1952 refrigerator repair - please advise!

[melissa]

I just bought a beautiful GE fridge and now it's time to begin the restoration process. Any suggestions? Warnings! Things I must read before I begin? I know the refrigerant is an issue, but I don't know how to find out what kind mine has or what to do about it.

The fridge seems to be in pretty good condition. It hadn't been plugged it in for about 7 years, but it looks to be in good shape. When you plug in the fridge, the light inside turns on, and something in the back makes a sound. The guy who sold it to me said this soft sound is much louder now than it used to be. (it's soft compared to a modern fridge). Any ideas what's making it louder?

Just a little background, I'm new to the forum - a dear friend sent me here. I've never restored an old fridge, but I did restore a chambers stove & a couple typewriters - so I'm medium-handy. Just no experience with electrical appliances!

Thanks for taking the time to help a rookie!

 

[rp2813]

If it's been asleep for seven years, it wouldn't be unusual for it to be louder than normal.  Are you sure there's a refrigerant issue and that it doesn't "work" as you mentioned in the other thread?

 

That is a beautiful fridge and appears to be in great shape, not in need of much if any cosmetic restoration.

 

Can we see interior pix and shots of door gaskets?

 

[norgeway]

And!

Dont be afraid, the refrigerant is Freon 12 which was used up until the newer gases came out, it is safe and non toxic.

 

[combo52]

OLD GE COMBINATION REF

 The main question is does it work properly, these were great refs if they work. Make sure that the condenser fan down by the compressor is running if it is not that will make the compressor run at a higher pressure and noise level. If the compressor and fan run and it doesn't freeze properly you have a major problem on your hands. So let it run a while before you do any real work on it. The freezer should easily maintain 0 degrees and the ref section 35-38 degrees with the motor running only half the time. These are very energy efficient and safe refs but do add either a three wire grounded cord or separate ground wire Good Luck.

 

[austinado16]

Fantastic looking GE!!

Welcome to the forum.

Based on your photo, I'm wondering what that fridge actually needs in the way of "restoration" type work. Looks to me like if you hand polish the exterior paint, and then wax it, it'll look nearly new.

IMO, less is more on this kind of stuff.

If it were mine, I'd plug it in, set the fridge section temp dial on about 3, and if it has a seperate freezer temp dial, I'd set that on one of the warmer settings for testing purposes. When the compressor turns on, I'd inspect the compressor area and all the tubes....and if it has fan that's supposed to blow air over the compressor, I'd make sure that works. Many times, the bushings in these fans will get gummed up and the fan will no longer work. They can usually be brought back to life (with the fridge unplugged) by spraying into the bushings with a penetrant like Liquid Wrench, PB Blaster, Kroil, and even WD-40. Then push and pull on the fan a few times (in and out of the motor housing) and then start spinning the fan by hand. Once it turns fairly freely, plug the fridge back in, and get the compressor to turn on. The fan should spool up nicely and come right up to speed. They're typically good forever after that.

Anway, fire it up, make sure the fan works if it has one, and then let it run for a few hours or a day and see how it does. Throw a bowl of water in the freezer and see if it'll freeze. Do the same thing in the fridge, and take the temp of that one.

If it makes good cold, your restoration process has just become a polish and wax job. Make sure the door seals are in good condition, and clean all the goop out of them with something like Simple Green. If the seals aren't good, you'll have to source replacements...either modifying generic versions, or maybe stumble across a place that has new old stock.

Post more photos!!

 

[58limited]

The freezer temp setting on my '52 GE Combo is at the very bottom behind the kick panel. It is hinged on one side, just swing it open to expose the freezer controls.

 

[rp2813]

I was going to suggest the same general process as John and Todd's posts above -- until I went to your Kelvinator thread where you advised that this GE doesn't work.  If it's making a sound in the back, that's a good sign, and if it's working at all, you should feel the interior surfaces of the freezer section becoming cold to the touch fairly quickly.

 

You also mentioned your lack of experience with defrosting.  If these earlier versions of the GE Combination have the same system as the later ones, there should be a drain opening in the floor of the freezer section, and a tube (could be missing) coming out of the ceiling of the refrigerator section that directs the defrost water into a trough on the rear wall.  David, can you confirm one way or the other?  If there's no tube or trough but you still have the drain in the freezer, just place a pan on the top shelf in the fridge to catch the water.  These are a cinch to defrost if they have the drain/tube arrangement.  You will need to place the freezer contents into either another freezer or an ice chest while defrosting.  I used my "Red-E-Defrost" (pictured here) and the whole process from start to placing all contents back into the freezer took only 45 minutes.

 

 

 

[rp2813]

A picture of the "Red-E-Defrost" tackling a huge job in the basement freezer.  It's a heating coil inside a cage.  These devices show up in thrift stores on occasion, or can likely be found on ebay.  Place in your Combination's freezer section, plug it in and walk away.  In a small freezer like that, it should melt most of the ice within 30 minutes or so. 

