Somebody Stop Me - Servel S-800A

[58limited]

I just drove 75 miles to get this earlier today. The trip included a fun-filled hour dealing with a thrown power steering/water pump belt which also knocked the alternator belt off, but I got everything fixed. 70s era Ford trucks are easy to work on.

 

This is a working Servel S-800a. The ID tag calls it an RUS-800-800A but it looks identical to a picture on one of the flash cards that is in my 1947-9 Servel salesman's kit (this is a guess, if anyone knows better please tell me). The S-800A is basically a budget version of the S-800 (which is the other Servel I have): plain white wire shelves instead of chrome wire, plain drawers instead of chrome fronted, clear freezer glass instead of blue, and a metal emblem on the door instead of a plastic one. They were made 1947-49.

 

[58limited]

My S-800 is missing the freezer door. If anyone can help with that part or the ones listed in this post please let me know.

 

This S-800A is missing the half shelf that goes at the top of the fridge compartment and a"MEAT" drawer - same as the two bottom drawers but says MEAT on it. Also needed are one hinge cover and both stainless strips that go on the "feet" at the bottom of the fridge.

 

[58limited]

ID Tag

 

[58limited]

Firebox area

 

[58limited]

For comparison, here is my S-800 (which is not in as nice of condition):

 

 

 

[58limited]

S-800 interior. Note the glass over the drawers. The S-800A has porcelain drawer covers.

 

[kevin313]

Congrats on the new addition! These Servel units have always facinated me with their technology!

 

[wiskybill]

1947 instruction manual

David,

I have this manual for the S models. If you don't already have
one, you're welcome to have this one.

Bill

 

[58limited]

Thanks Bill

I think I have this manual already but I'll look to make sure.

 

[whirlcool]

Check for parts in any area where the Amish are popular. They love their Servel gas refrigerators. And the Amish try to make anything they have last forever!

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Another idea...

Try Todd (Washerlover) in Eureka, Ca. When I used to work up there long ago, Servels were still to be found as they were in use out in the boonies like south of Fortuna and out in the woods. The pot growers and other people who wished to live "off the grid" loved them. They also still show up as barn finds as the area was heavy farming. Todd may be able to keep an eye peeled in case one shows up!

RCD

 

[goatfarmer]

When it rains....

...it pours fridges!  Nice Servel!  I have the same one, it took 4 of us to pull it from a basement.

 

[danemodsandy]

Servel Customers:

Weren't always off-grid, counterculture types.

In their day, they were a luxury fridge, because of their silence. Mid-Century rubber technology meant that compressor mounts on an electric refrigerator could dry and crack, making the unit even noisier than a new one. Exactly as with the rich today, wealthy people then found that a lot of ordinary everyday things were too much for their pampered nerves to take.

Here's a shot of an S-800 in its natural habitat, Hollywood-style. It's from Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948), where it's in the New York penthouse apartment of two gay thrill-killers played by John Dall and Farley Granger, pictured:

 

[58limited]

Nice one, Goatfarmer.

 

I hooked mine up this morning and lit it up - it is cooling. the freezer is down to 43 F, will see how far it goes. It is very clean underneath. My other Servel has surface rust and it cools just fine, so I think this one will be fine as well.

 

I really need to disassemble the other one, the firebox was exposed to salt water during Hurricane Ike and the corrosion is getting bad. Now that I've mostly recovered from my neck surgery, maybe I can tackle it in the spring - I still have to go slow and work myself up to lifting and moving heavier weights.

 

[danemodsandy]

Question:

Do these Servel models have any provision for hookup to an external vent, as is required for today's gas fridges?

 

[58limited]

Yes. There is a vent grate on top and they were meant to be hooked up to a flue. The S-800 that I found at the side of the road was repainted with a brush - you could see where they went around the flue when they painted. When properly maintained and vented they are quite safe. The problems with these fridges, and the reason for the government recall, were from being hooked up to poor or no ventilation (either by the appliance company's installer or by the do-it-yourself home owner) or due to not performing yearly cleaning and maintenance, thus allowing for toxic CO build-up in homes. Even if maintenance is not performed, proper venting should keep CO from escaping into the home. Today, one can install a CO detector to warn of problems.

