As much as I love all my electric things, a trip or better to Sandy Neck sounds like heaven on earth! And I love how they insist how you NOT destroy the original homes there!
Servel Propane Refrigerator
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Great pics of the Servel salesman's kit!
58limited
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Eddie, I wasn't talking about putting up a wind farm, just one of the small turbines to run a radio and a maybe a fan on a hot day, although those houses were designed to maximize the sea breeze for cooling. I think the big wind farms are ugly. Those small generators can be taken down when not in use, but I can see how they would be an eyesore when in use. Plus, they are quiet. You don't have to listen to someone's gas or propane powered generator running.
I'm glad the preservation societies have so much control over those old houses, really keeps the historical accuracy and ambiance. Living that way has a certain attraction to me, but doing without indoor plumbing would be a challenge for me.
The light house is beautiful, does it still have the original lens? Do those houses get damaged during storms? The coastal houses and light house in Scituate suffered damage during the storm of 1991 (called the "no name" storm by the locals there who refuse to use the terms "Perfect Storm" from the Hollywood movie about it).
I'm glad the preservation societies have so much control over those old houses, really keeps the historical accuracy and ambiance. Living that way has a certain attraction to me, but doing without indoor plumbing would be a challenge for me.
The light house is beautiful, does it still have the original lens? Do those houses get damaged during storms? The coastal houses and light house in Scituate suffered damage during the storm of 1991 (called the "no name" storm by the locals there who refuse to use the terms "Perfect Storm" from the Hollywood movie about it).
58limited
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Here is the burner area. Due to stuff piled around, this is the only angle I can get. The burner area on yours looks identical to mine. I'm going to have to do a lot of clean-up down here. This fridge was in the garage when Hurricane Ike hit and 13" of salt water ran through the garage (actually, there is a slight slope and the water piled up at the doors, it was probably 8" deep where the fridge was sitting). I hosed the underside of the fridge off the day after the storm, but it is still rusting. However, I guess no water got into the fire box because I hooked it up to store my clinic vaccines in and it worked.
[this post was last edited: 2/13/2011-10:10]
[this post was last edited: 2/13/2011-10:10]
58limited
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Here is a picture with the back cover taken off. I was curious about what this area looks like so I spent a couple of minutes with a screw driver to expose this area. I also found out why it doesn't seem to cool as efficiently as it should: that rat nest was covering almost 1/3 of the cooling fin surface.
I found this fridge at the side of the road a few years ago. Aside from the need to spruce up its cosmetic appearance, I'm thinking that the people who inherited the house thought it was broken - nothing happened when the power cord was plugged in. I wonder if the work crew they hired to renovate the kitchen ever told them it was hooked up to a gas line when they removed it? They also tossed out a sink/top load GE dishwasher combo but it was too far gone to keep. I saved the racks and someone here got them from me.
The cooling fins and tubing at the bottom have surface rust. Anyone got any ideas on how to gently remove this rust? I need to clean them and repaint them to prevent further corrosion. That is the main reason these fridges fail: they leak out (although many were discarded when the safety valve broke, the owners didn't fix it or couldn't find anyone who would). Many more have been discarded due to the government buy back program started due to carbon monoxide poisoning cases from poor ventilation.
I found this fridge at the side of the road a few years ago. Aside from the need to spruce up its cosmetic appearance, I'm thinking that the people who inherited the house thought it was broken - nothing happened when the power cord was plugged in. I wonder if the work crew they hired to renovate the kitchen ever told them it was hooked up to a gas line when they removed it? They also tossed out a sink/top load GE dishwasher combo but it was too far gone to keep. I saved the racks and someone here got them from me.
The cooling fins and tubing at the bottom have surface rust. Anyone got any ideas on how to gently remove this rust? I need to clean them and repaint them to prevent further corrosion. That is the main reason these fridges fail: they leak out (although many were discarded when the safety valve broke, the owners didn't fix it or couldn't find anyone who would). Many more have been discarded due to the government buy back program started due to carbon monoxide poisoning cases from poor ventilation.
austinado16
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Thanks for the new photos!
