have you gotten the finished cabinet back yet? Looking forward to seeing pics of it completed.

 

[turbokinetic]

Cabinet!

Ken, it's ironic you posted this today!  I got the cabinet back just now in fact.  Picked it up and dropped off the GE Combination wall-mount fridge at the paint shop.

 

The white looks amazing. 

 

I got the shelf supports, and new evaporator mount studs in place. Will get insulation tomorrow and try to get the cabinet back together. 

 

Sincerely,

David