Vintage Air Conditioners. The Holy Grail of vintage appliances?

[cfz2882]

i have had to junk only 2 of my personal A/Cs over the years;
'86 airtemp(fedders)7500 btu;rubber damper pad on pipe to compressor came
off and let pipe vibrate and crack-refrigerant hissed out,unit sounded
"funny"running and wouldn't cool...
'72 coldspot 5000 btu;compressor seized-fan motor then went into a '79
coronado 5000 btu,my garage workroom A/C.
No real corrosion problems in my area,so still quite a few decades old
A/Cs still on the job around here...

 

[sambootoo]

Here are my 2. Both work as they should, are very quiet, and are used occasionally in my workshop. First up is a 1960's GE, rather bottom of the line but gets the job done

 

[sambootoo]

Then the 1957 Coldspot "Slenderette" model. Not currently installed but I crank it up periodically the keep the juices flowing and keep looking for the opportunity to put it to use somewhere.

 

[toploader55]

OMG

The GE A/C

We had a 15,000 BTU in our living room in NJ. Spine Fin Coil, Quiet for that era, Very Low air flow but would cool that house from 90 degrees on a hot day down to 68 in about 2.5 hours.

Unbelievable Just Love the Old Days. And... Made right here in the USA when everyone had jobs. (Sigh)

 

[austinado16]

The rotatable grills are very cool. Gee, who thought it was a good idea to get away from that design?

 

[3beltwesty]

One issue is fixing up an older AC as a sense of history, another is actually using them all the time in a hot area of the country and going broke.

The EER rating on a unit that is more than 25 years old was often not the greatest.

The up side is an older AC often is easier to work on, its fan motor often has oiling ports.

A 1960's AC window unit in a little house I rented in the 1970's had an EER of about 4.5, but the electric rate was just 2.2 cents per KWhour thus not an issue.

If I had that same AC today and ran it the cost would be double. Thus if one uses it intermittantly and burned 10 bucks, it would be only 5 with a modern AC.

If one used it all the time one might spend 150 per month versus just 75 with a modern AC, thus the old AC would be more noticeable.

In a AC course I took in school back in the 1970's, the window AC units data had BTUH/watts with numbers in the 3 to 8 region, with many units in the 6 range. Here I still have a some units in the EER in the 3 to 6 region, they often are just too expensive to run anymore.

 

[2packs4sure]

Vintage Packard Bell A/C

This unit sat unused for over 40 years in an unused cabin with the exposed end in a covered porch.

Very simple design.

I would turn it on once every few years till we sold the property.

Still works like new.

 

[volvoguy87]

The Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA.

The Fox still runs it's 1946 Carrier AC system. It's a massive and VERY effective system. The intake IS the basement beneath the auditorium. The intake air passes through a water shower and then through the evaporator coils. It's a fascinating system and I was privileged to see it from inside and out while it was running. Surprisingly, it's efficiency is actually pretty good.

I love this old technology, it's just overflowing with innovation unlike anything else seen today,
Dave

 

[a440]

Awesome AC Units!

You guys have incredible units! (wink)
I love the GE and the Coldspot! There was a home I lived in as a child that had a similar GE to the one above. It was a little bigger. Dark brown front and the discharge vents were about the same. Outside the fan was exposed in the front. I loved that. I agree. It was a very cold AC. I have passed several homes here in Atlanta that still have these GE AC's running during the summer. They were built to last.
I would love to experience the Coldspot. Looks like it means business. I bet is sounds great! Was the Coldspot built by Whirlpool?
About the Fox Atlanta Carrier System. It is awesome!
If you go there in 95 degree temps to watch a performance, you can feel it working. It is like a cold fog. Wonderful and I agree very effective.
Brent

 

[toggleswitch]

Are you sure it's *WHOM*? That is an indirect object pro

Speaking of large, powerful impressive units........

What is that long pink tubluar latex cellopahne-wrapped item under the 1957 Coldspot "Slenderette" model?

Er uh uhm.. I meant to say actually, my parents had a 1974/1975 Sears Coldspot 23,000 BTU/h through-the wall air-condtioner. It was capable of cooling 6 rooms. It had an EER of 6.0. Today, Energy Efficiency Ratios of 10 to 12 BTUs (moved) per watt is more the norm.

23,000 BTUs @ 6 BTUs per watt means it drew 3,833 watts. At 220v it used 17.42 amps. 16 amps maximum(80%) are allowed on a 20a circuit. This beast required a 220v 30a circut and had a huge plug the size [and configuration] of an (American) electric dryer's.

It should be noted BTW that the power draw of an air-conditiner varies somewhat based on the temperature of the condenser. (Read: the temp. of OUTDOOR air drawn over it to cool it and take away the heat pulled out of the (air-conditoned) home/room.

EERs are sort of misleading. Older units had smaller coils and I do believe dehumdified better because the evaporator(inside coil) got much colder. So in terms of measuring the work done per watt, moving heat is only part of the story, I'd say. One must consider the dehumdiifcation as well

This unit had a fresh-air intake and a stale-air exhaust. The bad thing about using a stale-air exhaust as part of an air-conditioner is that air one has just paid to cool and dehumidiy is what the air-conditioner is pushing out of the house/room.

 

[westingman123]

Dave-

It sounds like that Fox uses the same swamp cooler system our Fox uses. It is a sight to see, those huge paddles stirring all that water around. On a side note; there is a HUGE central vac system as well. Those 1920's theaters were state-of-the art, eh?

 

[westingman123]

Toggles!

