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travis

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Jun 29, 2007
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I was bad and looked on ebay.  I noticed someone listed a few antique refrigerators.  I bid for sport and won, so I had to drive across the state to collect them.

 

Here they are dressed for Halloween.  I wonder what the other drivers thought.  The second is them before loading.  The third is a friend with the ball top.

 

I think another member also has the small cabinet with the FEA unit, the flat top.  It's in nice shape and of course works fine.  The ball top runs and cools fine.  The poor 1934 Westinghouse has control issues.  I'll dig into that tomorrow.  I'll have to dig for spare parts and see if I can repair it's control.

travis-2016110719454303143_1.jpg

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Beautiful

Even back in the early days before they became more integrated and stylized they already had style IMO. Not to mention they were well built to last which is apparent as they are still working today at 80 years old. Unlike todays plastic stuff.
 
Square Monitor Top

That unit isn't original to the cabinet, but that's what I like about MT fridges.  It's like swapping engines on VW bugs, but even easier -- pop the old unit out and pop a new one in, and you're back in business (weight not withstanding -- I use the term "pop" loosely).

 

Travis can provide dates on the cabinet vs the top.  The globe top looks all original.
 
The square top or "bread box" monitor used a condenser fan under the cover unlike all other monitor tops which cooled by thermal radiation. [this post was last edited: 11/8/2016-14:13]
 
Ken, thanks for that reminder.  The one time I vaguely remember hearing a "breadbox" run, that was exactly what I noticed -- that I could hear a fan running.  OTOH, coil type monitor tops are barely audible.
 
No, the flat top unit is dated 1945.  The cabinet is 1929-30.  The previous owner had it painted.  This is the 4 cu ft size that was $215 back then. 

 

The Westinghouse has a hermetic compressor.  The contacts are messed up in the control.  I am trying to put my hands on another.

 

The ball top is original.

 

All three were cheap.  Of course, I had to rent a trailer and make a trip.  I may store the flat top unit and put a DR unit on that cabinet.  I may wait until I get someone to remove the unit from the Westinghouse to repair it.  It's also a drop in.  Stuff was designed better back then.
 
Unfortunately, the little 34 Westinghouse gave me a dramatic light show and then dumped it's so2 throughout the house last night.  I have a compressor out of a 37 Westinghouse in the garage so maybe it can live on.

 

 
 
I made my last trip for the year to pick up some strays.

I have two friends in the Dayton area. One had a Victor Orthophonic waiting for me. I already had the electric version, but was craving the crank variety.

The other friend had rescued a DRB3 monitor top unit. It would have been on the largest single door cabinet, the 9 cu ft. It runs very well. The other unit from him is a twin to my kitchen unit, the 80 fin DR3. This unit had failed and got a new modern compressor put inside the dome. Unfortunately, the oil migrated to the evaporators and it had a short life. It's a 300 lb garage ornament.

He was wanting to transplant the original compressor from the working unit into the 80 fin. It could have worked but was a big job. I adopted both as I can use the control off the dead unit for my four door. I also have a nice 9 cu ft cabinet that has a flat top unit. This DRB3 is the correct unit and that fridge is done!

On the way to Ohio, we made a detour to the Peoria area and picked up another small DR1 unit. I was told it worked. It needs a new cord, new paint and a door gasket. I can't seem to resist the cheap ones at $50. Besides, the seller got to use heavy machinery to load it!

travis-2016120611372209547_1.jpg

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Travis, you're a man on a mission, and it's a commendable one!

 

How about some pix of the Orthophonic?  Is it a Credenza model?  I always wanted a three spring motor Credenza but back when I was collecting, we didn't have to tools to track them down like we do today.
 
Travis

Just how many monitors do you have? Is that just an optical illusion in picture 4 making one side of the condenser on the left look flat and the one on the right like it has a wave in it?
 
Ken,

I have 20-25.

Both of the units on crates have a capacitor/transformer block. The 3 size and above units run as a polyphase motor. Think of it as a start and run capacitor. One third of that block is a 8 mfd capacitor. Another collector figured that the run capacitor would be 170 mfd. In 1928-30, they couldn't make that large of a capacitor small enough.

The Victor is a Credenza. It's nice, but needs refinished as someone attacked it with polyurethane.
 
You out of room yet, Travis?
smiley-laughing.gif
 
I am well past out of room.  That's the 5th DR1.  I joked to a friend that I would stop at 7 and paint them rainbow colors!
 
Travis, I don't know much about these monitor tops but I heard that this early style had a different compressor and probably used different oil than the later ones?

I know someone who tried to "fix" one that already worked and after he replaced the oil in the compressor it didn't! I don't know what he did wrong!
 
Phil,

The oil used is mineral oil. The refrigerant is so2. It's very difficult to change the oil as the so2 and mineral oil don't combine well. It makes me wonder what you're friend did to it.

Moral of the story is, if it works leave it alone.

The open coil units are from 1927-32.
 
One of the latest

This is a 1931 model. The heater was bad. I replaced it and flipped it on. It was running rough with not much cooling. I stuck a defrost heater in the evaporator and heated it up as much as I could barely touch.

I unplugged the heater. I entertained myself with Christmas music on the jukebox while allowing the fridge to run. The header of the evaporator started to cool. Finally, after another hour, the rest started to cool.

The door gasket had been replaced with a sticky, gross modern variety. I removed that as it was a biohazard. I had to tape the door shut and then went to work. When I returned, it was off but making all the wonderful bubbling noises that these units do. I turned the control colder and it started and it ran like butter.

I quickly installed some self stick gasketing to allow me to use it a little.

travis-2016120913130808982_1.jpg
 
Great work Travis. Im assuming there was a partial blockage in the evaporator and heating it as you did allowed it to dislodge?
 
Ken,

 

Yes, the float gets stuck on these and oil gets logged in the evaporator.  These DR1's are just 1/10 hp.  They don't like to not be used.  You would also be horrified to have watch it get unloaded.  This was in someones garage and was saved by the clean out crew.

 

Kenny,

 

Thank you.  Please come visit sometime.
 
Travis, when you say the heater was bad, do you mean the oil heater -- the one that fits behind the hole below the compressor/condenser unit (the originals looked like a stick of chalk) in the picture above?

 

That left hinge arrangement seems kind of unusual.
 
Yes, the oil heater.  It's there to boil the refrigerant out of the oil.  They;ll run without them, but not well.

 

I am going to have to pull new wire back to the control for the heater.  There isn't any slack to connect a new heater. 

 

I have five of this model.  I think two of LH and three are RH.  I am tempted to put a couple side by side and call it a two door.
 
Travis, it's strange that there's no slack in the heater leads.  How are you supposed to extract it then?

 

GE was still making a replacement part (though not catalogued as such) for MT heaters back in the early '80s when I needed one.  I gave that part number to everybody I knew who owned a MT so outfitted.

 

Where are you getting your replacement heaters?
 

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