New to me GE vintage refrigerator what year was it?

[greenacre]

Hello and new to the forum
Can anyone tell me about this new to me vintage GE fridge I picked up today at an estate sale for $40. It's running very cold and the freezer needs defrosting. It's going to take up residency in my pole barn after I clean it up. Any suggestion on what I should do to clean her up. Also what year would this bee. Made and did I do ok with my 40 bucks. Have no clue if I spent too much
Thanks
Greg

 

[pulltostart]

Gregory,

I can't say for sure, but I'm thinking this is probably a 1952 model.  Looks like it's really good at generating frost - and rust.  TLC will take care of the rust and new gaskets will go a long way towards slowing down the formation of frost.

 

Congratulations on your $40 toy!

 

lawrence

 

[thatwasherguy]

Welcome to the forum!

First off, you got a screaming deal for $40. Vintage refrigerators generally go for at least $150 in working condition. This would be made in the late 40’s to very early 50’s. My main recommendation in terms of servicing would be to make sure that the condenser coil is clean, that the fan motor (if present) is working, and that the door gaskets are in good condition. I would also recommend making sure that the compressor’s overload is functional. Fridges from this era are actually very energy efficient (because of their thick insulation and lack of defrost heaters), so you’ll enjoy a lower electricity bill as well.
Thatwasherguy.

 

[ea56]

I would agree with Lawrence that this GE fridge is probably a ‘52 model.     My Aunt Louise had a GE fridge just like this one and I’m pretty sure that she got it around ‘52.  She was the only family member that had a freezer that would actually keep ice cream hard.    

 

Back then in the 50’s everyone else on both sides of my family had single door fridges with a SMALL freezer compartment and these freezer compartments weren’t large enough for a 1/2 gal of ice cream and those small freezer compartments wouldn’t even keep smaller containers of ice cream firm for very long at all, you had to eat the ice cream right  away.

 

Consequently whenever there was a family dinner that wasn’t at Aunt Louise’s house and if ice cream was planned for dessert then someone would have to drive to the store or ice cream shop just before dessert was served to buy the ice cream.  

 

  My Uncle Harold worked in construction and every night he sat down to a big bowl of ice cream that their big GE top freezer fridge kept hard as a rock.  I thought that they were rich because they always had ice cream on hand.  

 

Eddie

 

[kenwashesmonday]

1951-1952ish.  I believe they added shelves on the door in 1953 or 1954.

 

I believe you'll find a date stamped on the start relay.

 

[combo52]

1948 through 52 GE combination refrigerator

This was the early advanced design, dual refrigeration system refrigerator. These were wonderful refrigerators when they were new and properly working.

It’s hard to tell what’s wrong with this one it definitely may have a problem with the door seal on the freezer, but it also may have a stuck on cold control there’s even frost on the secondary evaporator on the inside walls of the refrigerator.

This refrigerator needs to be defrosted. It should be turned off for a couple of weeks with the doors open because it’s not just the frost you see, but it builds up inside the insulation above the freezer when not defrosted on a regular basis. It also looks like the metal where the Gasket contacts the cabinet is so rusty. It may be hard to get a good seal. This could be a problem.

I would go ahead and defrost it and set both temperature controls at the normal settings and monitor the temperature in both the refrigerator and the freezer for a few weeks to decide whether it’s got other problems. The freezer should be between zero and five above and the refrigerator should be somewhere around 36 to 38° If it pass these test, then go ahead and work on the cosmetic problems and possible door seal issues.

These were well built refrigerators and very advanced for its time.

John

 

[rp2813]

There's a small shelf for ice trays in the freezer, which will reveal itself once the frost obscuring it has melted.   The sales literature for these GE models promoted their true zero degree freezing capabilities.  The average single-door refrigerators from that period had  relatively small evaporators that weren't true freezers at all, so as Eddie stated above, having actual frozen contents at your fingertips was a real luxury. 

 

If you can smooth out the rusted area above the freezer door and replace the gasket (replacement gasket material isn't hard to find), you probably won't have to defrost the freezer more than twice a year, if that.  I think these early models had drains in the freezer floor, so you don't have to do much besides wipe down the insides after the frost has melted.

 

As John said, these are great refrigerators.  I had a 1957 model that had revolving shelves, and used it for drinks and overflow for a number of years.   I'm still on the lookout for a replacement.

 

[appliguy]

If you post the model number.....

I can tell you what model year your fridge is PATRICK