Finally Found One - Kelvinator Foodarama

[58limited]

I have located another Foodarama that might be available for parts. The exterior is surface rust (no more paint) and it quit working awhile back plus it is missing a few interior parts such as a fridge shelf, the Handi-Drawer, a fridge door rack, and the compressor cover panel. The interior also has rust, especially by the banana storage/compressor area. The owners want to sell the entire fridge but it is too far away from me. They said they would sell parts if no one buys it. If that happens, I will buy the racks that I need, the cheese and butter trays if they have them (they didn't say), and possibly the two juice containers - yes, those are present. I told them that if they decide to scrap it, I'll take any parts they can remove and mail, just to save them.

 

My shipper is supposed to pick up my Foodarama on the 27th and have it here within a week, maybe only a day or two.

 

[danemodsandy]

David:

One, don't forget that jamb strip above the freezer door opening - the one on this parts machine matches the original on yours.

Two, I'm not sure I'd stop at parts I needed right now. Accidents happen, and a few extras like crisper drawers and door shelves with their trim would be a Godsend if that occurs.[this post was last edited: 12/23/2012-18:28]

 

[58limited]

I'm excited, the shipper said he will deliver the Foodarama tomorrow.

 

[washer111]

Looks like a nice find: I'm sure you'd be able to have it in working order shortly. Perhaps a custom-made or modern compressor would work?

 

My only concern is those freezer shelves. You might want to invest in something like a wire-rack to place on top of these, otherwise your food *might* freeze to the shelf (as most freezers of this design will).

 

[58limited]

The shipper was delayed a little but delivered the fridge this morning at 9am. The interior is very clean but the juice containers are not present. I have sent a note to the seller to see if he forgot to give them to the shipper. The shipper said that they were not given to them separately and they never opened the fridge, even when picking it up. They showed surprise at how clean the interior was when I opened the doors for them so I believe that they never opened it. The interior plastic is both green and blue making me think that someone replaced some parts in the past (there is not any fading) so maybe there was a restoration attempt at one time, but then again the parts unit I posted above (which I don't think has ever had any work done to it) also has both green and blue inside.

 

Update: It is chilly outside - 40 F - but the freezer quickly dropped below 0 F.

[this post was last edited: 12/29/2012-11:20]

 

[58limited]

Here is the breakfast bar, sans juice pitchers   The egg holders hold 18 eggs.

 

 

 

[58limited]

Here is a view of the Foodarama not often seen: The back.

 

[58limited]

Compressor. The drain fitting is broken, but the evaporation tray is present.

 

[58limited]

Wiring diagram.

 

[58limited]

The condenser unit - behind the front panel under the freezer, even with the banana bin in the door.

 

[58limited]

McMaster-Carr has the door gasket material for $1.00/foot - much cheaper than some of the appliance restoration shops who want $5-$7 per foot. It is grey and comes in preset lengths so I bought two 20' lengths - both doors will use about 14.5' each (the freezer door is narrower but has an extra cross piece of gasket above the banana bin, so the lengths for both doors are nearly the same).

 

A few years ago I bought a similar door gasket for my '55 Frigidaire. It was light blue and cost me $90.00 for a 14' length. The place I bought it from is out of blue now, so I think the grey from McMaster-Carr will work just fine and I bought twice as much for half the price.

 

[58limited]

Might have a bit of a problem here. The fridge is in the garage and it is 46 F out there. I have the fridge and freezer compartments set on the warmest settings but the freezer is now -20 F and the fridge is 20F.

 

Is this a thermostat issue or is it simply because I have it running out in a cold environment?

 

[hydralique]

Most likely a thermostat or relay problem, certainly it shouldn't keep running when the interior temps are that low.

 

[goatfarmer]

It might be the enviroment. See  what it does when the outside temp improves.  Nice Kelvy, BTW!

 

[travis]

You're not supposed to run a fridge when it's cold outside, especially not one you like.

 

[58limited]

Yeah, I figured that might be a problem. I ran it for about three hours, its unplugged now. We have been warm all season until the other day. The temp was in the 70s and then a couple of fronts blew through, now it will be cool to cold for the indefinite future.

 

[58limited]

Just tinkering around today, I did some cleaning (goo under crisper drawers) and swapped the fruit basket brackets - someone put them on backwards. I used my ohmmeter to check both thermostats. When turned off I get infinity on both and when all the way on I get 0 ohms, so they appear to be good. Now, since I know little about electronics, I have a question : both thermostats have a temperature sensor (thermocouple?) that go into their respective compartments. If the ohm test is good, does that mean the temp sensors are good too? If not, how does one test them?

 

Continuing with my suedodiagnostics, I plugged the fridge back in with both thermostats turned off. The compressor started to run and the freezer quickly dropped in temperature. Now I'm thinking there could be a wiring issue. The back panel has been removed in the past and only a few screws are holding it on now. The power cord has been replaced with a grounded cord. Unfortunately, the wiring diagram on the back is not color coded so I can't tell what wire goes where, I'll probably have to remove some insulation and try to trace the wires down.

 

There is a "heater" in the wiring diagram. This is a manual defrost freezer, where would the heater be located?

[this post was last edited: 12/30/2012-13:31]

 

[washer111]

Heater

You'll probably find that "Heater" is for the Cyclic defrost in the refrigerator (i.e. The refrigerator defrosts during its "OFF" cycle), its for the compressor (Crankcase heater) or perhaps one of those mullion heaters.

By the way, that is one HUGE compressor and condenser! How does that thing keep those parts cool? Is it with a fan?

 

[58limited]

I was wondering the same thing, there is no fan.

 

 

 

[58limited]

Oops, wasn't paying attention to the prompts and deleted instead of edited.

 

"<a name="start_43839.649970">By the way, that is one HUGE compressor and condenser! How does that thing keep those parts cool? Is it with a fan?"</a>

 

I was wondering the same thing. There is a fan. It is hidden by the bulk of the condenser and compressor (which has fittings and is removable like a car compressor). I had to reach a hand behind the condenser and feel for it (with the power unplugged, of course). Also, I don't see a heater in the fridge compartment and the manual makes it sound like defrosting is passive when the compressor is not running. The manual also tells how to defrost the fridge compartment in the rare case it is needed: turn the t-stat to "warmest"

 

edit - I was able to use a flashlight and see just a little of the fan. I plugged the fridge in but the fan did not turn on, so it is either not working or has a thermal switch. Neither the fan nor a switch shows in the wiring diagram. The wires to the compressor hook to a capacitor at the front - to get to it for service it looks like the compressor assembly has to be removed. There are shutoff valves on the freon lines so that the freon and oil in the compressor can be saved, but the system would still have to be evacuated when hooked back up to get moisture out of the lines throughout the fridge.

[this post was last edited: 12/30/2012-17:25]