Something different came thru The Pile today. GE Combo action!

[redcarpetdrew]

A GE combination refrigerator showed up today. INTACT! Here are a few pictures after a quick wipedown (and removal of a TON of stickers of all sorts as it was a garage unit...) but before a serious cleaning and paint restoration.

Any idea on age?
BH12PG1
RP691083

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Say AHHHHH...

All the shelves are there and functional. Talk about well lit...

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Another shot. This has the full width 'peddle' that can be stepped on and will open the refrig door. I love those rotating shelves...

 

[circlew]

Don't know the year for sure, but would say between '57 & '62. Would like to see the inside.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Would like to see the inside.

Your wish is my command. See above pictures... LOL!

The GE name...

 

[redcarpetdrew]

And it's a 'Combination'...

 

[redcarpetdrew]

The freezer...

 

[circlew]

Would say with that interior, that it's most likely a '59 or earlier. Be nice if all my wishes came true that easy!

 

[redcarpetdrew]

A closer look at the shelving... The Chrome is in remarkable shape inside and out as is the aluminum shelves and porcelin liner. This will be a fun one to clean up as it works just fine. I was surprised to see the inner breaker panels intact and not broken out.

RCD

 

[a440]

Very nice!
I grew up with the version of the combination after this? I would assume it was after this model. I don't know for sure.
The difference was ours being "frost-less". The shelves were the same in the fridge part. It had the coils at the top of the fridge. I loved those on humid days. The freezer was different as it had the fan on the left side of the freezer with the coils in back of the fan.
It was a great fridge. I would say it lasted for more than 40 years. When my parents bought a new Whirlpool Side by Side from Woolco they put this GE in the laundry room for extra.
There was nothing wrong with it when they got rid of it. We just moved and my parents did not want to take it with us.
You found a very wonderful refrigerator!
Great find!
Brent

 

[a440]

Oh....
Another thought.....
My mom has talked about this GE Refrigerator for year as how wonderful it kept Vegetables & Greens. She said it would keep them for almost 30 days without a hint of aging.
She still talks about it.
Brent

 

[frontaloadotmy]

Ooh Drew!

That is very nice. Perhaps GE did their sheer look about the same time as Frigidaire/GM; 1957? I'm sure the rounded interior
is pre 1960. What a great find! What are the "breaker" panels?

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Breaker panels are what I call the plastic trim panels that span the gap between the cabinet and the inside liner that hides the insulation, etc. Usually broken by all sorts of things like dropped glass jars, frozen turkeys and even children trying to reach things on top... They can be glued but never quite look right again...

I can't believe all the lights this machine has. It could be defrosted just by opening the door for a few minutes... LOL!

RCD

 

[goatfarmer]

Looks great, Andrew! If I find something like that, it's usually beat, missing the drawers, etc. You have the nicest trade in pile!

 

[pulltostart]

Drew,
I think that's a 1957 (BH-12P). GE's literature says:
"A separately insulated and refrigerated freezer on top, and an automatic defrosting refrigerator section below. Foot pedal opens the magnetic refrigerator door.
*2 Revolving Shelves, 2 Stationary
*Magnetic Safety Doors
*Automatic defrosting refrigerator section
*Big 74 pound true zero-degree freezer
*Removable, adjustable aluminum door shelves
*3 Mini-cube ice trays
*Fold-away bottle racks
*Butter compartment
*Egg rack
*New corner lighting
*Two porcelain vegatable drawers
*Juice can dispenser, ice cream rack"

By comparison, mine is a 1958.

Lawrence

 

[pulltostart]

BH-12R interior

Alas, the next year - no foot pedal and no light in the freezer.

Lawrence

 

[laundromat]

1964?

I remembe seeing one like this at the New York Worlds Fair in 1964.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Thank you, Lawrence!!!

That is so cool that you had all that. Yours is fantastic looking. Alas, I seem to be missing one rotating shelf. I'm still wowed by the fact that it's still intact and running... I don't 'collect' refrigerators but I kinda like this one.

RCD

 

[swestoyz]

I'm thinking the 'R' in the serial would then translate over to having been produced (but not necessarily the model year) of '58, but I agree it is probably a '57 model year (see brochure).

Lovely, lovely GE. If my '51 ever dies I would love to replace it with a similar GE Combination to the one you found. I recently saw a '55 GE Combination behind one of the local appliance stores in canary yellow. It was too far gone to be saved, so instead I grabbed the hydrator drawers for storage boxes!

Ben

 

[swestoyz]

BTW - it appears, per the brochures, that your GE has the correct amount of shelves.

 

[pulltostart]

One tip-off to the model year is the color of the interior. Ge changed those each year, just like automobile changes. '55 featured yellow liners, '65 had turquoise liners (with copper-colored shelves and trim), '57 had the pink liners and '58 had the light blue.

Drew - I wouldn't worry about the number of shelves, especially if you were going to actually use the refrigerator. Mine has one more shelf, but I find that they are too close together and really limit what can be stored. If I were to remove the top shelf I think I could remove one of the revolving shelves, and the refrigerator might be more practical. BTW - that strip of aluminum trim on the freezer door - whatever you do don't lose it! It's key to storing the juice cans. My unit is missing that piece and the cans simply roll out the bottom, with nothing to retain them.

Lawrence

 

[circlew]

My neighbors the Wilsons used to have an earlier model GE with the "lazy susan" shelves. Thought it was a '54, but might have been a '56 model, as I remember it having copper finish trim. Will try to ask them about removing the shelves, as I know they did so when cleaning it.

 

[ronhic]

My mom has talked about this GE Refrigerator for year as how

...and that is partly because of the crisper design...

BUT...

...more importantly, it isn't a frost free fridge...the humidity level is much higher in a cyclic defrost compared to a frost free, so vegetables stay crisper longer...

 

[circlew]

Pulltostart,

Just returned from the Wilson's, and they said the shelves come out easily. Remove the vegetable drawers, then lift assembly to clear brackets holding top shelf, and bottom of pole will clear its mounting, allowing removal. They never took the shelves off the pole, but think they would slide off.

They did confirm it had Turquoise and Copper accents on the interior, therefore theirs must have been a '56. They got rid of it about 10 years ago when it stopped working.

 

[swestoyz]

Thanks Lawrence, the tip on the interior colors is very helpful. I now know the combo I saw a few months ago was indeed a '55 yellow interior with blue hydrator drawers.

Ben

 

[redcarpetdrew]

WOW, Ben!

Thanks for the scans. That's my frig alright. Now I have to figure out how to save those...

RCD

 

[rp2813]

RCD

If I had a truck that would make it up there, I think my partner in crime and I would be making another trip up to Reno. I'm very tempted by that beautiful fridge even though it's a little newer than I was looking for.

Is it definitely going to need paint? I would be using it for my 2nd fridge out in the laundry room so it wouldn't have to be perfect.

Ralph

 

[rp2813]

Ah, never mind. I noticed in the brochure that this one has a "forced draft condenser" which is what I'm trying to get away from. I guess the grille at the bottom should have tipped me off to that, huh?

Looks like I need to hold out for an older model.

 

[rp2813]

But if nobody wants it . . . let me know! I can be easily persuaded if the logistics can be worked out.

 

[retropia]

Saving web page photos

Drew, to save most web page photos, right click on top of the image, a pop-up menu will appear, select "Save Picture As", another window will pop up, select the folder you wish to save the image in, change the name of the file if you like, then click on "save".