 

 

[melissa]

plugging it in won't damage it?

So it looks like the general consensus is to plug it in and see if it works. I had been a little afraid to do that because I was afraid I might burn out a motor or damage a belt or something. I don't know what would happen exactly, but I know sometimes if things are making a sound, then you don't want to run them. Sounds like in this case that's not an issue.

The reason I thought it doesn't work is that the guy who sold it to me, who knew nothing about these fridges, said it runs louder than it used to (the last time he plugged it in 7 years ago). So he assumed because it was louder it was broken. So there's a chance he's wrong and it does work, or maybe he doesn't really remember the volume of the fridge. I really hope so at least!

Here's a video of the back of the fridge and the noise it makes. The noise is coming from the back of the fridge. You may have to turn the volume up to hear it.



Here's a video of the inside of the fridge
http://www.youtube.com/user/melissasanford?feature=mhum#p/u/2/dJ_LsSZoIhc

Better videos & photos to come, promise!

Thank you so much for your advice so far! basically the only things I plan to do is make it work and keep things cold - you know so it can do things like a refrigerator - and then paint the outside, possibly change the gaskets, and clean up any rust. The big thing is making it work though.

 

[austinado16]

Here's my 3 cents worth Melissa...

What you are looking at on the back of the fridge is called the condensor coils. These transfer the heat removed from the inside of the fridge/freezer, to the air on the outside.

Now, look down at the lower back and you should see the tubes from the condensor going to a dome shapped housing that's mounted on rubber feet. Inside this housing is the compressor, which is a motor and pump, that pump the liquid refrigerant through the fridge/freezer evaporator(s) inside the fridge, and to the condensor, and then back to the compressor. Near this domed compressor, you may find an electric fan. The fan blows air on the domed compressor housing and it may also blow air on some of the condensor coils.

You may find that your noise is just the metal fan blades slightly touching on the fan's shroud/housing, or they may be touching one of the tubes from the compressor. If you find this to be the case, unplug the fridge and investigate further. Rotate the fan slowly by hand until you find where and when it's touching something. Then chose to either bend the fan blade slighty with your fingers, or bend/push out of the way the tube that it's touching (do this gently and slowly while supporting the tube with one hand and bending an area with the other) or bend/flex the fan motor in it's mountings so the blades no longer touch whatever they are touching.

Some photos of the area that are clear, focused, and well lit, would be helpful.

 

[58limited]

I think hers is going to be similar to my '52. Mine does not have a fan, the compressor looks like a cylinder laying on its side with cooling fins going around it. I've included a picture below. Melissa, does your compressor look like this? Yeah, I know. I haven't rolled the fridge out and dusted under there in almost a year.

 

[melissa]

decoration

I'm going to go take some photos. I assume the first thing I have to do is unscrew the panel on the back of the fridge. I'm not looking at coils or fans or compressors, but a smooth black back. That's just a decorative back right?

I guess back then it would be ghastly if the back of your fridge was exposed!

Are there manuals or schematics of these fridges anywhere?

 

[58limited]

I took the photo of my compressor from the front, swing open the kick panel at the bottom. My back black panel is the condenser coils, not a simple thing to remove - you might break something.

 

[melissa]

ok i'm going to try to swing that part off. I tried the back but you were right it got tricky. in the meantime here's a link with a few more pix.

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[goatfarmer]

Before you plug it in.....

...give the power cord a thorough inspection. Make sure it's not brittle, or broken, or has any bare wires. Also, if you take the back off, check all the wires that you can reach, and make sure they're in good shape.
If all looks good, plug 'er in, and let it run for a few hours. It won't hurt anything, to let it run, even if it needs recharged, or similar.

 

[rp2813]

I can't even hear it running.  Which is as it should be!

 

I highly recommend following David's instructions.

 

If there are no burning smells, sparks or fire, keep it plugged in and see if it gets cold.

 

[swestoyz]

Hello Melissa,

I'm in a loud restaurant right now so I cannot assess the noise level from your video. The only electromechanical object Is the sealed compressor, like the one shown in 58limiteds photo above.

When running the compressor should put off a bit of a hum. Not totally silent, but it also should not be obnoxious. The bottom panel is hinged on the right hand side. Set the freezer control to 3 and let her rip. The control inside the refrigerator compartment does not control the starting of the compressor, only the freezer control down behind the inspection panel does this.

These are fantastic refrigerators. As John mentioned they use very little power. I had a similar 1951 model in use as my main fridge for a year. Best GE ever made.

Ben

 

[melissa]

compressor pix

ok found the compressor! There are several more pictures at the link. what do you think?

http://picasaweb.google.com/sanford.melissa/VintageGeFridge?authkey=Gv1sRgCOLZ8qPHtrXmYg#5600403872426186674

 

[58limited]

Yours looks cleaner than mine. The freezer control is at the upper left of the pic. Plug it in and let it run awhile. See if the freezer starts to cool. Also, you can hear the freon circulate through the freezer if you listen closely.