Mine doesn't have a back panel unfortunaletely.
Regarding the rust on the tubes, just scuff it really good with a coarse scotch-brite pad, lay down a coat of rustoleam damp-proof red primer, and then follow up with flat, or semi-gloss black.
That's pretty cool that you found it on the side of the road and it was that nice. Hope you find a freezer door for it one day. Actually, I'll bet you could via that Servel website that lists a bunch of service/repair people.
Mine doesn't have a back panel unfortunaletely.
Regarding the rust on the tubes, just scuff it really good with a coarse scotch-brite pad, lay down a coat of rustoleam damp-proof red primer, and then follow up with flat, or semi-gloss black.
That's pretty cool that you found it on the side of the road and it was that nice. Hope you find a freezer door for it one day. Actually, I'll bet you could via that Servel website that lists a bunch of service/repair people.
58limited
Well-known member
There is a guy who has a freezer door. His parts are stored a couple of hours away from his home. Every time I call, he has said that he hasn't been up there to get them, to call back in a week or so. I often forget to call for months at a time, but he has my number and could call me if he really wants to make the sale.
I can't reach in between the cooling fins with a scotch-brite pad, its a little thick. I'll have to come up with an alternative.
The back is basically a large piece of sheet metal with a a few molded areas. I see no reason why you couldn't have a flat piece cut to fit and use that as a cover. I think the molded areas are used to give it strength and rigidity, not to clear any of the tubing.
I can't reach in between the cooling fins with a scotch-brite pad, its a little thick. I'll have to come up with an alternative.
The back is basically a large piece of sheet metal with a a few molded areas. I see no reason why you couldn't have a flat piece cut to fit and use that as a cover. I think the molded areas are used to give it strength and rigidity, not to clear any of the tubing.
austinado16
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Yeah, be nice to have that panel, because it's part of how they cool. It forces the convective airflow go move only over the tubes and fins which removes the most amount of heat, making the fridge the most efficent.
But, it can sit flush against a wall and get the same circulation benefit.
In the camp trailer refrigerators we make baffles out of sheetmetal, and/or Reflectix Insulation, etc. in order to channel the maximum amount of airflow directly over the coils. We also install 12 volt computer fans in the upper cabinet areas at the back of the fridge, in order to vent all the hot air that acuumulates. Really makes a difference in how well they perform when air temps get over about 80*F.
But, it can sit flush against a wall and get the same circulation benefit.
In the camp trailer refrigerators we make baffles out of sheetmetal, and/or Reflectix Insulation, etc. in order to channel the maximum amount of airflow directly over the coils. We also install 12 volt computer fans in the upper cabinet areas at the back of the fridge, in order to vent all the hot air that acuumulates. Really makes a difference in how well they perform when air temps get over about 80*F.
toploader55
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Hi David.
I understand what you mean by a Turbine, but it's totally out of the question on Sandy Neck and pretty much anywhere else on the Cape. You have to pull so many permits and for the most part the mention of Wind Turbine , you're dead in the water.
The Original Lens on the Lighthouse was detroyed by the Coast Guard I believe in the late thirties. As the Sand and Sandbars shifted the Point of Sandy Neck projected further out in the channel. Hence it was a Navigational Hazzard. The Lighthouse Preservation Society and the Sandy Neck Preservation received Private Funding for a New Lens about 2 years ago. Not really a Lens, but the top is Now glassed in and has a Solar Powered Light of minimal Candle Power for aestetic purpose only.
As far as the Damage to the Cottages from storms, the Cottages face South. Most of the Severe Storms in the Winter are out of the North,North West and North East. It is a tradition when closing the Cottage for the winter that all the furniture and smallwares are placed up in the Rafters or on the Second floors as during Spring or Moon Tides the water could flood as much as 2-3 feet in the cottages. This is a extremely rare occurence in the Summer Months as the winds are much lighter than in the winter. On a High tide in the Winter, with the wind pushing more water into the Harbor, that is when flooding is more likely to occur.
