A vintage freezer for the new house?

[turquoisedude]

I spotted this on the Kijiji classifieds in the Sherbrooke area - it turns out it's not that far from Ogden so I'm going to have a look-see on Saturday.   No brand name was listed, and the only hint is that 'Super Wall' crest in the 1st photo.  

 

My gut reaction is saying 'Hotpoint'...  Would anyone happen to recognize what this may really be?

 

I'll know for sure on Saturday, though!

 

[norgeway]

Super Wall

Would be a Coldspot, GREAT FREEZER!!!!

 

[turquoisedude]

Cool!  Thanks, Hans!  I knew someone would be able to identify it. 

 

[cadman]

My back hurts just looking at it!

We have a Seeger-built Coldspot as the drink fridge and it just keeps going..and going...and going... (knock on wood). Better go grab that one, Paul! -C

 

[norgeway]

That Compressor

They used was bulletproof, so much so Whirlpool kept it after they took over Seeger, its a rotary unit, the only one I know of that can be unplugged while running and plugged back in and it will start right back up with no delay..This info came from John Lefevre.

 

[philr]

Many Frigidaire rotary compressors also restart immediately if the power has been interrupted for just a second or a few seconds.  Most if not all the 7/32 HP and 1/6 HP Frost Proof models that I have do that.

 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Got it!

I couldn't resist... I was thinking it would neat to have a vintage freezer but I'm trying to limit my purchases to Canadian dollars and within a 2 to 3 hour driving limit.  We got from Ogden to the house where this used to live in 25 minutes - YAY!

 

The unit is in good shape overall.  The lid seems to be the worst...   

 

But lookee there, it's a Coldspot alright!    I checked the compressor and sure enough, it's a Seeger!  Not sure if the machine was a cross-border purchase or if it came through one of the old Simpson-Sears catalog stores that still endure in this part of the world. 

 

[turquoisedude]

I darn near swooned when I saw the interior!  It's porcelain and it's in wonderful condition!  And look at those baskets - this was a well-thought-out design for sure.

 

Dumb question - what would this 'heater' switch control?  A mullion heater perhaps (to prevent condensation in high humidity conditions)??

 

 

[turquoisedude]

She's had some work done....  That's a generic cold control I recognize!   I took a look around inside the refrigeration component area and I think I know why the original cold control got decomissioned....  

 

I noticed there was a cover for the wiring on the original control.  How likely is it that the control may still be functional??

 

 

[turquoisedude]

I don't really like the look of the original power cord...  I am a little leery about removing what I think may be a connector block though.  And if I'm going to do any rewiring, I think it might be wise to run a new wire from the relay to the compressor motor BUT I'm not sure how easy that would be.  

 

Does anyone have a service manual or first-hand experience with rewiring a freezer like this?

 

I'm itching to move ahead, but geez, I don't want to risk messing anything up...  Let's see if I can make the WCI-59 do another 'overflow spin' instead... LOL   

 

[combo52]

Neat Chest Freezer

Hi Paul, Glad you called as I missed this thread. This freezer is newer than the ones I mentioned, this one is a hi-bread of the Seeger Rotary compressor and the International Harvester porclean covered liner freezers. These were probably the first of the freezers that came from RCA-Whirlpool after WP bough Seeger, IH, and Servel.

 

The Super-Wall name was referring to having the condenser in the inside of the exterior cabinet shell to dissipate heat. All CF are built this way now, the advantage was no condenser fan and condenser to ever get dirty and this also helped eliminate condensation in damp areas on the  exterior cabinet. The heater switch is probably an anti-sweat heater in the edge of the lid.

 

These were very good freezers, but we need more compressor pictures. The rectangular box in one of your pictures is the compressor starting relay, also need pictures of the wiring junction block you want to rewire.

 

[jetcone]

oOoo

thats a beauty for sure!! Was hubby employed in the "transition" ?

 

[turquoisedude]

I found a little more about this 'new' find of mine.  From ads and pictures I found on-line, it looks like this a 1955 model!  How cool is that??

 

Jon - yes, Hubby did help me with this.  I kept reminding him how much fun the appliance hunt trips can be, but he was having none of it...  He's still kvetching about the 16-hour marathon road trip to Keswick, Ontario to pick up the 53 Westy set and that was back in 2009...

 

John - it's always fun to talk to you!  Thanks for the additional info on the freezer.   And as requested here's a close up of the compressor.   Pictures showing the wiring will be posted in the next couple of replies.

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Junction box

Here's some hopefully better pictures of the junction box I will need to mess with...  

 

I'm thinking that electrically, it should be pretty obvious what goes where.  The main power cord (on the right side of the box) would be connected to those two outlets (the one on the top of the box for the compressor and the other is on the bottom and is a short extension cord to connect the lid light and heater); the cold control (wire on the left leading into the box) would be connected to the outlet that feeds the compressor, acting as a switch.  

 

As long as I remember to unplug the main power cord before I start to futz around, I should be fine... LOL 

 

[turquoisedude]

I want to replace this wire as well, but I'm concerned about having room to move around and access the connector at the top of the compressor motor.  There seems to be a tracer lead on one of the connectors to ensure the right wire gets connected to the relay, so as long as I carefully note which wire goes where, I should be OK. 

 

But sheesh!  These wires are nice and crispy...  I guess the heat of the compressor has taken it's toll!

 

[turquoisedude]

I also tried testing the old cold control yesterday evening.   The temperature probe had been removed from the freezer cabinet but I was able to simply run it through the lid into the smaller right-hand side compartment (which I am guessing is for quick-freezing).   I let the freezer run several hours; the 'new' cold control cycled it on and off and the thermometer needle seemed to be heading into well-below zero ranges but the old cold control didn't click... It stays 'open' all the time alas.  

 

I found what may be a part number, though - 20553 AK11.

 

I'd love to have the cold control back up front and perhaps with a wee light under the temperature gauge!!

 

[turquoisedude]

Before powering off, though, I had to take this 'night light' shot!    When I went back into the house, I had a good look at the freezer currently in use (a 2008 Danby) and thought, "Feh!  You have NO sense of style"... LOL 

 

[combo52]

Vintage Coldspot Chest Freezer

Thanks for the additional pictures Paul, I will have to look around and see if I have a compressor wiring harness that would fit this compressor.

 

It also looks like it may not be too difficult to mount the new cold control in the orignal position.

 

[58limited]

Nice find Paul. I had to replace the power cord on my Firestone upright freezer and I had to tackle the junction box to do so. It was held together with a single hollow brass rivet through the center, I just bent up the lip of the rivet with a small screwdriver and pulled it out, replaced the wiring, and replaced the rivet - bending the lip back down.