General Electric CA Monitor Top Refrigerator - Seized compressor re-start attempts...

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Hi Norgeway. It's confusing because there is "Methyl Chloride" and "Methylene Chloride" which have both been used as refrigerants in the past.

 

Methylene Chloride boils at 103 degrees F and works in a vacuum as a refrigerant. This was sold as "Carrene" and used by Grunnow.

 

Methyl Chloride boils at -11 degrees F and works similar to conventional Freon refrigerants. This is what they are theorizing had been substituted for Freon in the Cocoanut Grove tragedy.

 

 
Love

seeing the repairs!
From the pics of the re wire...do u have the compressed upside down?
The pics shows the termanals at the bottom? Can only assume you have upside down to make it easier to solder? Or am I crazy..or both? LOL
 
I was born in 1955.

By the time my interest in appliances developed I would say I was around 5 or 6, so in 1960 there were still plenty of these refrigerators ( not so much Monitor Tops but I did see a few ). Hearing that Frigidaire run brings back so many memories. There is something for me that is so soothing about those compressors running. They just sound so solid and smooth. Even the Belt Drive you just restored has a great sound. The sound description I would call Quality.

I certainly hope someday you might consider doing some "Guest Appearances" in a Tech School for Refrigeration and bring some of these fantastic restorations to show Young People what "Over Engineering" is. And hopefully, there will be a few that will be so fascinated with this Old School technology, You could pass along your wisdom and talents to keep these machines running forever.

I am always so happy when I see a new post from you. Your detailed explanation is so easy to understand.

I anxiously await to see what is coming up constantly. Thank You for being here and joining AW.
 
Hi Eddie. Thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate this.

 

I understand what you mean by "the sound of quality." It's a smoothness, non-stressed sound. You can tell the machine isn't running its self to death.

 

I do love teaching others and showing off these machines. One of my main problems is social anxiety. When I'm by myself or with one or two close friends, it's OK. But with a group of unfamiliar people I am very uncomfortable.

 

 
 
Hi Dave

Wiring looks straight forward, but lifting off and back on! I know how heavy they are.
With mine..(CK-15-A16) in its original condition (wiring) is it o.k to leave it alone until it fails, or am I running a risk of damaging if not done in time?
 
Wiring

Generally with vintage appliances as long as the wire is not disturbed, and has no chance of getting wet it will be good for ever. The copper part never fails, the casing gets brittle and once moved it cracks off and has the potential to short out.

It is always a good idea to replace the wiring when possible.
 
Stan, yes I agree with Lorain that it is good to replace the wiring whenever possible. The situation with the GE Monitor Top refrigerator is a tough one. You always run the risk of breaking a line and causing a refrigerant leak when moving the parts around to access the wiring.

 

The flip side is, it can severely damage the motor if the wiring faults. Some CK units have dual thermal protectors, one in the temperature control, and another in the start relay. Others don't have the safety device in the start relay and only have the one in the control. If there is a wiring fault; particularly a ground fault; it can effectively bypass the overload relay.

Therefore, it's a good idea to replace the wiring if you see any signs of deterioration when doing repairs. In other words, if nothing's getting disturbed don't disturb it just to change the wiring. But, if the start relay or the control need service, I would not try to re-terminate the original, crispy wiring back after the part is serviced. If anything has to be done, change all the wiring and go back with new.

 

Being that this is a sulphur dioxide system, I would take the unit out in an area where it can safely be walked away from if the unthinkable happens. If that were to happen, it is fixable so don't think you have to give up. Just watch out for your safety when working on the system.
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That's my personal way of dealing with these, and ensuring they are safe for the user and the machine its self.

 

 
 
Top Looks Brand New!

Such a well made machine that so many would consider hopeless.   She sure fell into the right hands.  This rejuvenated beauty will now live on for decades to come. 
 
Thanks so much, guys. I really appreciate the compliments.

 

In reality; it's a great 10 food paintjob. The color does match very well. It was a learning experience for me with the epoxy paint. It sprays very watery and takes more time to gel up than the paint I normally use. I tried to warm up the area and the unit by hanging the heater on the hoist and having it blow on the top of the refrigerator. It seems to have only warmed up one side of the condenser, so when I painted around to the other side, the paint didn't set up, and ran off instead. Again - it's not horrible but... I'm glad it wasn't someone else's item I was painting. I would have to redo it if so. But for what it is, considering the condition of the rest of it, it's passable! 

 

This cabinet I recieved with a completely burned motor CA-2-B16 top on it originally. Some of you guys may be following the teardown videos of that unit. As you may have seen, that top was completely clean and showed no signs of ever having had been exposed to rain or moisture. The cabinet insulation also appears to be in similarly pristine shape.  For it to be "show quality" the door would need to be replaced because of the deep scratches. They look like someone pulled a highly tensioned steel wire rope across the door. If it weren't for that, the cabinet would be an 8/10 with no repairs other than cleaning.

 

As for the racks, I have many which are ugly. The setup and cleaning is the worst part, so I may just gather together all the bad racks and try to nickel plate them. This is not hard, from what I've read. It's especially easy on things that aren't smooth and polished. In that case, the nickel provides a rust resistant coating but there's no need for extensive grinding down and polishing before hand. If I do attempt it, there will be some videos and documentation. :)

 

So, to run-down what I have done to this:

 

Make assessment of the compressor, and get it running again.

Bleed noncondensable gases from system.

Rewire the top, completely, adding a modern, auto-reset thermal overload breaker in the circuit. Now it has two; original in the control plus the Klixon type.

Built a 3-wire grounded power cord. (Note, still have to install a cabinet light plug in this cord.)

Located a replacement start relay since the one was missing. Had to replace the coil.

Wipe down cabinet inside and out with Rain-X and Scotch-Brite pad, to clean the porcelain.

Stripped, primed, and painted the top.

Blasted, painted, and clearcoated the control faceplate.

Installed adhesive rubber door weatherstripping.

 

Some of my YouTube viewers aren't on our forum here. It was raining (loudly) on the metal building yesterday so I couldn't video it.  Also, heater had been off, so I couldn't run it. Today I plan to make a video of the completed repair as well; so there won't be folks who feel as if I stopped short of a complete project LOL!

 

I really am amazed at the amount of engagement everybody has with these projects. It's satisfying to me, making something that looks and functions well. It's also great when I see others following along and learning and enjoying it as well.

 

Nothing I did was really hard, nor did it take any special physical skills... just motivation and patience. The paint stripping was the worst part for patience.
 
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