I understand what you mean by a Turbine, but it's totally out of the question on Sandy Neck and pretty much anywhere else on the Cape. You have to pull so many permits and for the most part the mention of Wind Turbine , you're dead in the water.
The Original Lens on the Lighthouse was detroyed by the Coast Guard I believe in the late thirties. As the Sand and Sandbars shifted the Point of Sandy Neck projected further out in the channel. Hence it was a Navigational Hazzard. The Lighthouse Preservation Society and the Sandy Neck Preservation received Private Funding for a New Lens about 2 years ago. Not really a Lens, but the top is Now glassed in and has a Solar Powered Light of minimal Candle Power for aestetic purpose only.
As far as the Damage to the Cottages from storms, the Cottages face South. Most of the Severe Storms in the Winter are out of the North,North West and North East. It is a tradition when closing the Cottage for the winter that all the furniture and smallwares are placed up in the Rafters or on the Second floors as during Spring or Moon Tides the water could flood as much as 2-3 feet in the cottages. This is a extremely rare occurence in the Summer Months as the winds are much lighter than in the winter. On a High tide in the Winter, with the wind pushing more water into the Harbor, that is when flooding is more likely to occur.
austinado16
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Back into service it goes
The buyers stopped by this afternoon to pick up the Servel and it's on it's way to their cabin, some where in BFE in the Central California Valley.
I dolly'd it into the back of their 35' toy hauler (must be nice) just to make sure it got up in there without being dropped. Geez, I nearly had a vein blow out of my neck hauling it up the loading ramp. I can't beleive how heavy this thing is!!
Anyway, nice to see a happy ending, and that it'll continue to live on.
The buyers stopped by this afternoon to pick up the Servel and it's on it's way to their cabin, some where in BFE in the Central California Valley.
I dolly'd it into the back of their 35' toy hauler (must be nice) just to make sure it got up in there without being dropped. Geez, I nearly had a vein blow out of my neck hauling it up the loading ramp. I can't beleive how heavy this thing is!!
Anyway, nice to see a happy ending, and that it'll continue to live on.
toploader55
Well-known member
I can't reach between the cooling fins
How about a Percolator Stem Brush ?
I know they make some of them with very stiff bristles. Just a thought.
How about a Percolator Stem Brush ?
I know they make some of them with very stiff bristles. Just a thought.
What an awesome Thread!
<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">I have always thought this Fridge to be so fascinating! It is amazing to me how well they have held up!</span>
<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">I just love the salesman demo cards and that fantastic little demo fridge. Very Cool!</span>
<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">Question about the burner. Did it cycle off and on when the temp was reached? I have always wondered about this.</span>
<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">Thanks again for all the cool pictures and stories.</span>
<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">Brent</span>
<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">I have always thought this Fridge to be so fascinating! It is amazing to me how well they have held up!</span>
<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">I just love the salesman demo cards and that fantastic little demo fridge. Very Cool!</span>
<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">Question about the burner. Did it cycle off and on when the temp was reached? I have always wondered about this.</span>
<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">Thanks again for all the cool pictures and stories.</span>
<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">Brent</span>
austinado16
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The burners have no way of relighting by themselves, so they just dim the flame.
There is a temp probe clamped to the evaporator tubing inside the refrigerator portion, so just like a "normal" fridge, when that probe reaches a tempurature the gas valve responds by lowering the amount of gas sent to the burner and the flame dims down. The camp trailer fridges do the same thing.
I agree, absorption fridges are really cool.
The one in our pop-up tent trailer also runs on 12 volts for towing. So we fire it up the afternoon before we leave, and let it "cook down" to temperature over night. In the morning we load it with pre-chilled food. When it's time to head out, we hook up to the Suburban, plug the camper's wiring harness into the 'burb, switch the propane off at the fridge, and switch it over to 12 volt mode. It'll maintain it's cold for however long the drive to the campground is. I have a remote temp sensor that goes with a battery powered weather station. I put the remote sensor in the fridge, and keep the small weather station up in the 'burb. Allows us to keep an eye on the fridge temp while enroute.
