Looking for a fridge

[norgeway]

I ALMOST bought one this morning at an estate sale,but it wasn't exactly what I wanted, it was a late 50s single door bottom freezer Hotpoint, needed paint but overall very nice, I want a late 50s or early 60s Coldspot or Norge, must be a MANUAL DEFROST..I do NOT ever want a DA&* frost free fridge again...I once had a 57 Coldspot Super Mart bottom freezer, it was a real rust bucket but was beautiful inside, pink and anodized aluminum...that's what I really would love to find in decent shape.

 

[rp2813]

Hans, I know you'll find something you like. 

 

I think you should hold out for a two-door manual defrost model.  At least on the two-door manual defrost GE's, the separate freezer will maintain a true zero degrees.  I don't know if the same can be said for similarly configured Coldspot or Norge models, but their freezers have got to be colder than the so-called freezers on most single door types.

 

What are you replacing, and why?

 

[norgeway]

2 door

YES I agree, most 2 door models will deliver a true 0 temperature, most with the freezer "can" wont keep ice cream...but for some reason the Westinghouses WILL, why I don't know..the single door GE Combination models will deliver 0 degrees, We have a 6 or 7 year old Hotpoint that freezer burns everything...SORRY...SORRY SORRY piece of junk.Ice cream is either hard as a brick or almost mushy, never consistent, and I DO NOT LIKE air blowing over fresh food, dries out vegetables and spreads odors.

 

[rp2813]

Hans, that's interesting.

My tiny '39 Westinghouse fridge kept ice cream firm, but that was back when it came in rectangular cartons and it could be laid flat on the bottom of the evaporator.  The evaporator "can" was so small that not much else could fit or remain frozen solid with that carton in there.

 

The single door GE Combinations also had the zero degree freezer as you mentioned.  I'm assuming the Hotpoint you looked at used more or less the same system, with a rear cold plate in the fresh food section.  I can't imagine a single door bottom freezer could be designed any other way.

 

One thing to consider is that the early Frost Guard Combinations didn't use a fan to circulate the air in the fresh food section.  That might be the best of both worlds for you.  If you see the serpentine coil up top, you're golden.

 

Your current Hotpoint sounds boring.  I can understand why you'd want to replace it even if it didn't burn its contents in the freezer.  I've noticed that in the past ten or so years, manufacturers have begun outfitting crisper drawers with gaskets to retain moisture and keep the air movement from drying things out.  It seems to be effective on our 2009 KitchenAid.

 

[gyrafoam]

One of the best I ever had was a mid sixties Frigidaire Imperial. It had glass shelving (a must for me) It made great ice cubes that were round. It had a large freezer that kept ice cream perfectly.
It was Frost-Free. I hauled that thing around on several moves.
It never gave me a bit of trouble.

My up-right freezer is a '62 Coldspot Frost-Free that works perfectly.