It's a paint roller, silly man. One would think your mind was not focused on appliances. <insert guffaw>

 

[3beltwesty]

"through-the wall air-condtioners" that fit in a fra

In "through-the wall air-condtioners" here I use in a building are a whirlpool/sears frame size that is now obsolete.

The box was placed through the wall back in 1993.
Its first unit was 24,000 and an EER of 8.5,
a later unit was 21,000 and an EER of 9.0,
the last two have been 18,000 with an EER of 10.

All have the same frame and pan, the "smaller" BTUH units have a higher EER since the coils are about all the same in size.

The first 24,000 unit ran for 1.5 years before the compressor would short cycle. The compressor was replaced under warranty and it lasted 2 years.

With salt corrosion and the "splashing" used on the higher EER models, the outside fins "go away" with time. Thus after 3 to 5 years the unit's EER is way less and it is cheaper to throw it away.

This unit would be on many hours in the hot summer, I have an electric watthour meter on its plug.

During the summer one month would record say 500 to 1000 Kwhr, ie about 65 to 130 bucks. 100 bucks per month was a good average cost if this unit was run. When the units are real old say 3 to 5 years and the coils all corroded, it basically has a lower EER thus would be running a higher duty cycle.

Thus one would be wasting 50 to 70 bucks more with a ruined (degraded) unit, and thus buying a new one at Lowes for 300 to 450 was done, and the energy hog shot and buried. The math was not complex, one would wait for a super sale and swap out the unit and one got way more cooling and a lower KWHR's used. The payback would be one hot seasons usage.

Today I use a mini split AC, the old window unit is only for peaks on rare occasions. It got to where the "through-the wall" form factor on mine was dropped, and the old one I built into a wall. To get a working new AC required buying a new old stock AC unit on ebay.

Repairing a window AC unit that here is old and corroded would be like reusing used toilet paper, or fixing old windex squirt bottles, or having somebody rebuild ones old CFL bulbs, or reusing a 20 to 40 year old water heater. Even a pulled 18,000 EER 10 window unit that is just 2 years old and clean up low on gas and delivered to a AC repair place is an unwanted "thing" that few will want to mess with. My own experience is that these AC's are disposable. v

 

[swestoyz]

Frigidaire!

Early last summer I was over at my parents, helping them with a bathroom remodel. My father asked if I'd help the little old lady across the street by removing her old air conditioner from her home.

I walked into the house to see this fantastic 1970 GM Frigidaire 19,000 BTU (20A 240v) beast! To say it keeps my main floor cool is an understatement.

 

[swestoyz]

Controls...

 

[112561]

I would love that Frigidaire! I love that BOL GE, the Coldspot, and the Packard Bell too.

 

[yogitunes]

Don't let the new models fool you....the Higher EER's is supposed to be more energy efficient....what it really means is similar to many new washers, the cooling is dubbed down....you select ice cold, and only get moderate coolness....the new machines aren't built better, just dubbed down to give you the idea that its built energy efficient, and alls the manufacturers did was not allow you to turn the thermostat down to a cooler setting.....

the older machines do give you better cooling, in any event, true coolness for energy used as YOU select, not the manufacturer......

not sure about the newer units made today......but on my 1980's kenmores, I can open the control panel up, and with an allen wrench, adjust the thermostat to give me a cooler setting, and it does not run as long.......

At Mom's house I have a 30,000BTU unit, cools the entire house, only runs for a few minutes every hour, in auto setting, this unit is very loud, but better to run for a few loud minutes than having several 5000 to 7000 BTU units in every room running all the time.......my electric bill is never over 80.00 in the summer months.....

 

[austinado16]

Interesting concept

So are you saying a 10,000btu "modern EER" type unit is not producing 10,000btu? Or are you saying; it's still a 10,000btu unit, but it doesn't blow as cold, so it runs-and-runs-and-runs in order produce that 10k, where an old unit would only have to run very little in order to produce the same amount of cooling?

I feel similarly about our 1952 Philco refrigerator. It hardly ever runs, and prior to my vintage 70 gallon aquarium being part of our electricity consumption, our electric bill was rock solid at about $48/mo for a 1,200sq.ft. victorian....and that electric load includes the 1959 Kitchen Aid KD-12 dishwasher, and the 1953 Westinghouse front loaders w/ 220v dryer.

I'll be interested to see what the bill does now that I've added a 1957ish GE undercabinet freezer to the daily consumption.

 

[norgeway]

I DONT!!

Buy into the notion that the old AC s are energy hogs, you get what you pay for, ice cold air is worth more than something running all the time and doing a marginal job, the old ones, like old refrigerators are quieter colder and last much longer, to my mind there is no comparison.

 

[DADoES]

 

Remember that air conditioners don't so much make cold ... they move heat, from one place to another (inside the house to outside).  The BTU rating of an air conditioner is the amount of heat it moves in an hour.  BTU/HR.  An "old" and a "new" unit (both being in new condition of course) both rated at 10,000 BTU should produce the same amount of cooling ... unless the manufacturer is outright fibbing on the capacity.

 

Higher airflow rate through the evaporator coil reduces the amount of moisture that is condensed out of the air, related to latent heat content.  Lower airflow condenses more moisture.  I've noticed there's less difference between higher and lower fan speeds on newer units.

 

BTU is a unit of heat, the amount of heat required raise (or lower, I suppose) the temperature of 1 pound of (liquid) water by 1°F at 1 atmosphere pressure.  A "ton" of cooling is 12,000 BTU/hr, approximately equal to one short ton (2,000 pounds) of ice melting over 24 hrs.