I Saw The Most Beautiful Fridge Today...

[thatwasherguy]

Hi everyone! My handle on here might be Thatwasherguy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate other types of vintage appliances just as much. Anyways, I had been thinking about appliances, as usual, and then I remembered a local business called Street Scene that had a vintage refrigerator that they still used, and was on display for everyone to enjoy. So, I decided I’d stop back by today and check in on the old girl. I’m happy to say that she’s in an even better spot now than the last time I was in there. They’ve even painted the walls and put checkered tiles in the corner that the fridge is in. I asked the cashier if I could take pictures of it for all of you to enjoy, and she agreed. So here you are. On a side note, I found a vintage wall clock for sale for $14, so I picked that up while I was there, too. If you’re in the Lexington KY area, and want to see a well-preserved example of a G.E. fridge in turquoise, then head on over to Street Scene. It’s worth it just for the fridge.
Thatwasherguy.

 

[mattl]

That is a beauty! Thanks for posting the picts.

 

[rp2813]

Nice fridge, but I have concerns about the cold control, which is the weak link in GEs from this period.  The serpentine coil in the fresh food section is seriously frosted over.  Normal cycling periods would barely glaze the coil.

 

[ea56]

Ralph you way more about vintage refrigerators than I do, but could the excessive frost on the coils in the fresh food section be due to a leaking door gasket?

At any rate that is a beautiful GE fridge. My Aunt Louise and Uncle Harold had this model in white. They were the first family members on either side of my family to have a fridge that had a freezer that could keep ice cream hard.

In the early 50’s it was usual that if you were going to have ice cream for desert you needed to buy it just before serving because those old freezer boxes in the fridges wouldn’t keep a large quantity of ice cream firm for more that an hour or too. They weren’t large enough or cold enough for keeping more than a pint of ice cream hard for long.

Eddie

 

[combo52]

Beautiful mid 50s GE refrigerator

But you are correct Ralph it does have a serious operating problem, it’s most likely a bad thermostat that is stuck on but the temperature reading would need to be taken in the freezer to confirm if the freezers at or below zero it’s a bad thermostat.

If the freezer temperature is actually much above zero it has a weak compressor.

This type of frost in the refrigerator is not caused by a bad door gasket.

John L

 

[114jwh]

I had been wondering about the frost on this. John, if someone had to replace the cold control on one of these and they used one of those standard universal ones instead of the constant cut-in these are meant to take, would that cause frost issues like this? I would bet that a lot of people who own these don't know the difference when they go to replace the control and just use a regular universal one. I've seen lots of pictures of these with frost build up like this in the fridge section and was wondering if that might be why.

The troubleshooting guide on the site has a whole section on frost issues that I was reading about. They mention a little sponge surround on the drain pipe that goes from the freezer to the fridge section that is supposed to be wet otherwise they say you will get frost issues. It says to plug up the hole in the fridge section and pour 1/2 cup of water from the freezer side and holes in the pipe will moisten the sponge. They also mention to wipe the evaporator with soapy water and don't rinse or dry and two 6W line heaters behind the freezer need to be functioning. It was an interesting read!

 

[norgeway]

Its a 53

And has been painted that color, It definately needs the help of John Lefever or David Allen.

 

[sudsmaster]

'48 GE Fridge

I don't know if I've posted these pics before, and I apologize if this is slightly off topic. But this thread reminded me of the '48 GE single door fridge that's been in my workshop for quite a while. Eventually I'd like to repaint the exterior and put it back into service. Probably I should plug it in first to make sure it still works OK. Although I remember doing that a few years back and it was fine.

Also I have the inside panel for the door. Can't remember why I took it off, perhaps it also could use a splash of paint.

Here are the pics:

 

[sudsmaster]

OK, now I remember why I took off the inner door panel. It was so I could remove the lettering on the outside prior to repainting the exterior. Once I saw all that fiberglass I sort of held off.

So a couple of questions now:

1) One of the letters on the exterior needs to be replaced. Any idea where to get that?

2) What kind of paint would be good for the exterior? What's on there now doesn't seem to be all that durable, given the wear it shows, but I'd like to maintain the correct look.

Thanks!

 

[sudsmaster]

Also, as I recall now, the rubber door gasket is affixed to the inner door panel. And in the photo I can see the replacement door gasket I purchased a while back sitting inside the fridge.

 

[qsd-dan]

Nice fridge, Rich. Looks like it's all there an in good condition. I bet some cleaner wax would bring the paint back to life.

 

[sudsmaster]

Dan,

Thanks.

I think that paint is beyond cleaner/wax restoration, but I could always give it a try.

(Too many toys!)....