My new toy- a ca. 1937 Frigidaire refrigerator

[perc-o-prince]

Hey all,

So we found this fridge at an estate sale where people were let in one at a time by appointment. The power cord was crispy-critters, so I'm replacing it with an 8' replacement 2-wire 16 ga. cord. Meanwhile, I realized that the wires to the compressor are also crispy, and the relay-end of the wires to the thermostat are the same.

I'm considering replacing the wires with what I have on hand. From the relay to the compressor, 14 ga. solidor 16 ga. stranded. From the relay to the thermostat, I'll probably splice as the wire seems pretty flexible toward the top of the machine where it enters the cavity. Probably 16 ga stranded.

Thoughts? As you can see, this unit draws a bit less than 2 amps.

Chuck

 

[rp2813]

Wow!  That Meter Miser and its surroundings are in showroom condition.

 

Do you know if the fridge still cools or was the cord too compromised to test it?

 

[sudsmaster]

Looks like a keeper, but do you have any photos of the whole thing?

Here are some shots of my '48 GE fridge...

It runs OK, but has been unplugged for a number of years, waiting for me to install a new gasket, and maybe repaint the exterior.

 

[perc-o-prince]

We did plug it in with the pigtail that was wire-nutted to it for a minute to see if it cooled, and the freezer definitely felt like it was cooling. There aren't any shots of the "whole thing" as it's living in my Pilot on its side waiting for me to re-wire today. Then, 48 hours upright before plugging it in. Pics as soon as we get it upright!

It has the original manual, 3 original ice cube trays and even the original hanging thermometer!

Chuck

 

[perc-o-prince]

OK. Got the wire needed (14 ga THHN in red, whit and black thanks to an electrician friend who had surplus!) and did the rewiring. We'll see Wednesday night when we fire it up! I was hoping to splice into the r/w/b line going through the back wall into the controls, but no such luck. It was all crispy critters. Luckily I was able to save a length of the jacket from the original so it goes through the grommet pretty tightly! From a quick look you'd never know anything other than the A/C supply was rewired unless you look down the rear shield.

Pics are all before, except for the wiring and the shield for the controls- Rich couldn't help himself. I'll take some time each day and give it some TLC and post results.

Fingers crossed for the wiring please!

Chuck

 

[jakins]

Yours is a 38

So is mine I love these. As you can see it is our drink Fridge. I have a PDF of the manual if you would like it. You can tell the 38's without looking at the back of the cabinet by the freezer door they used that little bit of Bakelite on the 38's. I don't know how familiar you are with these early meter misers. when they run the evaporator will frost all over. when at temp and they are running less it is not uncommon for your frost buildup to only be on the lower half. This is explained in the manual on page 13. Also See the pic the seal I found this at LOWES it is a marine weather strip looks great with the door rubber. and is a lot less expensive. it has been holding up for about 3 years no and makes a great seal.

 

[sudsmaster]

I had to look up "Meter Minder", and found advertising copy descriptions. Only three moving parts, apparently. I'm guessing most compressors were similar after a while.

And now I'm looking for an owner's manual for the '48 GE fridge I have. Anybody? I came up empty online, other than having to pay. I'd settle for a PDF.

 

[turbokinetic]

Very nice early Frigidaire!

I'm sure you'll enjoy this one. These early Frigidaires are very attractive and with the temperature indicator on the door; they have a feature which was lost in the 40's and didn't return until recently with the electronic fridges.

 

Looks like you've got the wiring under control. I would like to add a few things having done this job a few times, to say the least LOL.

 

The compressor terminals are a critical and sensitive area.  They have 80 year old rubber seals around them. They will not tolerate much stress or abuse at all. If the studs turn in the compressor body, at all, there will be a refrigerant leak.  So be very cautious and only apply enough tightening to keep the wires snug.  They were designed for the grommet wire terminations you found when taking the old wiring off. Those are generally not available now. One way to recreate them is to form a loop of wire, and then tin the loop with solder so that it is a solid, closed ring.  The terminal caps that retain the wires; they won't fit properly with any type of crimped terminal. If a crimp is used, that will not allow the cap to be installed correctly, leading to stress on the terminal studs.

The start-relays on these are not unreliable; but they are getting very old.  Unlike the later ones from the 40's on up - these older ones had a magnetic start relay. It is position sensitive, so be sure it is mounted correctly before making any run attempts on the compressor. Because these are so old some are worn out and just won't work. 

When it comes time to actually fire it up - use a current meter in line with the fridge; such as a Kill-A-Watt meter. Be sure the current demand is not too high. The current may go up to 125% of rated current during the first run cycle because of the high heat load from the warm cabinet interior. After it's started cycling on and off, it should pretty well start and stay within the rating.

Hope this is helpful!

Sincerely,
David 

 

 

[perc-o-prince]

@ John- we have a manual that came with it, pic attached. If yours is different, we'd appreciate the PDF. If you don't have the one we have I could scan it to you.

