1967-ish Philco Phrige

[carmine]

Hello all. Some time ago I posted photos of an Avacado Green fridge I bought at an estate sale.

I used it a few months and it worked well enough although I was never really satisfied with the performance of the freezer. Ice cream was frozen, but a bit soft.

Anyways, it's now down in Toledo Ohio with a friend who thinks it's very cool (haha) but just called complaining (nicely) that all her frozen food had thawed. I'd like to fix it, or even have it fixed (without listening to a bunch of clap-trap from a parts-changer about how I'm destroying mother earth; please buy this pile of sh*t from China etc.)

I suppose there is a small chance the seals just aren't as tight as they need to be, but I'm prepared to get more in depth. I'm familiar with compressors/refrigerants an how they work from working on cars. In fact, I have a complete automotive R-12 gauge set and even have a good amount of R-12 and various substitutes. Might it simply be down on refrigerant after 46 years?

However I do not know what this thing would be filled with.. R-12 or R-22? What are the head pressures supposed to be? Are the service ports similar to a car?

Where might you start your troubleshooting? OR conversely, are there any good appliance guys around Toledo who won't run out of the house laughing, or tell me to take the $40 in blood money from the electric company and junk it?

Thanks.

 

[58limited]

This would have used R-12. There should be a tag on there that tells how much R-12 the system should be charged with. It is probably a sealed system, you would have to tap into the coolant line and solder a fitting in place to recharge it.

 

[goatfarmer]

Make sure all the fan motors are running, condenser, AND evaporator. Make sure it's been defrosting, that it's not all iced up.

 

[carmine]

@ 58Limited: Sealed? Wow. In that case, any leak should be visible by the presence of oil/dirt. I'll check the system for that and also look for anything iced-over.

 

[58limited]

Not all fridges had sealed systems, but most that I've run into do. My '52 GE and both Frigidaires had to have a fitting soldered in place in order to allow freon to be added. My '56 Kelvinator has fittings and even shut off valves so that the compressor can be removed without losing all of the freon - like some car A/C systems.

 

I agree with Goatfarmer - check the defrost system and fans, they are common causes of fridge failure. The defrost timer can get stuck in defrost mode, creating heat in the freezer compartment.

 

[goatfarmer]

If there is a leak in the sealed system, you may or may not see the leak. Some are  minute, some are in a location that isn't readily accessible, etc.