GE Monitor Top arrives

[brisnat81]

Hi All,

Well my GE Monitor top CK-30-C16 arrives today and whilst I expected it to be heavy, I didnt expect it to be so big. It stands 180cm tall, 85cm wide and 70cm deap, thats as big as the two door fridge we have in the kitchen.

The cabinet exterior is in fantastic condition, a bit of car polish and its almost glowing.

The inside has scrubbed up well, except for a couple of rust stains where the shelves have left their mark. I just need a couple more goes with the car polish to finish it off

Its been Gurgling peacefully since it was delivered and I assume it needs a good 24 hours resting before attempting to plug it in.

 

[brisnat81]

A Few shocks

I was amazed when it arrived to find that it has a foot pedal door opener, and included two crisper drawers, a sliding shelf, the Porcelein shelf over the crispers and a fixed shelf, plus the tray for under the freezer.

 

[brisnat81]

Up On Top

The Compressor sits up on top, it has yellowed over the years, and the base is pretty dirty, however with elbow grease and polish it is slowly becomming cream if not white.

The Plug you can see on Top, as the A GE logo which is similar but different to the US version

 

[ronhic]

Great find Nathan...

...and just how THICK is that door????

 

[brisnat81]

110V

It would appear that GE shipped this accross to Australia, where AGE added a 200-250v -> 110V transformer.

The Compressor must be 110V.

Does anyone know where the Cable for the light socket runs from? There is a Male AU plug built into the back of the cabinet, did the Power for the light originally come from within the compressor? On mine, the Light globe power supply is missing.

 

[brisnat81]

Hi Ron,

The door and outer cabinet walls are 4.5" or approx 12cm.

 

[ronhic]

They look every bit of it...

...and one thing I will tell you if this is anything like the 1950's GE we had at the coast....weird as this sounds, drinks seem to be colder out of an old fridge than a new one....

...even though I know that is impossible....4c is 4c

 

[brisnat81]

The Bad and Ugly

The Ugly, the shelves all have surface rust, were they originally galvanised, or what process was used? They dont appear to have been chrome, I'd like to get them refinished. It seems to have been a glossy galvanised finish.

The Bad, after reporting that it had been rewired, I found that that means there is a new cable spliced in from the Transformer to the Relay, at the relay end, there is still 6" of the original cable that has lost its rubber coating due to the temp, but still seems to have a cloth and internal insulation intact. Rather than continue with a cable that is new bar 12" on either end, I'd like to replace the whole lot.

I can see a screw through the hole in the picture. Is it a matter of removing the screw, and then does the Relay lift up or down to get to the terminal block?

The Cable that goes into the compressor (And I assume to the Thermostat is intact but quite hard. How likely am I to damage that cable (Can it be replaced) if I shift the relay up or down?

And finally, I'm itching to plug it in and see if it comes to life. It'll be plugged into an earth leakage protected outlet, and I've checked the continuity between the earth plug and the chassis and all is good.

Does the gurgling stop of its own accord, or does it continue to happen as the temp changes whilst it's sitting idle?

 

[rp2813]

That's a very nice and complete fridge. From the golden age of Monitor Tops when they had the conveniences like foot pedals for opening the door. Great score!

Ralph

 

[travis]

Very Nice

When I rewire these, I just use heat shrinkable tubing over the leads going down into the compressor and on the leads coming up to the cold control. The compressor has three conductors, the cold control two, and the power also two. Rewiring these are a pain in the butt and time consuming. Just take your time with this.

It's possible, in theory, to rewire from between the decks if you lift the top off. The risk of killing the fridge is too great in my opinion.

The top is gurgling a bit from the temperature changes and being moved. I usually plug them in fairly quickly. The light bulb is missing the metal guard. In regards to the shelves, I asked Mike Arnold what they were originally and didn't get an answer. I do think nickel plated, but the cost of doing that has made me reconsider. I was going to have some galvanized. It's nearly impossible to find a 1930's fridge with nice shelves.

You lucked out in finding not only a CK30, but one with the optional crisper drawers and shelf