Am I the only one that's still is defrosting?

[boboh1]

I Still Do

My 1957 Hotpoint cobination refrigerator used every day in my kitchen needs to be defrosted maybe every couple of months or so. I take a hairdryer to it with a pan to collect the water and it does not really take that long.

 

[packardmanken]

My 1930 GE round top had a "defrost" setting on it. Just turned the knob, a few towels in the bottom and the next day, it had kicked back on and I mopped up. Pretty simple.
It was my job to keep the 58 GE we had growing up defrosted. The left over dish detergent bottles filled with hot water made it a lot of fun during the summer months when school was out and we were at home with no air conditioning. Remember homes with no a/c? Try explaining that one. People have asked me if we were poor? No, we just did not have a/c!!

 

[rp2813]

For Defrosting Fun-atics

Get yourself one of these and you'll have the job done in no time:

 

[beekeyknee]

Has anyone tried to make a call from an old phone without a dial? Some friends of mine used to have one of these in their kitchen. I suppose it was from the days when you just picked up the receiver and the operator asked, "Number please".

Anyway, when you pick up the receiver, if you're quick and have the numbers in your head you can click the hook repeatedly up and down with a short pause between the sequence of clicks to make a call.

I would call time and temperature from that phone and they were amazed at how I did it.

If any of you want to know the time and temperature in Columbia, the numbers is 449-0655. LOL.

 

[rp2813]

I never had any luck using the switch hook instead of the dial.  The closest I got was calling the Time of Day number.  It had an exclusive prefix of 767 (RO 7) so you could dial anything for the last four digits.  The Time of Day number here was casually referred to as "POPCORN," or you could dial 767 and then depress the switch hook four times. 

 

To dial seven or more digits, you have to get the pulses spaced just right or the switch will misread them.  With enough practice it's possible, but I never did it enough to master it.  If my phone had a dial, I used it.

 

[mom11]

old defroster gizmo

rp2813, I bought something similar on ebay. It was vintage, but shaped more like a frying pan. There were no instructions with it so I was afraid I was going to get electracuted if I used it. How do you use it safely? I don't think mine is grounded.

Btw, from the inside of your fridge it looks a lot like mine. Pink '57 GE combo. I love mine so much.

 

[beekeyknee]

Lisa,

I know you didn't address this question to me, but you could start by unplugging it before you reach in to take it out. And don't touch the frig while while it's in there if you're anywhere near ground.

B.

 

[whirlaway]

Still Defrosting

My 1930 Frigidair of course is neat you cut it off when the insde reaches a certain temp it cuts itself back-on.I have actually seen the switch on the front of the icebox slide back over to on! Another old saying long gone! Hit the gas then start it that will set the choke!

 

[rp2813]

@Mom:

I got one of those small frying pan types at a thrift store (well, that's where the Red-E-Defrost came from too) for use in our small office fridge.  What I didn't realize is that the evaporator in that fridge is U-shaped and the top liner of the cabinet is exposed above it.  The frying pan unit started melting the liner so I had to abort the process.

 

I've never had any issue with grounding.  The Red-E-Defrost isn't grounded but the plastic legs on each end tend to eliminate any grounding concerns.  I don't hesitate to reposition the Red-E-Defrost while it's plugged in (touching only the plastic parts), but I also don't deal with the defrosting process in bare feet on my tile floor either.

 

These devices make defrosting a much quicker operation.  They warm things up enough for the ice to be removed in large chunks fairly easily or with a bit of coaxing.  From start (emptying freezer contents) to finish (freezer wiped out, restocked and fridge restarted) I'm usually done in about an hour, and the majority of that time is spent doing other things while the Red-E-Defrost takes care of business on its own.  Hands-on activity is usually less than 15 minutes total.  Place the device in the freezer, close the door, set a timer for about an hour -- depending on how bad the frost accumulation is -- then return to remove the chunks of ice in fairly short order.

 

Those figures apply to my '57 GE Combination.  The full size 1960 Wards Tru-Cold freezer in the basement takes significantly longer because that one has to really get out of hand before I do anything about it (see picture).

 

As long as there's a non-conductive handle or grip on your frying pan type, you shouldn't have any problem.  Just don't place it too near the drain hole in your Combination's freezer since the drain is made from non-metallic material.

 

 

 

[ken]

Ralph:

I guess you do let things get out of hand in the Wards freezer. Is there room left for food?

Your story about the office fridge is exactly the same as what I did where I work. I have the same frying pan shaped defroster. It was doing a great job. Then I noticed a spot where the rigid foam insulation was showing in a hole it melted thru the plastic liner above the evaporator. After that I made sure not to put it inside the freezer box.

 

[rp2813]

LOL Ken!

 

As you can see, sometimes the food can fall victim to replicated ice age circumstances.

 

It's been about three years since that picture was taken, and it's definitely time to defrost the old Tru-Cold again, although it's still not as bad as it was in the picture.

 

More pictures demonstrating the Red-E-Defrost's effectiveness: