My new 50 year old toy--1963 Frigidaire Imperial Refrigerator FPI-16B-63

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funktionalart

funktionalart

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
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1,162
Location
Rison, AR
Hi All,
New member here with a new toy for the Frigidaire fanatics to drool over! Just brought this home this afternoon--added a few pics which are in the URL below. I've hunted for the brushed chrome version for over 20 years with zero luck. I had the yellow version back in the 80s, and am beyond happy to have at least found this Turquoise model! They're just getting to be beyond scarce...

Very tired from schlepping this thing around in the desert heat...all by myself--so will chime in a bit later tonite. Please....don't slay me for having the fridge on its side. There was no other alternative....so will not be powering it on for at least a week!

 
Great fridge!

Welcome here! 

 

And congratulations for your find! I really like this model, the last 70" (or almost!) tall refrigerator from Frigidaire.

I have one just like it but with left hinge doors that doesn't work at the moment! (and I also have another one that works great but it's white/chrome rather than Turquoise). I see that your's had it's compressor replaced with a newer Frigidaire compressor, it seems nicely done! Can you tell me what's the HP rating of the compressor? 

 

 

Here is the SN plate on my Turquoise one:

 



 

Here's my other 1963, this one works perfectly.



 

I also have a white 14 Cu-Ft Imperial top freezer from 1963 that also works. 

 

BTW, both of my working 1963 fridges were laid on their side for a few hours when I transported them and I plugged both of them not even a day after they were standing up again! The non-working one was already non working and still installed where it had been delivered in 1962-1963 when I got it, and I had to transport it in upright position to leave space for a Flair range at the back!  
 
Phil,
Thanks for writing in--I sort of expected you to....because I could tell you were as taken with this machine as I am! (And you are the reason I joined this site in the first place. I've been admiring your brushed chrome model on the flickr site for quite a long time)! I do not know an awful lot of the history of this fridge I bought--the seller could only tell me that he was told the compressor was changed some years ago when he bought it. I could tell right away that it was a replacement. It does run, but due to time constraints I do not know how functional it is at the moment.

As for it having been transported on its side, I've only heard that these things do not handle that mode of transport too well. I recently hauled a Jenn Air side-by-side to my home and only waited about 6 hours to plug it it...I'm going to play it safe with the Frigidaire, I think. But curiosity is getting to me, so probably I will bite the bullet and plug it in tomorrow. I'm sure there is a wiring short somewhere as I noticed feeling mild shock and current buzzing through my fingers when I put my hand on the aluminum kick plate....

Anyway, the exterior cosmetic condition of this turquoise fridge is quite nicer than I ever expected to come across so I am not bothered too badly about having probably over paid for this thing! BTW, I just declined the twin to your Flair range which a friend of mine has ($200!). Quite a nice one, it is....just my bad luck that my kitchen renovation is nearing completion just as these fab Frigidaire items are cropping up in my city.

Cheers,
Allen
 
The compressor is a later model, the original one was also a rotary compressor but slightly different from that one. The original compressors for these fridges were 7/32 HP. 

 

If you had a shock, I'm guessing that there might be a problem with the defrost element. Just do a quick test with a multimeter, once it's plugged (there should be no ground on the plug if it's the original), see if the chassis is hot, (with one probe from the multimeter on the ground of an electrical outlet and the other one on any part of the fridge that's not painted. Try that with the refrigerator plug connected both with the wire going down and with the wire going up (it's not polarized), with the plug connected both ways, you shouldn't read any voltage on your multimeter. If you see something like 118V with the plug on either one of the two possible ways to connect it to the outlet, there's a short to the ground somewhere.

 

A common place for this kind of short is the defrost element. I haven't found exact replacement for these but there are similar ones that work with some tweaking. I was never able to get a part number for the replacement but I did replace it in my 1964 fridge as I had a similar one from a parts lot I had.

But before replacing it, I suggest that you plug the fridge so the chassis won't be hot all the time (it should be hot just twice a day during the defrost cycle if the defrost heater is the problem). 

The tests you need to do, first see when the chassis is hot, is it when the compressor is running, when the fan or interior lights are running (leaving the refrigerator door open will make the blower stop as the lights go on). Then, by disconnecting various wires below the plastic trim on the left side of the trim, you will probably find what causes the problem. The connections for the mullion heaters, freezer door heater, butter conditioner and the defrost element are there. Disconnecting the wires and taping their ends, one at a time (with the fridge disconnected while you're doing that and reconnected after for to test if the chassis is still hot will help you isolate the problem). 

Just be careful not to touch the fridge at the same time you're touching something else that's metallic and grounded (like bright trim on your range for example!). 

