1966 General Electric Spacemaker 19 Refrigerator MOD. TCF19DBC P.3

[Ultramatic]

 

Originally posted on 9/21/2020

 

It's been brought back to life.

 

Part of the original haul of vintage appliances from Newport, R.I.. It's back home. After a stay in Beltsville, MD, Jeff_adelphi replaced the compressor, defrost timer, fan and numerous other components for their modern counterparts. It has been converted to R-134 refrigerant. It is running well and consumes less power. Kudos to Jeff for a job expertly done.

 

This is a General Electric Model TCF19DBC Serial # LB631067.

 

My General Electric Refrigerator/Bottom Mount Freezer P.1

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?79051
 

1966 General Electric Spacemaker 19 Refrigerator MOD. TCF19DBC P.2

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?80126
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Waiting to be brought back to Brooklyn, NY:



 

Modern components:



 



 



 

The doctor himself and his patient.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

Originally posted on 6/29/2021

 

The refrigerator was installed and has been working well. I had to keep the cold control at 8 in order to keep a temperature of 36F. Today I went to grab a can of seltzer and noticed it was not as cold as usual. I checked the thermometer and sure enough it read 55F. 

 

The compressor is cycling normally. Perhaps it's the cold control, the fan in the refrigerator section or the defrost timer.

 

 

[Ultramatic]

 

The fan is working well, a bit noisy but it spins freely. I will add a few drops of Turbine oil since I'm here.

 

<script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

<script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Ultramatic]

 

Originally posted on 6/30/2021

 

It appears to be the defrost timer. I manually turned it to defrost and was met with a loud "crack" as ice started to melt.

 

I will order a replacement.

 

<script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Ultramatic]

 

Originally posted on 7/1/2021

 

The original defrost timer for this General Electric is MOD. WR9X330. However, it was replaced with a Paragon MOD. A-772-00. Other defrost timers for this refrigerator are Gemline MOD. WG-840-1 DT 105 (Paragon clone) and Uni-line 8-805.

 

There is an original, NOS WR9x330 on ebay, but a bit pricey at $80 plus shipping. I ordered a NOS Paragon MOD. A-772-00.

 

[Ultramatic]

Finally arrived

 

 

Originally posted on 7/7/2021

 

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Installed a few days ago and the issue continued. The timer was not advancing. Went back and discovered the black wire (hot) was just hanging by a few threads to the terminal. I switched it out, advanced the timer to defrost and waited.

 

<script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

<script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Ultramatic]

Still not advancing.

 

 

I should have done this before, I'm going back in with a multimeter to see if there is any current being supplied. Perhaps the wire slipped out of the terminal again. Or perhaps its the neutral.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

I checked the contacts, they are fine. Power is being supplied to the defrost timer. The timer does advance to end the defrost cycle and start the cooling cycle, however it seems to get stuck there, just right after. I hear/feel the timer running. I was manually advancing the timer twice every 24 hours to keep the refrigerator running. However, last night I found literally sheets of ice behind the coils. So it wasn't totally defrosting when I manually advanced it. So I put it in defrost mode 3 times. That did the trick. The ice behind the coils melted.

 

Nevertheless, I am pretty certain the timer is defective. If it does not advance this time, I will reinstall the original. Perhaps it was good to begin with but was running intermittently due to the very loose hot wire.

 



[this post was last edited: 7/23/2021-11:46]

 

[turbokinetic]

It's certainly not unheard of to get a new/defective timer.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

I changed the defroster timer back to the original. It too is working. And I also noticed I haven't seen the evaporator fan working, and sure enough, you can barely turn it with your finger. Seems like the bearing are bad. As I mentioned earlier a great deal of ice forms back there,  I defrosted all the visible ice and removed all the screws, and the black plastic cover won't budge. Perhaps there is still more ice behind it.

 



[this post was last edited: 7/25/2021-20:34]

 

[Ultramatic]

I'd like to find one of these...

 

 

<h1 id="title" class="a-spacing-none a-text-normal"><span id="productTitle" class="a-size-extra-large">GE Technical Data Manual, Vol. 1, Refrigerators and Home Freezers </span> <span id="productSubtitle" class="a-size-large a-color-secondary"> Paperback – January 1,</span></h1>
<h1 class="a-spacing-none a-text-normal"><span id="productSubtitle" class="a-size-large a-color-secondary"> 1966 </span></h1>

 

[turbokinetic]

I have a feeling that the fan motor housing (the black part) is sealed with permagum, which is holding it. You may need to warm everything up a little bit and apply moderate, constant pressure to get it out.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Permagum? Wow, they certainly didn't make it easy to remove the evaporator fan. I'll be removing the aluminum cover to get a better grip. This is going to be a delicate task. Thanks David.