@ David- Oops! I did the wiring Monday so.... I did use crimp connectors but I also crimped the crimp, so to speak, so that it fits in the notch. Unfortunately I didn't know about the seals in there so I guess we'll find out when we fire it up tonight or tomorrow. Would I have heard anything if I broke one of the seals? I did tighten the caps pretty well but did not torque on them.

We don't have a current meter so I guess we'll be flying blind on that one.

We'll see!

Chuck

 

[sudsmaster]

Grommet wire terminations...

Technically, a grommet is a donut shaped rubber piece through which the wire travels to get to its connection. It is not a wire termination per se.

I think what is probably meant are the little eyelets that can be crimped on the end of wiring. Then a screw is put through the eye and the connection secured that way.

New such eyelets are relatively easy to find, in my experience. Even Harbor Freight has them. Just make sure you know how to crimp them properly, with a good wiring tool. The indentation in the collar is supposed to be on the back side, when properly crimped. Then the split section will curve in and secure the wire. I'd post a photo of what I mean but I'm fresh out of photons.

 

[turquoisedude]

Wow, that's a nice-looking Frigidaire for sure, Chuck!  First time I think I have ever seen the 'food safety indicator' on the door - very neat!

 

 

[turbokinetic]

Chuck, you'll probably be OK with the terminals. Your compressor looks really clean and it probably didn't take a lot to get them loose. The problems usually happen when trying to disconnect them when they are rusted.   If they are damaged, there will be slow seepage of oil from them and a gradual loss of refrigerant. 

 

If you determine that the compressor does not function, check that those crimped ring terminals aren't the culprit. Sometimes they will be clamped by the plastic part of the terminal insulator and not the stud its self. I have done that myself and wasted a lot of time troubleshooting; and had one "needs compressor" fridge brought in to my shop and found the only issue to be the use of ring terminals - the compressor was fine. I hope it works for you! Just if not, check there first.  

 

All of us who work on electrical stuff should invest in a Kill-A-Watt meter. Truly a time saver and motor saver.

These are a somewhat uncommon design, with a high-side compressor housing. That basically means that the compressor depends on heat (from the motor and moving parts) to push refrigerant vapor out from the housing, so it can circulate and allow the fridge to cool. Before the compressor is warmed up, it may not cool much. Give it about half an hour running, before starting to be concerned about how much cooling you feel. 

 

Hope to hear a positive outcome of how it runs!

 

Sincerely,

David

 

[turbokinetic]

Meter-Miser compressor....

@rich - The mechanical principle used at the core of the Meter-Miser compressor has been around since the ancient Greek times, and as such the basic orbiting roller design couldn't be patented by any one manufacturer. There are probably others, but for sure the Frigidaire Meter-Miser, Norge Rollator, and General Electric Type CA Monitor Top all used variations on this design. 

 

Here's a video where I'm reassembling one of these after replacing the terminals to fix a leak. You can see how the mechanism operates.  

 

[jakins]

Manual

That is the same one I have.
Have fun with it as we do.
John

 

[turbokinetic]

Hi Chuck. Hope she's running like new! Anxiously waiting for an update.  

 

[perc-o-prince]

Update!

We finally plugged in for a couple of hours last night- runs nicely! I was knackered (fell asleep) so Rich unplugged it and we saved the testing for today.

It's been running since about 10AM. Nice little click when she starts (relay) then she purrs like a kitten! I have it set on 4 on the cold side. Too cold! It's down to about 14F. Nice to know if we need an aux. freezer short-term! The gauge was to the left of the ice compartment- not the coldest spot of the compartment but certainly not the warmest. The hanging gauge that came with it is kaput as you can see. I should have noticed the little spot of red at the high end- an indicator that the thermometer's been hit or damaged if I'm not mistaken. Food Safety gauge on the door seems to be working fine!

I set it down to 2 on the cold side- we'll see later!

Whew!!!!!

Chuck

 

[retro-man]

I seem to have a faint memory lol that you were able to "fix" those mercury thermometers to read correctly. You would submerse it in enough warm to hot water to get the tube filled all the way but not too hot so as not to blow out the tube, then submerge it in cool water to bring it all down fast towards the base and the keep cooling it till all was in the bottom bulb, or as close as possible. Then let come back to room temp while resting. If the first time does not correct it then do it again and as the cooling begins you can tap it lightly to get the separation out. Your mileage may vary.lol

Jon

 

[turbokinetic]

Great!

Hi Chuck - glad to hear it's working!

 

If the freezing continues, you may be looking at a thermostat calibration problem.  Sometimes people take the knob off the thermostat and put it back on in the wrong position. If it's still too cold at the warmest setting, you can take the screw out of the center of the control knob, and move the stem to a warmer position, then put the knob back on. 

 

There are a lot of good ways to adjust these. What I try to do is set them where bottled water will just barely freeze overnight with the control at the coldest setting. That gives you enough range for storing food at the least cold range, packaged softdrinks in the middle and adult beverages toward the coldest end. It seems hard to try and equate a thermometer measurement with how items stored in the fridge "feel" when taken out. In my opinion, using water bottles is an effective way to get them calibrated.