Somebody Stop Me - Servel S-800A

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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.
 
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.
 
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]
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 

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