Got a GE combination fridge!

[fridgenut]

Glad to see it works...

Sorry to hear it shocked you. I was actually the one who helped Travis move this beast. Thankfully the previous owner was quite built and made loading it up easy. He even had an ancient 78 rpm jukebox that was interesting. Unloading it wasn't too bad but I did have to squat down more than normal when taking it out of the truck on its dolly. She's a thick mama jama!

You did a fantastic job of cleaning it up. It was filthy with mold and nicotine stains. You brought the life back out of it.

Since it isn't grounded and you are standing on a concrete floor you always have the possibility of getting shocked. Not to say there isn't something wrong. Some component is leaking a little voltage to the body. Grounding it will help get rid of the shock but it will not get rid of the leaking component. Thoroughly check the wiring to see if you see any problems.

 

[spacepig]

Raymond,

First, I want to thank you for helping Travis get the refrigerator to me, especially since it's so heavy! The inside cleaned up nicely, but the exterior will need to be refinished at some point. However, it does look much better overall than before!

We did put a piece of plywood under it to see if that would make a difference and it did drop the voltage down to 1-2 vs. 5-6. I would feel better if the plug was completely replaced, so will call around and see what repairmen would cost to do so since it appears the whole entire back would have to be removed.

Thanks to you and Travis again for helping with this. I could probably keep the two of you fairly busy running around St. Louis picking up things for me--lol!

 

[fridgenut]

No problem at all

I'm glad you like it and I'm glad I could help. I hope that you can get it repaired without much trouble.

 

[jed0nly]

Cool fridge!!

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

It's a beautiful thing when members help others acquire appliances that are far from home.  

 

[retro-man]

Now we have discussed this in previous other threads about electrical current cords without a ground. Would this be one of those cases where you might just reverse the plug in the outlet and not be getting shocked? Don't know for sure but thought I would just throw this out here.

Jon

 

[appliguy]

This may or may not help but here’s what worked for me....

when my 1957 GE Fridge started doing the same thing...I was told by a man with a background in nuclear medical equipment maintenance to remove a screw from the back of the fridge, stick the end of a wire in the hole, replace the screw with the wire still in the hole and then take the other end and do the same thing with it on the back of my stove which is only 2 feet from my fridge. Since I did this there has been no more problems with a shock hazard. I was also told the problem is more than likely that the start winding in the compressor is starting to go bad......PAT COFFEY

 

[spacepig]

Thanks, Pat.

That's interesting. Unfortunately, our stove and refrigerator are not near each other, so we wouldn't be able to tie into it. I did call a couple of places about replacing the power cord. One refused to come out, and the other said they could do it, but just replacing the power cord itself would not ground the refrigerator and that a ground would have to be wired in there in addition to the plug.

 

[appliguy]

Jeannine, I do not see why it would not work if....

you screwed the opposite end of the wire into the screw hole that holds the outlet cover in place that the fridge is plugged into instead of into the stove.....I know thats what my folks always did with the ground wire on the washing machines we had when I was growing up....PAT COFFEY

 

[mattl]

The two simple solutions mentioned are easy ans inexpensive.  The first, reversing the plug is the easiest, and often will solve the problem.  I have a Singer 500 sewing machine down the basement that I use occasionally.  Even though I have a heavy vinyl floor if I'm barefoot I can feel a hard to describe not quite tingling when I touch the machine if I have the plug in the wrong way.  Flip the plug in the outlet and all is fine.  Put a small piece of tape on the plug so I know which way is which.

 

Adding a ground wire is also very simple.  As mentioned simply connect a wire to any metal point on the fridge, and run that to the center screw of any standard outlet.  Folks have been doing that for generations.... 

 

[gus]

HI FOLKS, It happens the same many years ago with a fifties Norge fridge. I called a technician in fridges, and he tied an electric cable, in green colour, and fitted it to a new plug which was earthed, like the electric socket in the wall. That worked indeed. Years later there was a short circuit with a transfo from 110 to 220 volts, the Norge was made in USA, of course, and here we have 220 volt current. And all the fridge was energized with a pole of 220 volt, so I moved the fridge and when I replaced it, it refused to start, and then I discovered the short and see sparks on the screw where the cable was attached. That saved my life! After that I ALWAYS attach a green cable where there´s no earth. ONE MAIN ITEM the wall receptacle MUST BE PROPERLY EARTHED. That´s my cent! Take care with electricity. Good luck. Gus

 

[rp2813]

Jeannine, the running of a wire to the outlet cover plate screw should be an easy fix.  I've seen some situations where a spade has been placed on each end of the wire for easy fastening, but that's not absolutely necessary.

 

As has been stated above, this is a common practice.  Think about those adapters that allow a two-bladed outlet to accommodate a three-prong plug.  They almost always have a tab on the top with a hole in it for the cover plate screw.

 

[circlew]

As Gus mentioned, the box the receptacle is located in must be grounded (earthed as he calls it). Otherwise, a ground wire from the appliance attached to the screw holding the cover plate will not be effective. If it's in an older house wired with NM cable without a ground (or knob & tube), the box is not grounded. If the box is wired with NM with ground, MC cable, or metal conduit, then a ground should be available. Also, if the receptacle is the ungrounded type and not in firm contact with the metal box, the screw holding the cover plate on may not be grounded.

A good ground should be verified with a tester such as a VOM or test lamp, even if the receptacle is the grounding type. Sometimes people install a 3 wire grounding type receptacle on a circuit that doesn't have any equipment grounding conductor. This,of course, is in violation of the NEC.

 

[mattl]

The ground wire and the neutral wire are connected to exactly the same point in the fuse/breaker box -- ie. same potential.  The center screw as well as the frame of the outlet are all connected to the neutral terminal on the plug in a two prong outlet.  If the outlet is wired properly the screw will serve as ground.  the issue I believe is inserting the plug in the correct position.

 

[spacepig]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

The house was completely rewired in the mid 2000's, so the plugs are grounded. At the time, only plugs near the sink had to be GFCI, so the plug for the fridge is just a regular one. Now that we have a solution for grounding it without a complete rewire, we'll replace the drain hose on the back this weekend (it was severely dry rotted) and let it run for a couple of days before bringing it inside.

There's one more thing--it had a fiber board backing over the motor with some insulation that came off when shipped. Does the insulation literally sit right on top of the motor??