 

Then, have a look at your Tech Talk manual to see where the defrost element connects on the left side of the 
 
That's a lovely refrigerator!  Congratulations on your purchase; hope you're able to get it running without too much trouble!  What's the condition of the interior?

 

We have a 1964 Deluxe in turquoise (14 cu ft) - it's the jewel of our kitchen.  I'd love to find an Imperial some day, toe-touch living, at its finest! 
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Hi Fred--
I remember this pic from vacuumland ! LOVE the kitchen :D As far as my fridge goes....the interior is nice and clean with no mould, smells, etc....but does have random cracks here and there on the refrigerator inner door liner. Freezer door gasket is shot, but amazingly the fridge door gasket is quite nice, white and supple. I don't know what else to say--I'd hoped for immaculate but was more than willing to settle for less just because I love the design of these so much and because the paintwork/chrome is far better than most 50/+ year old used fridges...and yeah...the toe-touch was a must. I'm a child of the 60s (mom had an Imperial back then) and that feature has always stuck in my mind.
 
Frigidaire Imperial 16B cold control PhilR question

Phil,
I've powered up the Imperial tonight and things look promising. I'd forgotten how QUIETLY these run!

My question for you is this: The cold control setting knob--as you know there is "A" "B" "C" "1" "2" "3". I've forgotten what each means but presume "3" to be coldest setting. Fridge has been running for circa 4 hours, and these are the Fahrenheit temperatures I've taken so far with control set at "3" since powering on:

1:15a.m. first power-on in decades...door's been open, so starting temp in fridge was 80 degrees F!
3:30a.m. 30F/freezer, 49F fridge
4:00a.m. 29F/freezer, 45F fridge
4:30a.m. 24F/freezer, 39F fridge
5:00a.m. 22F/freezer, 37F fridge

Have to keep in mind this is Phoenix (extremely hot climate), and my house is around 81 degrees inside (with a/c running!) so that is going to have impact on speed at which the empty fridge/freezer cools down. As this unit has probably not been run in well over 20 years, I'm aware that it's going to take many many hours for temperatures to level out and be at respectably accurate/cold levels....just wondering if I should have the control knob set elsewhere than "3"...
Regards,
Allen
 
So Frigidaire was still using A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, on the thermostat knob in the 60s. I have two 1947 Frigidaires which have the same designations on the knob. Except if I remember correctly they both go up to 6. I always wondered why they didnt use all numbers.
 
These usually take some time to get to their operating temperature... Even after they defrost with the freezer full of packages, the compressor can work for a few hours to get the temp back to 0°F (on mine it's set a bit lower than that). Now, yours I think might have a bigger compressor than the original, if there's a power rating on it, I'd be curious to see what they used. The original compressor was 7/32 HP. 

 

I leave my fridges on set on "1" and that seems to be the correct setting for the climate here. Look for a temperature of below 40 ° in the fridge and around 32° in the meat drawer and around 0° in the freezer.

"C" is the warmest setting (some models don't have a "C") and "3" is the coldest setting. 
 
Thanks Phil,
I'm going to do further testing later in the week and also see what I can determine as regards that compressor rating for you. Last night I just decided I wanted to see if the unit was going to at least run properly with no dramas. It got to be 6 am before I went to bed....so I will do all this again when I have a full day to devote to it...don't want to leave it running unattended until I feel safe doing so.

The freezer door gasket is torn and problematic and the front corner leveling feet are missing....so those items need addressing definitely. Are those leveling feet specific thread size for this unit or can I get universal replacements (maybe off of a range/dishwasher/other fridge)?
 
I never had to replace missing leveling feet on a fridge but I think they are pretty standard. Those on washers often have larger threads but I think those from a fridge or a range should work. 
 
Vintage Frigidaire Built In Imperial Flair Oven & Stove

Hello,
I realize that this is an old post but am wondering if anyone could direct me to where I could best post my parent's early 1960s built in Frigidaire Imperial Flair model oven and pull out cook top. Everything is in great working condition aside from the timer. It does need a little TLC refinishing to look its finest. It is also located close to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Sorry the pictures are not better quality. Thank you!
Shelly

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Welcome here Shelly, If you'd be around Montreal, I'd be very tempted to get your Flair.

 

I don't know if you have access to the "Shoppers Square" forum or not (I think it requires upgraded membership) but you could start a new thread in this section with the title in relation with your 1965 Flair that's for sale and your approximate location so local members could see it.

 

Here are a few documents that show details of Canadian-made 1965 Flairs. The controls are different from those on the US Flair ranges and the clock is a Lux Time on the 1964-1965 models.

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