Serenity Now! Another GE

[gansky1]

.3" of sleet and 3+ inches of snow coming here -- I'd rather have all snow!

Beautiful fridge, and a hot-gas defrost is even more cool! A new, programmable defrost timer and then it can be both a Frost Guard and a Meter Guard. I think the egg storage is done, I've never seen any sort of rack, mine didn't have one either - just pour the eggs from the carton into the tray!

 

[frontaloadotmy]

Man Ben

You're a real "babe" magnet!!!!

 

[alr2903]

Very nice indeed, i am willing to bet that cost a pretty penny in 1962. alr2903

 

[veg-o-matic]

Coolest. Fridge. Evar.

Ben, that was totally worth all the work you put into it. Plus, with all that heavy hauling and lifting, you won't have to hit the gym again until, say, mid-March.

As for what to do with it, you should put it in your sun porch and use it as a beer fridge.

I'm not quite sure what it means, but I totally love the term "Meat Conditioner." Isn't it comforting to know that you meat will be conditioned?

veg

 

[jetcone]

YA Know

I just realized our Pink Wall fridge had the same chrome magnet bar on the doors as that unit does. I had forgotten that detail. I remember when I figured out they were magnets too. "The Invaders" with Roy Thinnis was on TV! HA!

The things you remember!

 

[bellalaundry]

Wow, a real gem...

I love how the freezer door is different than the fridge. It's amazing how strong we can get when we see a must have! I once lifted a portable dishwasher into my little hatchback once on a very cold day. Later discovered as it warmed up that some cats had peed on it. Stinky!

Guy

 

[appnut]

Ben, this is an amazing find and fridge. This was definitely a Cadillac of a fridge in its day. I'm glad you saved it. I say put it in the kitchen, it's got that "Sheer Look".

 

[bajaespuma]

Thank you so much for the pictures!

This is the EXACT model that I grew up with(OK, ours was white). And whoever said this was the Cadillac of refrigerators was right. As I recall, it cost my parents about $450 1962 dollars(God bless my Father for deciding it was easier to just buy the TOL's instead of wasting his time with sales pitch). I still want a fridge that has the same butter compartment as this did; it kept it at exactly the consistency you selected. The best thing about this fridge, however, was the ingenious ice maker on the freezer's top concealed roll-out shelf. This freezer was designed better than almost anything I've seen these days. When you pulled open the freezer drawer, the middle and bottom wire basket drawers came out automatically; if you wanted to get to the bottom drawer, you pushed the middle(deep) drawer back inside the freezer casing. To get ice, you had to pull out the top(shallow) drawer that housed the ice trays, the ice catch-bin and a rack for frozen orange juice cans.I never knew that there was an optional automatic fill system but it makes perfect sense. Ours was set up manually. Three traditional ice trays fit onto a platform where their release levers fit precisely into a white plastic rail. When you needed ice you simply lifted one of the trays up and over the catch bin, also same white plastic. Although one had to refill the trays, everything else worked like clockwork. We only had one repair call on this thing, when the liner of the freezer developped a crack. My parents and the GE technician decided to hold it together with caulking until the unit failed completely. The unit was working 16 years after in was installed when we sold the house(sob! a brownstone near Gramercy Park, do the math)and moved away.

 

[bajaespuma]

Oh, I forgot...

if it makes you feel better, there was no rack inside that egg keeper. We just piled them in and they never broke.

 

[toggleswitch2]

~sob! a brownstone near Gramercy Park, do the math

O M G!

 

[appnut]

Ken, what's the dishwasher next to the fridge? Or was that the stove? Signed Cadlillac Bob

 

[goatfarmer]

What a monster! Does it work?

Personally, I like the stickers on it! "Il an noise"? Classic!

 

[everythingold]

wow,that is a find. you aren't too far away from me, maybe I'll see it in person one of these days.

Matt

 

[classiccaprice]

I agree, beautiful fridge and great stickers!

 

[revvinkevin]

Wow Ben, what a great find!

I really like the swing out butter and egg compartments!

Re: the egg storage. I would guess there is no rack for it. It looks like you just put the eggs in that swing out drawer. I believe those "bumps" across the bottom of it are to keep the eggs from rolling around too much when the compartment is opened and closed.

 

[swestoyz]

She Runs!

Wow, what a weekend. When did I drag this thing home, Thursday night? I finally was able to get to the house today. Was more concerned about a possibility that the furnace would have died and I would have a bunch of frozen pipes on my hands. Sub-zero temps and a blizzard are always a pleasure just before Christmas.

Today I was able to get the GE in the temporary resting spot in the basement. Bob you had suggested that I put this up in the kitchen. I agree on this being a great functioning unit, but the 1950 GE is such a stunning fridge that I plan on using the Combination upstairs and leave the '62 down in the basement. Actually very glad to find this as I know have more freezer restate.

Plugged her in and BAM! instant cooling. Couldn't believe that it works so well, so fast. Here are a few photos from today's clean-up. I'll even throw in a GE washer picture to make this Imperial worthy ;-)

There is just something very cool about this General Electric badge.

 

[swestoyz]

I pulled the shelves out and the hydrator section for a good cleansing. It has been quite sometime since someone took it this far down for a cleaning, but it is coming along nicely. Plastic parts are going through the dishwasher as we speak, and I'll clean up the glass and shelves tomorrow. Thankfully the only cracks are minor on the door panels. However, she'll eventually need new door gaskets.

Notice how small the Schlitz looks in the cavern!

 

[swestoyz]

A quick break to the washers for some ramp action. Let's see how the rinse looks...

Good to me!

 

[swestoyz]

While doing some laundry in the GE and cleaning up the fridge, I pulled out the repair info. Happen to run across the repair literature for the mid-sixties fridges earlier this summer. Ran across the section that talked about the Frost-Guard system that Leslie spoke of.

Normally you'd see a badge like this and wouldn't think twice about it. Read the scan below.

 

[swestoyz]

Good write-up on the Frost Guard section. Also read about the defrost intervals too. This model would turn on either every 12 or 24 hours, and uses either a GE or a RANCO timer. Greg I think your idea of an upgraded modern timer would really help out since this is going to be a low use fridge.

Ben

 

[bobbyderegis]

These are the best damn fridges ever made. Perc-o-prince has a beauty in blue, and we have two later models, coppertone and avacado from the early seventies. Swing out shelves, easily height adjustable, and a drawer freezer with ice maker. Why can't they make something half as good and practical today? You will love this fridge!
Bobby in Boston

 

[bajaespuma]

GE 1962, it was a very good year

Bob, that's not my picture but I believe that's an Americana Hi-Lo stove next to that refrigerator.

And Bobby, amen to that. I don't think I've EVER seen a refrigerator/freezer that was as good as this GE. I mean think about it. Even before the advent of glass refrigerator shelves, these things were made out of aluminum, they adjusted up and down, they swung out for easy access and they kept spills and drips from going down to each lower shelf.

Ben, if you ever decide to sell this, please give me a holler! I just found the exact GE double oven model that my parents bought for the same kitchen, same year, 1962 and this thing was installed in a cabinet directly opposite this very refrigerator:

 

[bajaespuma]

Now all I need

...is to find the dishwasher

 

[bajaespuma]

...and then the washer:

 

[bajaespuma]

...and finally the dryer(this one is missing the pedestals):

 

[neptunebob]

Why don't they have hot gas defrost anymore? It seems like it would be more energy efficient than the heaters they use today. I know it is possible to convert commercial coolers to hot gas defrost.