 

My gas fridges are out in the garage which is anything but airtight.

 

[danemodsandy]

David:

When you say the top, do you mean the actual top of the fridge, where most people would put a breadbox or something, or do you mean the top of the back panel?

 

[58limited]

The top at the back, still plenty of room for a breadbox

 

[danemodsandy]

Okay:

So, if I understand you correctly, this fridge had to have a flue coming out its top for correct installation.

That would mean that the photo I posted would have had the flue running through the cabinets above the fridge, had it been a real-life installation instead of a movie set, where the fridge was not actually required to work.

Other owners who didn't have cabinets above the unit would have had the flue visible, right?

Thanks.

 

[58limited]

Yes, the flue could have been hidden in the cabinet above the fridge, otherwise it would be visible if there were no overhead cabinets. Keep in mind I have never seen an original installation, this is just info. I've picked up in the past, plus seeing the evidence of a flue system on the S-800 I found up the road from me.

 

[58limited]

I've located my reprint of the Servel service manual. It says nothing about needing a vent, it only recommends a 12" clearance above the fridge for air circulation. My guess is that older houses were not very airtight plus many utilized attic fans at various times of the year, so there wasn't a concern about CO build up. Using a flue might not have been considered necessary. I know my house gets a bit drafty, but I would add a flue if I moved one of these fridges inside.

 

[danemodsandy]

David:

Aha! So, Hitchcock's set designer was actually not following the installation guide - not that there was an actual need to, because that fridge wouldn't have been hooked up to a gas supply, since there was no need for it to actually cool anything. Those cabinets above the Rope Servel would have been blocking the vent grille.

Sounds like bottom line is: You could vent one to the outside if you wanted to, but it wasn't felt necessary in the houses of the time, which were much more loosely built than today's.

If you ever get a chance to get a shot of the vent grille, I'd love to see the top of the unit. Servels fascinate me, and I know a lot from photos, but photos don't always show everything.

P.S.: You might be interested to know that in Rope, the plastic Servel badge on the door is intact and legible. But at one point in the movie, John Dall opens the fridge's door, and at that point, you can see that a rectangle of blue paint has been sprayed over the big Servel logo on the blue freezer door glass. The other wording ("Ice Cubes" and "Frozen Foods") on the freezer door glass was left visible. That big honkin' Servel logo was probably just a bit too distracting to be left in the shot. Product placement was not practiced all that much at the time; many products seen in midcentury movies have their logos concealed.

[this post was last edited: 12/16/2012-17:07]

 

[58limited]

Sandy,

One of the illustrations in the service manual shows an installation like the one in the movie Rope. There is a flue at the back that directs the warm air and vapors up behind and over the top of the cabinets and out a grill at the top where a crown molding would be located, so the movie installation could be considered accurate.

Maybe that is what I'm seeing on my S-800 instead of an exterior-vented flue.

 

[danemodsandy]

David:

Thanks for the info. Hopefully that Servel manual will someday surface on Automatic Ephemera, and I'll get to see all this.

 

[58limited]

Just to post an update, I spoke too soon about this fridge working. It started to cool then stopped. I tipped it over to "burp" it but it still won't cool now. I have a service manual and will trouble shoot it in the coming weeks. Right now I'm playing with the Foodarama.

 

[techiegleek]

Servels!

I was fascinated by Servel refrigerators and air conditioners from my tender years. The idea of turning up the gas to cool more was just incredible to me. I went on to learn how they work, and have an 800 but it is missing all the shelves and crisper drawers, along with another one from 1938, complete but unrestored. Regarding "burping" them, turning it upside down or on the side isn't about moving gasses back into place, it's moving rust and corrosion particles blocking passageways in the system. If they settle back into quiet places where there is little circulation, they won't interfere with operation of the fridge. I loved it when the serviceman would blow out the flame, let some gas into the flue, and light it off with a match. The loud POOM! would clean out the flue and send dust and spiders flying all over the kitchen, Mom didn't find it very funny.

Bruce techie geek and Gleek too.... Kurt Hummel is my avatar

 

[58limited]

Yeah, I'm worried some sediment could be causing a blockage. I have a service manual and will go through the steps to determine a cause.