There is a temp probe clamped to the evaporator tubing inside the refrigerator portion, so just like a "normal" fridge, when that probe reaches a tempurature the gas valve responds by lowering the amount of gas sent to the burner and the flame dims down. The camp trailer fridges do the same thing.
I agree, absorption fridges are really cool.
The one in our pop-up tent trailer also runs on 12 volts for towing. So we fire it up the afternoon before we leave, and let it "cook down" to temperature over night. In the morning we load it with pre-chilled food. When it's time to head out, we hook up to the Suburban, plug the camper's wiring harness into the 'burb, switch the propane off at the fridge, and switch it over to 12 volt mode. It'll maintain it's cold for however long the drive to the campground is. I have a remote temp sensor that goes with a battery powered weather station. I put the remote sensor in the fridge, and keep the small weather station up in the 'burb. Allows us to keep an eye on the fridge temp while enroute.
I like the absorption system as well. It's completely silent.
When I was at Cal Poly SLO, refrigerators weren't allowed in the dorm rooms. They wanted students to pay for their food at the cafeteria and other outlets operated by Food Services. Many of us had refrigerators in our closets, running the cord out to an adjacent outlet, and placing something large in front of the outlet so the RA couldn't see where the cord was going, as the RA's were not allowed to touch or move anything.
My roommate and I answered an ad for a small refrigerator and ended up with an absorption fridge that was nearly twice the size of the average "cube" fridge. We had room in the freezer for a 1/2 gallon carton of ice cream, and there was no noise from a compressor running to tip off the RA.
My other absorption story comes from a high-end (but old) RV my partner and I had. The fridge wasn't the usual "Dometic" brand but some other make I can't recall, like "Elixir" or "Ex" something. It needed a small part and I when I walked up to the counter at the RV parts store the guy knew what it was, but also told me sort of halfway laughing about it, "And by the way, that fridge shouldn't even be running anymore!" I don't think it saw a lot of use in its lifetime, but RV fridges seem to have a reputation for short life spans.
I never understood how an absorption fridge for an RV, which wasn't even half the capacity of a household fridge and had no mechanical parts, still cost as much as a TOL frost-free household compressor model to replace. Is it just the manufacturer and retailer taking advantage of a captive market?
When I was at Cal Poly SLO, refrigerators weren't allowed in the dorm rooms. They wanted students to pay for their food at the cafeteria and other outlets operated by Food Services. Many of us had refrigerators in our closets, running the cord out to an adjacent outlet, and placing something large in front of the outlet so the RA couldn't see where the cord was going, as the RA's were not allowed to touch or move anything.
My roommate and I answered an ad for a small refrigerator and ended up with an absorption fridge that was nearly twice the size of the average "cube" fridge. We had room in the freezer for a 1/2 gallon carton of ice cream, and there was no noise from a compressor running to tip off the RA.
My other absorption story comes from a high-end (but old) RV my partner and I had. The fridge wasn't the usual "Dometic" brand but some other make I can't recall, like "Elixir" or "Ex" something. It needed a small part and I when I walked up to the counter at the RV parts store the guy knew what it was, but also told me sort of halfway laughing about it, "And by the way, that fridge shouldn't even be running anymore!" I don't think it saw a lot of use in its lifetime, but RV fridges seem to have a reputation for short life spans.
I never understood how an absorption fridge for an RV, which wasn't even half the capacity of a household fridge and had no mechanical parts, still cost as much as a TOL frost-free household compressor model to replace. Is it just the manufacturer and retailer taking advantage of a captive market?
austinado16
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So how'd you guys power the absorption fridge in the dor
That's a funny story....how'd you power it? Did you just have a 20lb(5gal) propane tank in the door room with you?
The little cube ones like my camp trailer uses, will run for 30 days on a 5gal tank of propane, so that's about $18/mo to keep food cold.
