1941 GE has strong smell after moving

[kennyt123]

Hello. I just purchased and moved a 1941 GE fridge. After moving it and placing down I sensed a strong chemical ( refrigerant?) smell when I was cleaning. When the door is closed it's stronger when I open it. I know to wait at least an hour (I wait a day) to have the contents settle but is that just the compressor? I can't test it yet, but I think it might be a leak. Any advice on what to do?

 

[turquoisedude]

Be careful - it may be a model which used sulfur dioxide as a refrigerant!!  If the refrigerator is in the house, open some windows and you should consult your local fire department for assistance.  SO2 is dangerous stuff.

 

[rp2813]

If it's SO2 refrigerant, that's toxic, so keep the fridge in a well-ventilated area and don't expose yourself to any fumes.  Sometimes a yellow residue will indicate a SO2 leak.

 

Travis is our resident refrigerator expert (GE in particular) so he'll be able to offer the best advice.

 

[goatfarmer]

SO2 will burn your eyes, and make it hard to breathe. You can check the model tag, and see if it was charged with SO2.

 

[travis]

It's likely a small so2 leak.

 

Relax, move it to a garage or carport.  Do not call anyone about it, Jesus.

 

[kennyt123]

It's in the garage to be worked on

Thanks Travis--it's in the garage and I was going to start working on it since the cord needed to be replaced. The usual bondo and pounding of dents.

It wasn't an overpowering smell as I was able to clean it. I believe it may be just about gone since the guy I bought it from had it outside. I was going to get a leak detector and patch up the leak. Can it be recharged with a modern form of refrigerant?

 

[travis]

With some work you can charge it with 134a.

 

Please google monitor top forum and look there.  A member by the name of coldspaces can direct you.  He's also here, but logs in less often.

 

[sudsmaster]

Freon came out in the 1920's, but GE's Monitor Top fridges used SO2 for years. It looks to me like late 1930's and perhaps into 1941 GE fridges moved the cylindrical compressor assembly from the top of the fridge to a space under it, resulting in a raised refrigerated compartment. I presume these still used SO2.

I have a 1948 GE one-door fridge. It still runs well but needs a new door gasket (I have the material, but haven't gotten round to installing it... I've been using the need to repaint the exterior as an excuse). According to the tag on the compressor assembly, it uses Freon-12.

The thinking with these old SO2 fridges apparently was that the odor of leaking SO2 was so noticeable (think rotten eggs) that people would clear the area before it became a serious health problem. However I've also read that the SO2 could react with water to become sulfuric acid which could cause skin burns and breathing problems. On the other hand in the older leaky homes of the era, the quantity contained in a residential fridge was not though to be lethal.

Next

 

[travis]

GE loved so2 because Frigidaire created F12 or R12. 

 

I had 2 lbs of so2 let loose last year.  It's impossible to be in the room with it.  As it spread, it ran me out of the room and eventually upstairs.  As it was forcing my retreat, it irritated my eyes and nose.  We have lots of moisture in those places.

 

There is no way it could kill you unless you were bed ridden.  It's an acidic rotten smell that's worse than the worst dog fart you've ever encountered.

 

What's odd though is that your leak seems to be inside the cabinet.  I am not sure how moving the fridge would have caused that.  Could it be that the fridge already had a leak and the move jostled a little bit more loose.  They will do that.  The leaking unit I mentioned above continued to toot in the back of a truck all the way to be repaired.

 

[kennyt123]

On closer examination......

It appears to be the classic stabbing of frost in the freezer compartment. It's only present in that portion of the fridge and it's a weak smell. Enough to smell but not enough to burn eyes. I was washing with water, baking soda, magic eraser--no chemical burns or reaction. However, I did notice oil on the dolley so I believe the compressor may have been punctured or the line near the compressor may have been punctured as he pushed it into a snowbank to get it out of the way. The compressor is the cyllindrical compressor assembly under the fridge. Could the compressor still be good and the oil may have been displaced due to the move? I already know I have to patch some holes in the freezer box with JBWeld. Then I was going to start it up to see if things were okay. No sense investing in a new compressor if the old one may still be good--just the line. Did I really think about doing this for a hobby????? BTW there's a cool YouTube video "General Electric Marches on..." for 1941 that features my fridge.

 

[sudsmaster]

What does the tag on the compressor say? It should list the type of refrigerant. A model number as well.

 

[philr]

Here in Canada, GE (and Hotloint) still used SO2 on mid-to-late 1940s fridges. I used to have one GE Deluxe fridge that looked just like US models but it had door shelves. I can't tell if the similar fridges made in the US were still charged with SO2 or if they had switched to R12. A friend of mine has a 1965 GE bottom freezer that's charged with R-500, another odd refrigerant that GE used here.

 

[sudsmaster]

The tag on my '48 GE is behind the front panel, on the far right side of the radiator.

It clearly says Freon 12.

 

[kennyt123]

Compressor Tag confirms.....

It's SO2.

In conversation with Antique Appliances, they quoted me $3800 to restore it not including shipping.

That's soooo expensive, but the work looks great.

I think I'm going to put that one on the backburner and repaint my Philco.