Repairing a non-cooling GE CK35 Monitor Top / start-relay modification...

[turbokinetic]

<span style="font-family: inherit;" data-offset-key="71co9-0-0">This CK35 unit belongs to a fellow enthusiast and goes with a very nice porcelain three-door cabinet. The refrigerator was bought in "working" condition but it only cooled a few passes of the smaller evaporator.</span>

 

There was an initial plan to have a local repair business work on it. They attempted to release the SO2 in preparation for that shop's repair attempt, but that shop eventually backed out. As a result the unit was brought in to my shop discharged, which made it harder to troubleshoot.

 

The unit arrived with an aftermarket start device, which needs to be replaced with an original type relay. The CK35 machine is a 1/6 HP unit, whereas the more common CK1, CK2, and most other Scotch Yoke machines are 1/8 HP.  The  motor current draw is higher on the larger machines. For that reason, the start-relay calibration is different. All parts for the smaller machines are more common while anything for the 1/6 HP machines can be hard to find. In the final part of the video series, I modify an easier-to-find 1/8 HP start relay to work with the 1/6 HP machine. This was possible because GE released all the data on the relays in the manual.

 

<span style="font-family: inherit;" data-offset-key="bldq2-0-0">The first video is the machine's initial check-out and test. </span><span class="x1fey0fg" style="color: var(--blue-link); font-family: inherit;"></span>

 

<span style="font-family: inherit;" data-offset-key="aipk2-0-0">The second is disassembly and looking for sealed-system problems. </span><span class="x1fey0fg" style="color: var(--blue-link); font-family: inherit;"></span>

 

<span style="font-family: inherit;" data-offset-key="424c4-0-0">The third video is reassembly and testing of the sealed-system after repairs. </span><span class="x1fey0fg" style="color: var(--blue-link); font-family: inherit;"></span>

<span style="font-family: inherit;" data-offset-key="fhlv4-0-0">And, the final video is detail work and start-relay modification. </span><span class="x1fey0fg" style="color: var(--blue-link); font-family: inherit;"></span>

 

As for the findings, it seems that this one had a cold solder joint where the return line attaches to the evaporator. After cleaning the unit, an oil sheen appeared around that point. Then after glass-bead blasting the paint and other residue from that area, I was able to see the cold joint and see the oil slowly seeping out.

 

Sincerely,
David

 

EDIT: Unsure why I cannot remove the extra line breaks from the message. Sorry about the formatting.

 

[supersuds]

I was wondering how you'd fix the bent evaporator, but you handled it brilliantly. And I agree, it's important to keep the original sounds of these machines if possible.

Imagine the luxury of having all that freezer space in the Thirties. You'd have room for not only ice cubes, but perhaps a brick of ice cream and some Birdseye frozen peas!

 

[turbokinetic]

Hi John; thanks for the note! That evaporator is made of very thin metal, so it wasn't too hard to straighten it; as you saw. Back in this day, stainless steel was a very costly and exotic alloy, so they were very conservative with its use. 

 

And you're right about having more freezer space!  I wonder about that, though, on the two-door cabinets. There is a door frame between the two evaporators. I wonder if there was an evaporator door available for this model? Typically, without an evaporator door it's not possible to store frozen food in the evaporator since the air in there isn't confined. 

 

Glad that many respect keeping the sound and originality of these! That is one of the reasons we enthusiasts get irritated with those who make destructive modifications to these; such as grafting in a mini-fridge evaporator and compressor, and leaving the lifeless original compressor on top as a very heavy decoration. 

 

The attached picture is meant to be humorous about ghastly and horrible modifications!  I even put a disclaimer in front of the General Electric emblem. What you are seeing is a test setup for a "mystery compressor" I obtained. It is an engineering sample with a large window in the side. No info was provided about it, so I had to experiment with it to determine the capacity etc. The Monitor Top cabinet it is sitting upon is one of my test cabinets for testing Monitor Top cooling units sent here for repairs sans-cabinet.  No permanent modifications were made to the Monitor Top, and the cooling unit installed there is made entirely of wood and salvaged modern fridge parts. 

 

[pulltostart]

A good way to spend time

Thanks for such an informative series of videos, David.  Always just amazed at your knowledge and your resources to 'just do it'!

 

lawrence

 

[repairguy]

Awesome David! Once again you’ve proved your amazing handiwork.

 

[turbokinetic]

Thanks, Lawrence, and Melvin. I really appreciate your replies! My attitude is that whatever is wrong needs to be addressed. If you have a non-working fridge, there is not much to lose; so go for it!  

 

[repairguy]

I like your attitude for sure.

 

[turbokinetic]

Thanks Melvin. This is the only attitude one should have when approaching a repair job!  

 

[philcobendixduo]

I really enjoyed the video series......

.....AND we got a glimpse of YOU as well!

I imagined you were a lot younger, for some reason!

Thanks for saving these historical refrigerators!

 

[turbokinetic]

Hi Bill, I'm happy you enjoyed the repair videos!  I have done field service work since I was approximately 20 years old and my face has become very weathered from the sun. I should have used more sunscreen I guess. I would much rather look old than feel old; so I guess I shouldn't complain.

 

Unfortunately, I don't intentionally show my face in my videos. I have reasons for this related to biometrics and privacy concerns which could potentially become an issue due to the industry where I work.  There have been several times my video editing software does not commit my edits to the final video once it is saved, and in this case it didn't remove the part I trimmed out during editing. I think the angles and distance were enough that it wasn't a biometrically viable image; but nonetheless I have edited that part out. Thank you for letting me know about this error.