RV fridges take a beating from being banged around during driving/towing, and then they sit, unused, surface rusting on the tubes and fins for umpteen months or years at a time. Usually, what kills them is being operated out of level. Not everyone knows that you can't do that, or understands that it permanently damages them. When they are out of level, the ammonia liquid can't circulate properly. It winds up puddling up, inside the tubing, and then creating ammonia crystals. These crystals wind up traveling around inside the tubes and then packing to the tiny orifaces in the tubing. Once this happens, the refrigerator either: a) won't work at all. b) works only marginally, producing worse cold the hotter it is outside c) working okay or marginally, and then suddenly stopping to make any cold until it's shut off, and/or towed/driven around/taken out and turned upside down for a while.....something that jars the crystals loose so they temporarily aren't blocking whatever passage they were blocking.
But the burner tubes are also a favorite nesting place for spiders who apparenly like the smell of propane. They'll pack a nest egg sack inside the burner tube, completely blocking the flow of propane. The burner tubes also rust out from heating and cooling cycles, and the thin burner slits just fall out.
All kinds of little failure points.
Absorption fridges can be rebuilt, for about $500ish for the big ones. It's just not cost effective to rebuild the smaller cube versions because you can buy a new one for less than having one rebuilt.
The people that gave me the Servel had just purchased a modern version, smaller and shorter, like what would be in a big travel trailer, and they paid $1,200 for it. Ouch. A place in the SF Bay Area rebuilds or sells the rebuilds at $650+ depending on model and size.
That's a funny story....how'd you power it? Did you just have a 20lb(5gal) propane tank in the door room with you?
The little cube ones like my camp trailer uses, will run for 30 days on a 5gal tank of propane, so that's about $18/mo to keep food cold.
RV fridges take a beating from being banged around during driving/towing, and then they sit, unused, surface rusting on the tubes and fins for umpteen months or years at a time. Usually, what kills them is being operated out of level. Not everyone knows that you can't do that, or understands that it permanently damages them. When they are out of level, the ammonia liquid can't circulate properly. It winds up puddling up, inside the tubing, and then creating ammonia crystals. These crystals wind up traveling around inside the tubes and then packing to the tiny orifaces in the tubing. Once this happens, the refrigerator either: a) won't work at all. b) works only marginally, producing worse cold the hotter it is outside c) working okay or marginally, and then suddenly stopping to make any cold until it's shut off, and/or towed/driven around/taken out and turned upside down for a while.....something that jars the crystals loose so they temporarily aren't blocking whatever passage they were blocking.
But the burner tubes are also a favorite nesting place for spiders who apparenly like the smell of propane. They'll pack a nest egg sack inside the burner tube, completely blocking the flow of propane. The burner tubes also rust out from heating and cooling cycles, and the thin burner slits just fall out.
All kinds of little failure points.
Absorption fridges can be rebuilt, for about $500ish for the big ones. It's just not cost effective to rebuild the smaller cube versions because you can buy a new one for less than having one rebuilt.
The people that gave me the Servel had just purchased a modern version, smaller and shorter, like what would be in a big travel trailer, and they paid $1,200 for it. Ouch. A place in the SF Bay Area rebuilds or sells the rebuilds at $650+ depending on model and size.
I think the Cal Poly fridge may have come out of an RV, although it had a coppertone/brown finished exterior on all sides so wasn't designed to be built-in, I guess. It ran on electric or gas. We just plugged it in and were in business.
austinado16
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Oh, that's right, some of them have 110v heaters. Ours is just propane or 12v, but many are 3-way, and also use 110v.
You guys scored big time on that fridge!!
You guys scored big time on that fridge!!
The Cal Poly fridge cost $60, and we thought that was kind of steep, but it was a great size. We sold it to another guy in our dorm at the end of the year, for $40.
austinado16
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There's a 3-way Norcold on CL locally right now for $100......they're giving it away. It's a $450 fridge.
washerboy
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This may have been addressed above and I over looked it.
But what happened to gas refridgerators? They seem so ecomonicial and with no moving parts. My house was built in 1924 and I suspect at one time there was a gas unit in the kitchen due to a gas line being capped off by were the fridge sits.
But what happened to gas refridgerators? They seem so ecomonicial and with no moving parts. My house was built in 1924 and I suspect at one time there was a gas unit in the kitchen due to a gas line being capped off by were the fridge sits.
