For MikeKLondon: '57 GE Combination Fridge

[rp2813]

Mike requested more information on my '57 GE Combination refrigerator after seeing it on the holiday BobLoad thread.

 

Here's a shot of it during clean-up after I picked it up in Reno back in June of 2009.  Andy (redcarpetdrew) had rescued it from a "cash for clunkers" trade-in program.

 

 

 

[rp2813]

The interior.  120 watts worth of lighting in the refrigerator section alone! 

 

The top shelf is stationary, the bottom two spin.

 

This is not a frost-free model.

 

[rp2813]

Situated in its new home in the laundry room, June 2009.

 

[rp2813]

Promotional literature

 

[rp2813]

The flip side with specs.  This model is more compact than the largest available at the time.  At 61" tall, it's a good size for the small laundry room where it's located.

 

[danemodsandy]

The "New Pink"

Only lasted that one year of 1957 - GE went to a blue interior after that. I grew up with a 1958 bottom-freezer Combination with the blue interior.

Note to today's manufacturers: White interiors are #@*!#&!ing BORING.

 

[westingman123]

sigh

I drool each and every time these pics surface. I do love my pink Combo, but those revolving shelves just call out to me!

 

[mikeklondon]

Thank you

Many thanks for this, I just love that fridge it has to be one of the best ever

 

[petek]

Not frost-free but

It is auto-defrost though isn't it? .. We had the basic single door model which was. The revolving shelves were great.. I wonder if it was a cost issue that did away with them

 

[danemodsandy]

Pete:

This generation of GE Combinations was auto-defrost for the fridge and manual defrost for the freezer.

 

[rp2813]

The freezer is fairly easy to defrost.  Using the Red-E-Defrost pictured below, I can have the job done in less than an hour.  It's a nearly effortless set-and-don't-forget process.  Defrost water takes a circuitous route via a drain hole in the bottom of the freezer that carries it to the trough on the rear wall of the refrigerated section where it overflows down the two rear corners into channels in the refrigerator floor that lead to another drain into an evaporation pan (also pink) in front of the condenser fan.  You can barely see the drain hole up front under the left vegetable bin in the second photo above.  These drain holes both have pink covers.  The one in the freezer is a plug that is removed for defrosting; the one in the refrigerator has openings to allow it to remain in place and still let the defrost water drain into the pan below.

 

I think the revolving shelves may have fallen out of favor due to their extravagance.  There's a lot of wasted refrigerator space with this design.  My guess is that pull-out shelves that took full advantage of refrigeration cabinet space won out.

 

[danemodsandy]

Turnaround Shelves:

Yes, they were somewhat inefficient, but if you've ever had a fridge with them, you miss the heck out of them when they're gone.

Sometimes life isn't strictly about efficiency - there's romance and fun to be considered as well.

 

[rp2813]

Precisely!

That's why I went after this fridge to replace my 1970 Whirlpool as overflow/drinks fridge.  It's so much more refined to rotate out a shelf of cans or bottles to choose from as opposed to fishing them out of a 12-pack box, which was the procedure with the Whirlpool.  Defrosting two or three times a year is worth it.

 

The Whirlpool, btw, is still cooling drinks and handling overflow in the garage of Dave's daughter and son-in-law.