 

[turbokinetic]

Originally the permagum was supposed to stay PERMAnently GUMmy and never turn hard. But over decades it hardens up. Heating gently with a hairdryer etc. can help soften it.

But yeah it has to be done carefully so as not to break the fan motor holder.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

So I struggled to remove the evaporator fan housing. As David suggested I used heat to soften the Permagum. Little by little it separated. But it kept hanging on tight. Then I noticed the center of the housing, where the shaft is was exceptionally cold. So I began to suspect there was ice build-up behind the fan, in fact inside the fan itself. After a few more passes using a blow dryer, it finally came free. Low and behold, the interior of the entire housing was a block of ice. Not only that, there was over an inch of ice running the entire width of the freezer. It was so thick, it took me 20 minutes just to begin the see the wires for the fan. No Permagum just a surprising amount of ice. Now, since I applied so much heat to the fan housing the shaft is spinning freely. I will check it for continuity to see if it's OK.

 

Ice



 

More ice



 

And yet more ice



[this post was last edited: 7/27/2021-01:36]

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

I'm turning off the GE for at least 24 hours so all that ice can finally melt.

 

Fan motor tested at 83 ohms. Which means it's good.

 

For future reference evaporator fan motor part # WR60X60

[this post was last edited: 7/27/2021-00:07]

 

[turbokinetic]

Quite a lot of water got in there to freeze it up like that! There is a chance the electrical connectors for the fan motor are damaged from the ice / water being in them. You might want to verify that they are still capable of making good contact.

Also see if there is any way defrost water can flow behind the fan mount, become trapped, and fill it up like this again. Somehow that water got in there and froze up.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Funny how the freezer still registers at 0F with no evaporator fan. And the refrigerator is at 34F for now until the ice build up blocks the cold into the refrigerated section. Frost is beginning to form, which means the old timer is also not advancing. The only thing I can think of is that both defrost timers are bad. After manually setting them to defrost, the cycle will work for about 15 minutes, then the compressor will kick in and ice will start to form on the coils.  As I mentioned, neither timers will cycle back to defrost.

 

[Ultramatic]

Hi David.

 

 

The drain line is clear. When I put it in defrost, the water drains away. As for the ice, perhaps the defrost timer has been bad for a long time causing the excessive  ice build up. Excessive moisture may also have contributed. The door seals are original, perhaps they letting in too much ambient air. 

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

With the help of a blower, I melted all the ice on and behind the coils. I had the empty the drain pan 3 times. So reinstalled the the evaporator fan, turned on the refrigerator, and nothing. The fan is not working. Even though it checked out OK, I guess as suggested by David, the connectors might have been damaged from all the ice and water. I will check the connectors next.  Still too early if the defrost timer is advancing on it's own.

 

[turbokinetic]

Louis; if I remember, on your fridge, the evaporator fan works through the freezer door switch. Be sure that the switch is working correctly. The fan stops while the freezer is open.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Indeed it does David. I believe the switch is working since the light goes off when I press it. I will check the contacts later today.

 

[Ultramatic]

Third times the charm...

 

 

Since the new defrost timer was a dud, I ordered a NOS genuine General Electric WRX330, the original timer. Well sir, it's been working just fine for the last 36 hours. It's defrosting regularly, hardly any frost on the coils, and about a cup of water in the drain pan. Freezer is at zero at 6 and refrigerator is at 34F at 6.  Now just the evaporator fan remains and we're done.

 

<script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[turbokinetic]

That's a good thing! Hope the fan is an easy fix.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Turns out the evaporator fan was bad. So ordered a new replacement universal fan. It fit perfectly with the added parts. And it started up just fine.

 

<script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

<script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[turbokinetic]

That's great to hear!

I remember reading about an appliance repair call-out where the complaint was noise. The owner was convinced that "an owl" was in the refrigerator. She could hear it. Sometimes it would "hoot" when the freezer door was opened. Sometimes she could hear it "hooting" softly from inside while the door was closed.

In the end, it turned out to be that motor gong out and the shaft making noise in dry bearings.

 

[Ultramatic]

Thanks David!

 

 

 Let's hope this is it for many years to come.

 

 I will be getting cold controls for the freezer and the refrigerator sections. Just in case.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

On a side note, I got a full refund for the defective Paragon defrost timer.