Can a new style energy saving compressor work in older frig?

[g3bill]

From what the manual says on the new sxs 36" frig, the compressor runs at higher RPM's. It's very quiet compared to old frig and yearly electric costs estimated at about 80 buck. Got to wonder what the older sxs cost? Would it be possible to retro an older frig to save dollars or is it not possible?

 

[goatfarmer]

With enough patience, time, and money, just about anything is possible.

 

[travis]

While it might be possible, I don't think you would see a savings after paying a licensed refrigeration man to do the work.

 

[norgeway]

Why????

If a old fridge runs good, I say leave it alone, a 50 year old compressor will still last many times as long as the new junk made today,

 

[2packs4sure]

modern fridge's efficiency

I'd bet 80% of a modern fridge's efficiency is due to modern insulation and evaporator ~ condenser coil design.
I'd be shocked if the compressor itself accounted for more than 20% of the total improvement.

 

[g3bill]

I asked something like this many months ago but didn't have time to figure it out. The old frig has a dead compressor thats why we got a new one which is nice but I like the older model and just wondering if replacing the compressor with like type is all thats going to work, sounds like wont be worth to convert. I can live with 20% or even 50% total loss over a new one. I know when it was running it was very hard to get the temp as low as it should be and would run for very long times before cycling off and thats with freon at correct amount, it was very frustrating hearing it run so long. Maybe with a good replacement compressor it might be ok? Could it have a bad expansion valve? One used shop said they might have the original style comp used, maybe that would be better than a new comp as some said before the replacements are short turm junk compared to the older '60's, 70's comp units?

 

[g3bill]

I asked something like this many months ago but didn't have time to figure it out. The old frig has a dead compressor thats why we got a new one which is nice but I like the older model and just wondering if replacing the compressor with like type is all thats going to work, sounds like wont be worth to convert. I can live with 20% or even 50% total loss over a new one. I know when it was running it was very hard to get the temp as low as it should be and would run for very long times before cycling off and thats with freon at correct amount, it was very frustrating hearing it run so long. Maybe with a good replacement compressor it might be ok? Could it have a bad expansion valve? One used shop said they might have the original style comp used, maybe that would be better than a new comp as some said before the replacements are short turm junk compared to the older '60's, 70's comp units?

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Certainly doable, but in some cases, just plain blasphemous.

 

 

[g3bill]

["I'd bet 80% of a modern fridge's efficiency is due to modern insulation and evaporator ~ condenser coil design.
I'd be shocked if the compressor itself accounted for more than 20% of the total improvement."]

Theres alot to what you say. Also been thinking the insulation may be wet in areas I cant get to. I know the insulation for the fan and evap were soaked from defrost cycles, I remade new pieces but were soaked again in a year. I will be coating over the insulation this time and hopefully get rid of the mold or fish tank smell.

 

[goatfarmer]

With a used compressor, I would want to know how it was removed. Were the refrigerant lines capped afterward?

 

[g3bill]

Good point GF. Think most crimp the ends but something to look for. Besides the energy savings the new compressor is so much quiter I can actully use the phone in kitchen Got to wonder though? I do remember my Harbor Freight angle grinder getting very quiet just before it smoked and stopped forever

 

[combo52]

Installing a new Hi E Compressor in a 60s-70s ref.

YES it can be done and you will reduce the compressor running watts from around 300 to around 150 watts. A large part of the effishency of new refs is the compressor, then Hi E electronic fan motors along with changes in the frequency of defrost cycles. Yes insulation improvements also account for up to 1/2 of the energy savings, but you have to keep in mind that your 70s Frigidaire SXS uses about FOUR times the power of a new SXS that will actually keep your food colder and far longer than a 70s ref would ever do.

 

My brother Jeff and I have updated several refs and freezers from the early 80s with newer Hi E compressors with great results.

 

Keep in mind that most new compressors are far more durable than the stuff from the 60s and 70s, in a years time I see almost no bad compressors in WP built refs, WP uses Embraco compressors and they work great. When we recycle a beat up ref we often save the compressor to use to replace lessor brands of compressors in other refs.

 

John L.

 

[2packs4sure]

From what i've heard it's very rare for a fridge service tech to even touch the "SEALED SYSTEM" these days, at least when it's under warranty.

combo52, could you, or do you know where, i could get info on the best replacement compressor and cap tube set up for my mid 30's Westinghouse?

I'm thinking 1/6 hp range.
I had a 1/4 hp with cap tube on it for 12 years but it was overkill and when it failed it, ( I THINK), broke the crank, because it was just a turbine like high rpm whirr sound.
That's the only time i'd ever seen that.
Mine is a size or 2 smaller than the picture.
Thanks

 

[2packs4sure]

This is almost identical to mine.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[norgeway]

If it were me

I would find a good running 1950s Westinghouse and use that compressor, I still think its blasphemy to install a Chinese compressor in a good fridge, it wont sound the same and It would drive me nuts just knowing it was in there.....kind of like having a Ford with a Chevrolet engine in it...its just wrong...If there is an American made compressor still being produced then it would be acceptable, but most of what ive seen are foreign.

 

[2packs4sure]

Well the original compressor died in the mid 80's.
I saved it from the trash it was sitting at the curb of a house on my girlfriends street with the door off.
They ruined the springs in the hinges when they took the door off, i guess it self closed originally.
Otherwise, cosmetically, it's REALLY NICE.
I think the reason the compressor died was that the float style metering device was full of trash and causing high pressure for an extended period.
I could also be that the compressor just failed and THEN trashed up the float unit.
We'll never know.
I had NO options.
This was the 80's and there was zero info.
So i did the the compressor and cap tube retrofit.
I just guessed the compressor to be a 1/5-1/4hp and took my best shot.
No one could give specs on the original compressor and unlike many it had no tag.
It ran flawlessly for over a decade in a SMOKIN' HOT Houston garage before it failed.
I did talk to the Westinghouse historian and he had nothing, he sent me a Westinghouse cookbook which i just recently threw away and a few zeroxed pictures of much earlier Westinghouse fridges.

 

[norgeway]

Re Westinghouse Cookbook

That is one of my standbys, Don't pay me a lot of attention, I have a phobia concerning anything new..Westy did make a fantastic compressor in the old days though, They were so quiet it was eerie.

 

[2packs4sure]

"I have a phobia concerning anything new"

Me too.
It killed me to do it.
It was very frustrating.... no internet back then...
Might have been different today.
Oh well, i still would like an expert's opinion on what combo compressor and cap tube to use on my unit.

Anyone?

Thanks.

 

[norgeway]

John Lefever

Knows more than anyone, IMHO, whatever he says will be correct, you can bet on it.