G.E monitor top problem

[retro-man]

Thanks for the picture and description. I did not realize till this close up, that it was also the on and off switch for the entire unit. I take it you leave it on defrost for a period of time till the ice is melted then just return it to the on position.

Jon

 

[rp2813]

I'm not sure how they advised to use the defrost setting.  Perhaps it was an overnight operation.  I know it was never used on our Westinghouse.  My mom just wanted to get it overwith. 

 

I used to have an old "Defrost-It" timer box with three different settings on it.  It basically shut off the fridge for a designated period of time once each day to allow the condensate to melt into the glass dish below the evaporator (as was the arrangement on my little '39 Westinghouse).  It sort of worked, but after each cycle, droplets on the bottom of the evaporator would freeze, and over time, they'd become long icicles.  It couldn't be used on the '49 Westinghouse because the meat drawer was directly below the evaporator, and that drawer did double duty as the pan to contain the melted condensate during the defrosting process.

 

[stan]

Hi Jon

I'm no expert with this, and I have no manual for it, but to answer your question..yes.. just turn the dial to defrost for however long is needed.. I do it before bedtime. In the am the water has collected in the glass drip tray. Empty the pan..then I wipe the evaporator dry to make sure it frosts even and avoid ice sickles. As you can see there's not much to it..one small dry cloth will get it dry. Replace drip pan, turn switch back to on position. Easy!
As mentioned, while in defrost mode, the compressor will still kick on if things get too warm. If someone keeps opening the door, it will kick on to compensate, same way it would if it was in the on position.
So.. Defrost on this only allows for ice to melt, but still keeps thing cool.
After replacing the door seal, I've not had to defrost it. My guess so far.. Maybe once every two months., I'll see.
So far I have found this old girl to be very efficient. She dose what she was designed to do.
I hope she continues.

 

[sudsmaster]

I always used to wonder what the "defrost" setting on older fridges were for. By the time I encountered them in rental housing, the fridge operating manual was long gone. Now I understand.

My solution was usually empty the fridge, turn the thermostat to off, put pans of hot water inside the freezer, and then wait for the sound of chunks of ice falling off the freezer box. Or gently help them along with a blunt tool like a butter or putty knife.

The Kenmore chest freezer in the patio kitchen has an active defrost mode: pull the little knob out and the compressor reverses flow in the coils, and sends hot coolant into the walls to hasten the melting of the frost. Although the chest freezer still needs to be emptied out for defrosting, it cuts the defrost time to about an hour.

A few years ago I acquired an old single door 1948 GE fridge. I ran it briefly in the garage to check on power consumption (I calculated it would use about 350 KWh/yr). The interior is in great shape (remember when metal and glass, not plastic, was the interior of fridges?), but the exterior needs painting. Eventually I'd like to set it up indoors for a vintage kitchen area... another retirement project ;-).

 

[rp2813]

Stan, thanks for the explanation.  I can see how the fridge could still kick in if necessary, but not enough to cause the evaporator to frost up.  Kind of like a little '30s Frigidaire I had when it was failing.  It kept things cold, but just barely, and the evaporator was always sweaty, not frosty.

 

[stan]

Rich

Bless your heart..You were doing it the hard way!
Love to see a pic of your 48 G.E Would guess it has a defrost setting?
Don't remember when I didn't have to defrost.. I've never done anything extra to speed up the process. Just turn dial to defrost, and go to bed.

 

[stan]

Ralph

Where's the 30s Frigidaire? Did you fix it? Any pics?

 

[sudsmaster]

Stan,

Thanks. I'll look to see if I have some photos on my desktop computer. Probably do, but after several system upgrades thinks get buried... and the actual '48 GE is now somewhat buried in the work shop. With boxes of light fixtures on top of it, and various light bulbs stored inside (!). Well, we always knew GE had a better idea, right?

As for the defrost setting, I remember in one shared house a meeting about defrosting the shared fridge. One roommate wanted to just set it on defrost and shut the door. I insisted that was worthless, it wouldn't "do anything". I guess I was wrong! Well, at least I wasn't like one other roommate who pulled out an ice pick and wanted to go at it. At least I stopped that action.

 

[sudsmaster]

48 GE Fridge

OK, found some photos...

 

[rp2813]

Nice fridge Rich!  It looks like a twin of the one a friend of mine has, which I think his parents bought new.  It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to exercise yours once in a while if you can get to it.  The light bulbs won't mind.  Sitting unused often leads to problems.

 

Stan, that Frigidaire is long gone.  It was a '70s find, back when the cost of having film developed made a person think twice before snapping a picture (Kim Kardashian was born too late - otherwise Kodak would still be in the film biz), and I think it was dead within a year or two of purchase.  I couldn't have paid more than $5 or $10 for it.  IIRC it had the push-button door opener and couldn't have been more than a few cf capacity, with a narrow little evaporator compartment in the middle.  A very deco design, which is what attracted me at the time.  After that failure, I stuck with GE and Westinghouse.