Penncrest Freezer -- Who Made It?

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rp2813

rp2813

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Would this be a GE/Hotpoint re-badge for Penney's?

 

I've been on the hunt for an older freezer because when we move, the '61 Ward's Tru-Cold will be staying behind.  A mid-'60s reconfiguration at the top of the basement stairs precludes its extraction.  It seems fitting.  It's never lived anywhere else since it left the Ward's warehouse.  It might suffer from philodendron syndrome if it's moved anyway.

 

This Penney's box is super clean, and I'm betting it's not that many years younger than the Tru-Cold.  Per the ad it has been well maintained, and it shows.  I see no reason why it won't run forever just like the Tru-Cold seems destined to do -- if the TC doesn't get junked during the coming renovations.  I was in love as soon as I saw the chrome handle and aqua blue/black Penney's logo.  It seems handles on freezer doors are a novel concept these days.

 

We're moving up in the world -- from Ward's to Penney's (as a certain long lost member would tag that line, "always first quality").

 

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Ralph,

I don’t know who built that Penney’s freezer, but if I were you I’d jump on it fast! It appears to be in pristine condition. And don’t freezers usually last forever anyway? You aren’t likely to find another this nice for a long time, if ever. Thats just my two cents worth.
Eddie
 
That's very nice. An aunt of mine had an old freezer by Firestone (as in the tire people). It was about the size of this Penncrest and it ran and ran. It was probably older than her but I wouldn't know for sure without the serial number, but it's long gone. Cheap razors by now.

It would still be running if the moving company didn't drop it down a flight of concrete steps. She got a new freezer out of the deal, plus they had to pay the for the damages they did to the stairs to the apartment complex she lived in. Apparently that thing took chunks out of the stairs on its way down, and yes, it was empty.

My parents have an old Whirlpool 18 cu. ft., still chugging away. Only needed a door gasket in its 35+ years of service.

These old units with R12 are usually tossed to the curb only because they suck a bit more energy than the newer ones, someone saw a deal in the Sears ad or something or they just got tired of looking at it. They don't give up without a fight.
 
My Mom got my Grandparents little Admiral Upright freezer when they passed away. They bought it in 1955, Mom got it in 76’, and when she died in 04’ it was still working fine. It had been in her garage since she got it and as far as I know its still working. I haven’t spoken with my stepfather for over 10 years.

Grandma got it to freeze strawberries and peaches, as well as other things. She thought it was so much more modern than my paternal grandma who canned everything. My grandma thought you needed to move with the times, she’d been a Suffragette!

Eddie
 
I've been looking for a few months, and this is only the second freezer I've found that meets my criteria.  I swear I was seeing old freezers every time I pulled up CL with search term "vintage" when I wasn't shopping for one . . .

 

The only other freezer I came across was another Penncrest with the same handle and badge, but it had the later JC Penney logo.  It was also clean, but was an hour's drive away, and it went fast before I could line up help to go get it.  It may have been a little smaller.

 

This one is right in town, but I may not have access to it until 4/7.  That gives me time to find a space for it in the garage.   It's larger than I need, but not any bigger than the Tru-Cold.  I was going to scale back if I found the right size and age, but this Penncrest is too nice to pass up.

 

Modern freezers (

 

I also don't want a frost free model.  They're energy hogs and you don't see any old ones of those coming up for sale, likely because they failed in one way or another.   Besides, it's only during defrosting that I toss out stuff that's too old.  With a frostless box, that would never happen!
 
I've been looking for a few months, and this is only the second freezer I've found that meets my criteria.  I swear I was seeing old freezers every time I pulled up CL with search term "vintage" when I wasn't shopping for one . . .

 

The only other freezer I came across was another Penncrest with the same handle and badge, but it had the later JC Penney logo.  It was also clean, but was an hour's drive away, and it went fast before I could line up help to go get it.  It may have been a little smaller.

 

This one is right in town, but I may not have access to it until 4/7.  That gives me time to find a space for it in the garage.   It's larger than I need, but not any bigger than the Tru-Cold.  I was going to scale back if I found the right size and age, but this Penncrest is too nice to pass up.

 

Modern freezers (<a name="preview"></a><strong><35 years old) are butt ugly and don't even have kickplates.  Some don't even appear to have a drain in the bottom.  Additionally, I don't know when all refrigerators and freezers started using Chinese compressors, but I don't want to take any chances.
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I also don't want a frost free model.  They're energy hogs and you don't see any old ones of those coming up for sale, likely because they failed in one way or another.   Besides, it's only during defrosting that I toss out stuff that's too old.  With a frostless box, that would never happen!
 
