Admiral 1957 Refrigerator defrost concept

[paulg]

My newly-acquired 1957-ish Admiral refrigerator is equipped with a style of defrost system that I am not familiar with.
There is no heating system to my knowledge for defrost. I believe there to be only a thermostat and compressor. I could be wrong as I have no schematic nor owner’s manual for the unit.
With just a control picture for y’all to view, can someone explain what Admiral intended to happen when the defrost option is engaged? Simply, how does this work?
Any info welcome!

 

[coldspot66]

Might be a hot gas defrost system. A solenoid controlled valve reverses the flow of refrigerant. The heat normally pumped to the condenser is now directed to the evaporator, assuming this is a frost free freezer. Not sure that was done in 1957.

 

[combo52]

Push button defrost system

Hi Paul, this type of defrost system was used as a more convenient way to defrost a manual defrost refrigerator more quickly. I’m assuming this refrigerator has a single door with a freezer chest in the top of the refrigerator.

This could either be a hot guest defrost system, or it could have an electric element Attached to the freezer evaporator.

When the push button is incorporated next to the thermostat like that, it turns off the compressor and either turns on the heater or in the case of a hot gas system the Compressor runs until the evaporator gets to a certain temperature above freezing usually somewhere between 36 and 45°F and then it clicks back into a cooling mode , all you have to do is drain the water usually the pan under the freezer area, it would be possible for them to put in a drain system with a pan under the The refrigerator to catch the water and allow it to evaporate.

Is this a refrigerator you have, is it working once it’s cold just push the button and see what happens.

Post more pictures if you can, John

 

[paulg]

I think y’all are on to something…

I just purchased this fridge. It is as close to NOS (new-old-stock) as perhaps I will ever find in this lifetime. No instruction manual though. Pix enclosed. All comments welcome as always - and thanks for all your prior info. This indeed may be equipped with an electrical defroster. Please see pix of freezer chest.
This unit is also equipped with an adjustable flap at the bottom rear of the freezer compartment. It adjusts via a dial (shown) labeled 1,2,3.
I have two other single door fridges (CROSLEY, Absocold) and neither have a flap at the rear but both have the chiller trays under the freezer.
Both the CROSLEY and the Absocold have a propensity to freeze things in the refrigerator compartment if they are placed too far to the rear, and occasionally too far UP (close to the freezer). Is this Admiral adjustable flap there to mitigate accidental freezing of things? Any advice as to the use of this flap is welcome. The fact that it is adjustable 1,2,3 is a bit mystifying. I have exploded cans of pop in both the CROSLEY and Absocold on multiple occasions and just did the same on this Admiral. Get the rags out again Paul! This thing was MINT a couple of weeks ago and now the pix reveal all the high-velocity pop splatter I missed. LOL. All told, All three are icy cold yet I have not mastered the art of single-door fridge use. Maybe that flap holds the secret. Dunno.
Much obliged!

 

[ozzie908]

Flap adjustment

If memory serves you cam make the fridge colder by having the open and not so cold when closed, It also helps to keep the freezer colder when you add stuff to the fridge section.

 

[rp2813]

Paul, my '52 Kelvinator has a flap in the back too.  It's not adjustable; it's either flipped down or up.  I quickly found out that keeping the flap in the down position (blocking the colder air from the freezer compartment from dropping down the back of the fresh food section) was the best option.  On the flap itself, there are instructions for positioning with the flap up for "hot weather operation," but the flap has remained in the down position ever since the first freezing event and only rarely have I had a soda can freeze solid.  This kind of temperature variation due to location is why frostless refrigerators with circulating fans are much better at maintaining even temperatures everywhere except near the air outlet.

 

[paulg]

Flaps 1,2,3

I have a smattering (yes, a smattering) of Admiral data in the dungeon. I dug through and actually found a reference to this flap in a spec sheet of only one, somewhat older Admiral fridge.
For those of you who ever encounter this, it is called the “Adjustable Climate Control Deflector”.
Position #1 locates deflector for defrosting.
#2 is the Winter position which lowers freezer chest temperature for freezing ice cream.
#3 is the Summer position. It creates a flow of cold air to the fresh food compartment during hot weather.
All of your aforementioned suggestions are indeed correct.
Screen shot enclosed.
Today I will test this defrost mechanism. Let’s see how that goes.

 

[combo52]

Elder single door refrigerators

Yes, as mentioned above you basically keep the flap closed if you’re using the refrigerator as a second or light refrigerator, and cooler room temperatures.

If you had a large family in an un air-conditioned house that was in and out of the refrigerator a lot you might need to open that flap for adequate cooling in the refrigerator section. You still need to watch the setting on the thermostat dial as well if you try to get the freezer, very cold, you will end up freezing things in the refrigerator section. No matter where the flap is, bear in mind that this type of refrigerator will not get colder than 15°F in the freezer without freezing things in the refrigerator. You should not use this freezer for freezing meats Or keeping frozen foods for more than about 30 days.

John

 

[rp2813]

Even though the first ten years of the GE Combination models were not completely frost free, their freezers maintained zero degree temperatures and that, along with their counter depth design is why I like them.  My single door '52 Kelvinator has a seal on its full-width freezing compartment access door and manages to maintain around 15 degrees, which is not cold enough for extended storage.  The main thing I keep in its freezer section is alcohol.  My search for another single or two door GE Combination from 1954 or later is ongoing.

 

[paulg]

By golly, Defrost works

Thanks for all your information. I have learned a lot more about single-door refrigerators.
Got around to testing the defrost system. I didn’t really know if it was just an on/off heater switch, a heater-on/ compressor off switch, or just a compressor-off switch, or was it timed? Or? Or?
I pressed the button and heard a click. The freezer started getting warm and the frost melted. Kept an eye on it.
The water dripped into the pan as expected. I wiped the freezer dry then the compressor kicked on by itself and it resumed refrigerating. The whole thing took about twenty minutes. Frost buildup was mild.
So convenient! With the time I saved I can get my hair done!
Clever arrangement, glad it works. At this age you just never know.
I will now modify my other two fridges to add a barrier at the rear of the freezer floor to stop super-cold drafts from exploding our pop cans. The 1990’s Absocold is being given to a relative. Sorry to see it go, it is quite a good unit for being fairly inexpensive.

 

[combo52]

1957 auto defrost refrigerator

Yay Paul I’m glad it still worked. This type of system was pretty reliable.

The defrost cycle is controlled by the evaporator temperature. Once it gets to a certain temperature of the thermostat just resets to cooling mode.

I have a beautiful sunny yellow Westinghouse 1961 refrigerator that has hot gas defrost, it has a button you just press and reversing valve allows the compressor to apply enough heat to quickly melt the frost away. It’s all over with about 10 minutes.

I’ll try to remember to get some pictures of it to post.

John

 

[paulg]

Looking forward to pix

It would be interesting to see pix of your yellow Westy. This topic is a bit different than what I normally delve in so I appreciate learning about the breadth of this topic.
It just occurred to me this minute, when my boss at S***P retired, the former SVC MGR for JC P****Y, he gave me all of his refrigeration library to me. It’s safe in my dungeon but perhaps I should crack one of the books open an read about these various mechanisms. Exercise the gray-matter a bit!