Got a 1956 Hotpoint Fridge today.

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ken

ken

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Saw an ad on CL last week for what I believe is a 1956 Hotpoint fridge and contacted the seller. Went and got it this morning. I believe only 56 and 57 had the horizontal detail on the lower door. From what I've been able to gather here 56 had a pink interior and 57 was aqua. I've also read info here that sometime during 1957 production the cabinet corners were squared off and it was at that time the horizontal detail was removed from the door. If correct that means there was an early 57 and late 57. This is not a TOL model as it doesn't have the large stainless trim panel on the lower door, bright trim covering the top edge of the lower door and also top of the kick panel a can rack on the inside of the freezer door. It runs and cools fine. I paid $40.00 for it.

For some reason the yellow pan shown in the picture that goes behind the kick panel to catch the defrost water was gone when I got there. I asked about it and the seller was at a loss as to what could have happened to it. He said the fridge hadn't been touched between the time the picture was taken and today. I assumed no one is living in the house because he mentioned he knew the pan wasn't in the house because its empty. He couldn't even recall exactly what I was referring to because he said it had been a little while since he took the picture. I suggested he take a look at the ad as I was curious about it. Here's the picture from the ad. I really need to get myself a new camera so Im able to take and post pics here.

ken-2017030415254802123_1.jpg
 
It may not seem like it now, but with some car cleaner/polish and a good dose of elbow grease, the exterior will clean up fairly well.  The door gaskets appear to be in decent shape.  That can end up being a very nice fridge.

 

I like Hotpoint's placement of the evaporator on the rear wall.  No worries about a bottle being too tall and making contact with evaporator as is the case with GE's design.  Those crisper drawer fronts are nice too.

 

You shouldn't have much trouble finding a pan of some kind for the condensate that will fit where the original one was.

 

For $40, you got a really good deal.
 
These are beautiful units !!!

I have the same 1956 unit in my house and I love it to death !!!! They run forever and they're easy to maintain. By the way, Hotpoint did make an aqua interior in '56. If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask.

customline-2017030609574207105_1.png
 
Kevin (customline)

I do have a question concerning the small shelf that goes at the upper right. It's supported at the outer edge by two clips and at the inner edge by two vertical support rods that are attached at the top of the compartment. Both of the rods are missing and it looks like the clips that held them at the top are broken. Id like to know how the clips held the rods.

Does anyone here have serial number info for Hotpoint? I thought with HP being owned by GE that maybe they would have used the same serial number coding as GE. But the serial number is nothing like GE used.
 
Clip answer......

The two clips that used to be on the upper right interior of your unit were C shaped clips. I have seen over the years that these clips never held up and ALWAYS snapped causing great frustration for the owner. Gluing them back up will just be fruitless because they won't stay up. The small shelf will just get in your way, my wife and I are glad we don't use it.
 
Hotpoint Refrigerator Help Request

My mom told me she bought this promotional model during 1955. I was able to acquire a couple of the pegs the shelves rest upon on the sides. The shelfs rest on hooks on the rear interior wall. What I do not know is how to install the peg? Seems like the peg is inserted and then twisted to lock into the hole, are they twisted clockwise or counterclockwise to lock into position? Too fearful here to break or strip something to have attempted without asking here first since I see a few of members here with a similar model.

The glass shelf above the vegetable bins cracked years ago and replaced with same thickness translucent plexiglass dad had in his shop left over from some job at work. The chiller tray under the freezer was replaced at some point too.

mixguy-2017030618082809072_1.jpg
 
Kevin

I wasn't referring to the C shaped clip attached to the inside wall. One is still there, one is broken in mine. I was asking how the support rods that hold the inside edge of the shelf attach at the upper end. Were the rods still with yours when you got it? Are the clips on the ceiling of the compartment still intact? Maybe you could post a pic of the rods if you have them and of the clips?

Russell: You're probably correct in that the clips twist to both remove and install. But which direction would be a guess on my part. The glass over the crisper drawers was replaced with plexiglas on mine too.
 
I looked inside mine when I went to get it and saw two nubs on the ceiling of the lower compartment which I assume are the remnants of the support clips that held the support rods. I know I recently saw a picture showing them. Here's the only one I could find right now though. I don't know if the small shelf in mine is as big as the one shown in the picture. But I can see how even the shelf in mine would need support along both sides and not just on the outer edge by the two C clips on the wall of the compartment.  

ken-2017030709471408807_1.jpg
 
Yes.....

That was in the top of the line model. It was the "Super Stor" feature, but you really didn't gain anything by it, you actually lost room in your fridge.
 
I'm not saying I'm necessarily concerned about using the small shelf but I like to repair anything broken or replace any missing parts. I like to have things as they were when new. Going to have to take a closer look at it.  
 
I grew up with that fridge

Dad worked for Hotpoint. We had the version with the ungainly plastic crisper drawer/bin on the door that would never stay shut.
I think the hinge sprung in the 1960s. We would have to push the lid down to close the door. When we opened the door the clear plastic bin lid would go "BOING" and snap back up. It did that for years.
Love my Dad, but sometimes I wonder why we put up with such things when they probably had a ton of extra bins lying around at work.
Anyway, that unit ran until I closed out the estate and I got rid of it. No regrets. WE LOVED the heated butter-keeper. That was the best.
TIP: Don't let frost build up. It may crack the liner. Ours did.
 
Butter Conditioner

The only thing that will prompt me to replace my '57 Combination is a fridge (preferably a BF GE) with a butter conditioner.  Why today's refrigerators don't offer this feature is beyond me.
 
Okay

Looked at mine again last night. The small shelf is 12 1/2 x 12 1/2. There were most definitely two vertical rods that supported the inner edge of the shelf. There are the bases (the hook is broken off) of two clips on the ceiling of the compartment where the rods attached. There are two oval shaped holes in the edge of the shelf that the lower end of the rods would have hooked into.

 

Kevin: <span style="color: #000000;">You never mentioned whether or not you have the small shelf. If you do you'll see what I'm talking about. Did you take a look inside your fridge to see if the clips are still in place on the ceiling?   </span>
 

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