That chrome handle...

Love it. Makes me think of the similar one from GE circa 1965. But the vertical storage dividers on the door interior remind me of what was in some late 60s-mid 70s Amana 22 side-by-sides...
 
I guess one way to get an approximate age would be to find out when the Penney's logo changed.  The one that got away was the same style of handle except for that updated badge.  The ad for that one didn't show the interior, though.

 

I shall consult with my vintage shopping mall reliable source.
 
I did some google-fu with this...the earliest Penncrest freezers apparently had aluminum interiors. There was an old ad on Google which didn't even have the ribbon P logo which was a surprise...it had the PENNEY'S logo on the ad in 1963.
also, they seemed to have white goods a lot more widely in the early 60s than in the 70s (when they seemed to contract back to strictly mall stores in the major cities).
 
Franklin Built Freezer

These freezers were not too bad in their day, but with the thin walls it will use a lot of power and manual defrost upright freezers do not keep really even temperatures in the upper shelf and upper door shelves.

I would skip this freezer if you are serious about keeping a lot of food frozen.

John L.
 
John, it's interesting that you mentioned thin walls.  This box is slightly taller, wider, and deeper than my Tru-Cold.  I presumed that was an indication of thicker insulation.

 

As for an upright vs. a chest type freezer, I will not even consider a chest type.  I like contents at eye level/and or not piled on top of each other as to require bending, digging and removing some things to get at others.  A chest freezer is a non-starter for me, and I'll gladly take the risks of uneven temperatures if that's the case.  The Tru-Cold has been keeping everything frozen solid for 57 years regardless of which shelf it's stored on.

 

Also, my source advised that the blue/black Penney's logo was used from 1963 to 1971, so my estimate that this freezer is no more than ten years younger than the Tru-Cold was about right.

[this post was last edited: 3/28/2018-14:01]
 
My parents have the same freezer in harvest gold or whatever they call the color. I think it’s missing the door handle badge though. They bought it used in the early 1980s.

There has never been an issue with it keeping food frozen.

Theirs is in even better condition than this one, it looks practically brand new.

Can’t tell you what it does for their electrical bill but my dad doesn’t care about such things.
 
Erik, thanks for the testimonial.  It echoes my sentiments on how this freezer will perform.

 

I'm not even entertaining the idea of a frost-free box.  They're hogs, and per a friend who had one for a while, the cabinet temperature of frost-free types fluctuates (goes up) during every defrost cycle. 

 

Older is better with these things, at least from a longevity perspective.

 

Also, I'm still scratching my head over the Franklin thing.  Were they like D&M and never put their own name on anything?  I've never heard of Franklin anything except re-badged washers.  Call me a skeptic, but I've never known Penney's to have sold any large appliances that didn't come out of the GE/Hotpoint facility.   Sourcing from Franklin seems more plausible for other house brands like Grant's "Bradford" and Western Auto's "Wizard."
 
Re Frost Free FreezerI

I had one that was a early 2000 Frigidaire I inherited when my aunt died, I didn't keep it long because I don't like freezer burned food, and that's all any frost free is good for, I wouldn't have another one if you paid me, anytime you are blowing air over food, you dry it out.
 
Hans, I've seen clean, working, frost-free freezers in the "free" section on CL and passed them right up, mainly because of what you've said and what Nate shared with me about his experience, plus there's more to go wrong. 

 

In addition, they're ugly on the outside and boring on the inside, and absolutely were not built to last (unlike anything produced prior to the 1990s or so).  I'm not about to allow a flimsy Chinese compressor to control the fate of my frozen stockpile, so a vintage machine is mandatory.
 
I don't know much about Franklin, but it became a division of WCI (Electrolux) sometime in the late 60's. Previously it was a part of Studebaker (circa 1962). I don't think they ever sold any appliances under their own name. Later Gibson/Kelvinator/Hamilton laundry equpment was their product (WCI ownership).
 
I wonder if Gibson had a parent/offshoot which produced freezers in Greenville...my grandmother had a Montgomery Ward chest freezer from the 1965-1966 timeframe with a white interior which was white painted aluminum, I think. (My mom's 1966 Coldspot chest had a porcelain enamel interior). There was an old Consumer Reports from that era which might shed some light too.
 

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