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Looks like it wasn't the cold control.

 

It stopped cooling. When the compressor cycles off it stops with a loud clunk. After awhile, it cycles on again. Fans are working. The coils get some frost, but then cycles off too quickly. Perhaps the compressor thermal cut off is going bad? This does not bode well.
 
Oh that is not a good sound. That usually means the compressor is on its way out. I had a fridge that did that for awhile and my repair man did not even come out to look at it. He heard it over the phone and said let me save you some money. Go out and get another one. It lasted for about 6 months like that but I got rid of it before it stopped. Good luck with this one.

Jon
 
 

 

If it is indeed the compressor, I will replace it. Because of the rarity of the door swing and lets face it, these are not growing on trees around here. An expensive proposition, I know, but I have no choice. I will make sure it's not something else before I purchase a new compressor. Ah the price of loving vintage.
 
Compressor replacement options for these GE's...

I have what I *think* might be the same compressor in my 1960 Combination like Louis'. And I wonder....if someone found they actually needed to replace that in one of these, what is directly compatible and fits properly in these cabinets? Surely something like a run-of-the-mill Embraco would not easily adapt in there...or would it?

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Replacement Compressors For Older Style GE Refs

Newer Embraco type compressors will fit, you either have to fashion a mounting bracket or find one of the kits they used to sell to do this installation.

 

Hi Louie, you should be careful putting wheels under a GE ref like this, the ref needs to be against the floor for proper cooling of the compressor, if you lift it even a 1/2" the compressor may overheat, if you want to lift it on wheels you need to fashion a metal or plywood bottom panel to cover the bottom.

 

About door gaskets for these older GE refs, DON"T replace unless they are BAD and you can find ones that are an exact fit.

 

John L.
 
 

 

Hi John! I was wondering whether mounting wheels on the refrigerator would effect the cooling. I'll remove the wheels and mount it on an appliance dolly with a plywood floor. As for the compressor, would you know which would be the correct fit (if it comes to that)?

 

The door gaskets are fair. They are split in some places and the one around the bottom of the freezer drawer had a small piece hanging.

 

Hope to see you soon!
 
Louie, the 1970 Whirlpool we had for many years as a garage fridge had a mended area on a gasket when I bought it in 1990.  Some sort of white caulking or sealant was used, and it was still intact almost 20 years later when we passed it along to Dave's daughter and son-in-law (my '57 Combination replaced it).

 

I wonder if a compressor from an early frosts-freely Combination would have the same specs.  Those units are a lot more common than the Frost Guard ones, it seems.   If you go with a brand new Embraco, I sure hope it's as silent as the original.
 
 

 

The repair man is coming tomorrow. He came highly recommended from my neighbors. I spoke with him and told him the patient is over 60 years old. He was surprised to say the least. Anyway, we'll see what the verdict is tomorrow.
 
 

 

Well the tech came and went. The coils were real dirty again and the thermal cutoff was packed in dirt. The refrigerator came on and started to cool and cycled off quickly. Suggested I wait a few hours and start it up again, I may get "lucky" and the packed dirt was the culprit causing the compressor to get too hot and shut off (the thermal cutoff is good). If not, the compressor would need to be replaced and he balked immediately at the complexity of the project. So most likely I'm back to square one. 
 
This is good information.  It seems that just doing the annual or semi-annual vacuuming of the condenser isn't quite enough.  Is the thermal cut-off accessible from the front with a crevice tool or plain old coil brush?  I wouldn't even know what to look for.

 

Maybe my '57 doesn't have the same type.  It's been running fine for almost 8 years with just coils being vacuumed once a year on average.
 
 

 

Well it's safe to say the compressor was not the issue, nor the cold control or the thermal cutoff. The G.E. is working exactly as it did when I cleaned the coils last year. The only difference now was the coils AND the thermal cutoff were cleaned. Temperature wise it is still holding at about 37F. I find it amazing that just a simple cleaning did the trick. Needless to say, I am thrilled it was not compressor, not just because of the expense that was going to incur, but also by the reluctance of undertaking such a project by the "professionals".

 

I am investing in some specialty brushes and a thin wand for the vacuum cleaner to keep this from happening again.
 
Happy Endings! This was a good revelation for those with similar vintage refrigerators.

And the only colds you want are in the fridge, not within yourself, right?
 
Louie, if you're allowing yourself to see my posts, this sounds like a cooling issue under the box as opposed to inside it.  If you've followed John's advice and removed the rollers, then maybe the condenser fan isn't running at full RPM.  I think that fan plays a role in cooling the compressor as well, so this could be the source of the trouble, particularly since weather is warming up.  I'm finding my computer's CPU fan is whirring more often lately due to warmer indoor temps.

 

I hope you can figure this out.  It's too nice of a fridge not to try and resolve this problem.
 
Compressor Problems ?

Hi Louie, sorry to hear that the ref is acting up again. A test of the current draw of the compressor is in order and a test of its ability to pull at least 28-29 " of vacuum, these tests are detailed in GE refrigerator service manual.

 

In my experience I have never seen a GE combination refrigerator built from about 1956-1963 that is still operating properly on its orignal compressor, [ the one exception I know of is Paul's turquoise wall ref in Canada, however it was NIB when he installed it so hopefully it will last quite a few years yet till he has to deal with a compressor replacement ] of course many of these compressors were already replaced back in the late 60s and through the 70s, but if anyone wants to have a GE Combination ref built in this time period check if it has already had the improved compressor installed.

 

John L.
 
 

 

Hi John, as always thanks for the advice. I'm going to have to call in a tech to perform these tests since I don't have the equipment nor the know how to perform them myself. Now the real issue is finding one that is willing to perform this AND repair the GE. I highly suspect this GE has the original compressor, if so, then it is remarkable that it has lasted so long. So far, temp is steady at 36F in the refrigerated section. It seems to "reset" itself after I unplug it for a few hours.
 
 

 

So it's back to square one. That damn tech never came back. I've been so busy with other issues this has been placed on the back burner. I am still putting out feelers for a knowledgeable repair tech in the New York metro area, so far, no luck. I'm reposting some images of the refrigerator since so many had been lost to that damn storage site.

 







 

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