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58limited

58limited

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Messages
2,209
Location
Port Arthur, Texas
I found this 1/2 a block up my street. It is a sink/dishwasher combo. I cannot find a brand name, the handle on the dishwasher says "Automatic Dishwasher" Maybe tomorrow I'll find a brand name on the motor.

This is in really rough shape and is probably beyond salvage: the bottom of the washer tub has a large rust hole, the cabinet sides and bottom are rusty and rotted. For all I know (which is very little where vintage dsihwashers are concerned) there are major parts missing. The wire racks are all present inside.

If not fixable, I plan to patch the rusted out fawcet mounting area, build a new cabinet, and I'll use this as an outdoor sink in my outdoor kitchen - the dishwasher will make a great beer cooler.

If anyone can give me info about this, please let me know. I'll post any ID data that I find tomorrow.
 
Also found with the D/W

This is a Servel Gas Refrigerator, Its missing the freezer door but is otherwise complete. The racks are rusty but fixable. I'll plug it in in the next day or so and see if it works.
 
Servel Reefer

58limited:

Plugging in your Servel reefer isn't going to do much good unless you enjoy looking at the light inside; it has to be connected to a gas supply and its pilot lighted. Gas reefers work on an absorption principle, without a compressor. There are no moving parts, which can make them last amazing lengths of time. That's the good news. Here's some other news you will probably want to know:

First, there's a recall on Servels of this vintage, due to gas burners that malfunction with age and leak gas. Also, these reefers don't use Freon; they use pressurised ammonia. Recharging one is a job for someone who SERIOUSLY knows what they're doing. Here's a link to a page that gives some of the ins and outs of dealing with gas reefers, including the recall:

http://www.gasrefrigerators.com/faq.htm
We had one of these when I was very little; I recall that my mother didn't like it at all. It was in an apartment house, and when we got our first house, she took care to get an electric reefer. However, Mom didn't like apartment living, so that may have had more to do with it than any actual problems with the unit. The high school I attended had a couple of gas units as well as some electrics in its Home Ec kitchen, where my homeroom was. They weren't Servels, and I cannot remember the brand after so long. Don't recall any trouble out of them, and the Home Ec teacher was the kind that would have given no one any peace until she got new units, had they been troublesome.

The basic thing that goes wrong with these is that eventually that ammonia coolant corrodes the coolant lines, and then bits of metal clog the lines. Whether you can find anyone to deal with that is anyone's guess.
 
Thanks for the info - I wasn't sure if this reefer was like the motor home ones and had to have gas. I was going to look at it in daylight to see what it needs. Even if it doesn't work, it won't go to waste - I'll paint it up and use it as a storage closet in the garage.
 
David, I'm pretty sure the mechanisms are similar on your gas fridge to those that are used in RV's and trailers. I think the only difference with RV fridges is that they provide an electrical alternative to the heat of a gas flame. I know from my RV'ing days that refrigerators on those tended to need replacement after a certain length of time, but my own experience has been with original equipment that worked fine. One time I needed a part for one that was over 20 years old and still running, and the parts guy told me "and by the way, that fridge shouldn't even be running" because so many fail before that long. We had a good laugh over that. Hope yours works. That would be so . . . er . . . cool!
 
I haven't found any ID info on the dishwasher, but I haven't been able to access the front of the motor yet.

I was going to toy with that and the fridge tonight, but we have severe weather on the way (Tornado watch, possibility of hail - gee, feels like I'm back in north central Texas!). Hooking up gas to the fridge is going to be a pain, only outlet in the house is for my stove and the fridge is in the garage. It is very heavy (I weigh 200+ and I could not tip this fridge with a dolly by myself), so I don't want to move it inside just to test it. One possibility is this: there is a 1/4" test plug on my gas pipe just past the meter. I can get a small hose with fittings and wheel the fridge to the meter (not far from where its sitting now). I'll look into this when the weather passes.
 
DON'T DO ANYTHING TO THAT SERVEL!!! if it works! Absorbtion style refrigerators these days are rare and highly sought after. Danby and Norcold I believe are the only two manufactuers that make them for the home, and even then, you'll be paying over $2000 for them! If you don't need it as a fridge, that thing will fetch some good money on E-bay!

Fact, I wouldn't mind having one myself! That would be great during the many power outages we have around these parts!
 
I was thinking the same thing: would be great in a power outage. When the hurricane hit in 2005, gas stayed on when water and electricity went out(water for a week, power for two weeks or more in my area). I now have a 15,000 watt gas generator for the house, but a gas fridge would be a nice backup.

I didn't know how rare they are, I'd seen some on ebay but never watched the auction to the end to see how much they sold for.
 
we used to have a Serval fridge at the summer cottage in New Hampshire on lake Winnepsaki.Used to have to start and light its gas flame.Once you got it lit that unit ran with no problems.Haven't been to that cottage in over 30 years-don't know what happened to that Serval fridge.
 
Toggleswitch

My generator is a Centurion (see link below). The generator has a V-Twin air cooled engine and runs off natural gas or can be set up to run on propane. It cost $3000, I put the $2000 that FEMA gave me toward the purchase. It weighs about 450 pounds. It comes with a transfer box that you wire into your breaker box to set up the circuits that you want the generator to run. I will be able to basically run my entire house with this, even the A/C, but will have to turn things off if I need to use the washer, dryer, or dishwasher (I'll hand wash if the power is out). This will be good selling point for the house, especially here on the coast in hurricane country.

The major drawback is this: I calculated that it will cost between $25 - $45 a day to run, depending on natural gas prices at the time and the electrical load I put on it.

The next step up is 20,000 watts. Those have a liquid cooled engine and cost twice as much as the one I bought.

http://www.centuriongenerators.com/
 
Oh yeah

I bought my generator at Lowe's. I wasn't thinking: I found the same generator on ebay from an out of state dealer that offered $75.00 delivery. Had I bought from that source, I wouldn't have had to pay sales tax, which was about $275.
 
Just got an e-mail from a source

The dishwasher/sink is a 1946-50 GE or Hotpoint. Before I give up on it and use it as a beer cooler, I'll look at the motor and see if it works. If so, I'll patch the hole in the tub and see what happens.
 
58: let us know what the fridge does once you've got her hooked up to the gas...my house was plumbed for a gas fridg. I read some articial on them awhile back...it said that they tended to be high maint. and folks tended to buy monitior tops insead. Either way let us know what happens!!!!! and dont give up on the dishwasher/sink..I think they are ultra cool...As many talented folks that frequent this site I'm sure they could help you figure out away to make the dishwash functional again. thanks for sharing your find!!!!/wb
 

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