Refrigerator technology over the years

[jamiel]

Curious if anyone knows some of the time-lines around some of the refrigerator technologies over the years: 1. When did they start/stop using the cold plate/coils in the refrigerator space (think 1950s GE with the slanty coils, or mid-60s Kelvinator with the cold plate against the upper walls)? I guess they must have still used them into the 70s with manual-defrost freezers/auto defrost refrigerators (think apartment-refrigerators)?
2. When did they move to fan-forced cooling in both refrigerator and freezer? I would think that Westinghouse (cold injector...cool name) in the late 50s was the first.
3. What was "cold wall" which you see in the early 50s ads
4. Admiral bought Stewart-Warner in the late 40s. They made a big deal about "dual-temp" which was something which Stewart-Warner had invented. What was this?

I remember a friend's Duracrest basement refrigerator (Kelvinator from the late 60s) with a cold plate in the refrigerator, and a fan in the freezer (fan turned off when you opened the refrigerator door). Always thought it was weird compared to the Sears Coldspot I was familiar with.

 

[norgeway]

Cold Wall..

This was a Frigidaire design, there were actually coils behind the porcelian liner,thus the actual interior walls got cold. Worked great, for fresh food keeping, in my opinion, it was far superior to anything today.

 

[philr]

I don't have the answers to your questions but I'm wondering why the first automatic defrosting refrigerators used hot gas defrost and all manufacturers switched to electric heaters.

I don't know much about other brands but I know that Frigidaire had two fans in it's early frost-proof models, one circulating the air in the freezer, the other circulating the air in the refrigerator section (from 1958 to 1962 with a cold plate hidden behind the refrigerator). The first Frigidaire frost-proof refrigerators without cold plates in the refrigerator section were the 1963 models which had air flow from the freezer to the refrigerator (controlled by a thermostatic valve to avoid excessive cooling).
The 1964-65 Imperial Nineteen had a fan for the freezer and another one for the refrigerator but they both circulated the air from the same evaporator which was mounted at the rear.

I'm wondering which was the first refrigerator fully insulated with foam. I know my 1964 Frigidaire FPI-16BC-64 has this (it was the first year for this brand, on the Imperial 16 cu ft and Imperial Nineteen models) but I think other brands (at least GE) had it earlier.

 

[nanook]

Hot Gas Bypass

If indeed early automatic defrosting refrigerator/freezers utilized hot gas bypass for defrosting, would have to assume the change to electric heating coils was to save money and increase reliability.  Although hot gas bypass is reliably used in many refrigeration applications from heat pumps to commercial ice makers, it does require more parts, including "moving" ones.  And after decades of use, the old-reliable heating element defrosting seems to work quite well.

 

[westingman123]

"it was far superior to anything today." AMEN! I have a '52 GE, a '50 International Harvester, and a '57 Philco (I think it's a '57 anyway). All three in service, and all preserve fresh food far better than the new Kenmore I had before. The only complaint I have is the freezer in the GE--it's really not a freezer, more of a deep chiller. But for fresh food, they're the BOMB. Oh, and as for frost-free--FEH! Have you ever frozen a cake or cookies in one of those beasts? No comparison to a good old standard defrost unit.

 

[polkanut]

We have an early '70's Frigidaire Cycla-Matic in the basement that I absolutely love.  It too is far superior to the 1996 Magic Chef we have in our kitchen.  The Cycla-Matic is nearly silent when running and runs very little, while the Magic Chef seems like it's running constantly and is somewhat loud.  Food in the Magic Chef seems to dry out more because of it having a fan.

 

[athanasius80]

The Admiral Dual-Temp was a refrigerator with a separate freezer compartment above. (Think like a GE or Hotpoint Combination.) Admiral took over Stewart-Warner and released the Admiral brand for 1946. Stewart-Warner might have and a combination machine before the war but I've not found proof if it yet.