At a little second hand store I recently found the owner's manual for a 1950's Crosley Shelvador fridge. (note - just the manual, not the fridge.)
I will post pics of a few of the pages here.
One thing that interested me is the description of the "Automatic Defrosting" of the freezer compartment. It was not like modern frost free fridges today, where the evaporator is hidden in the back and cold air is circulated by a fan. It is a conventional freezer with defrost heating elements attached to the top and bottom plates of the freezer compartment. The elements are activated once a day by the defrost timer.
I have never heard of such a design before. Has anyone here used a fridge like that? I'd imagine that defrost water would drip on the food packages in the freezer during the defrost cycle, and freeze hard when the freeze cycle returns. How is that avoided?
Interesting also to note that it was assembled under license in Australia by James Kirby company - they also assembled Bendix front loaders at the same time, as well as the Aussie versions of Tecumseh mower engines, which were called "Kirby" engines here, later called "Kirby-Tecumseh." (We had a Kirby powered mower when I was about 11 or 12, it caught fire when I was using it one day, Dad put it out by shovelling sand onto it!) Kirby also made automotive components, and they still exist today, though a much smaller company mainly making refrigeration/coolroom components.
Here are some pages...
Chris.
I will post pics of a few of the pages here.
One thing that interested me is the description of the "Automatic Defrosting" of the freezer compartment. It was not like modern frost free fridges today, where the evaporator is hidden in the back and cold air is circulated by a fan. It is a conventional freezer with defrost heating elements attached to the top and bottom plates of the freezer compartment. The elements are activated once a day by the defrost timer.
I have never heard of such a design before. Has anyone here used a fridge like that? I'd imagine that defrost water would drip on the food packages in the freezer during the defrost cycle, and freeze hard when the freeze cycle returns. How is that avoided?
Interesting also to note that it was assembled under license in Australia by James Kirby company - they also assembled Bendix front loaders at the same time, as well as the Aussie versions of Tecumseh mower engines, which were called "Kirby" engines here, later called "Kirby-Tecumseh." (We had a Kirby powered mower when I was about 11 or 12, it caught fire when I was using it one day, Dad put it out by shovelling sand onto it!) Kirby also made automotive components, and they still exist today, though a much smaller company mainly making refrigeration/coolroom components.
Here are some pages...
Chris.
