dial-a-matic
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If anyone has any OLD a/c's post pics and explain about it
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vintage AIR CONDITIONERS
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Help Support :
Calling GregM.........puleeze pick up the courtesy phone in aisle 5........you have a "fan" asking about vintage A/C's!!!
58limited
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I can't get to them for a picture right now, but I have two (actually three - one is installed at a friend's house) early 1970's Friedrich 6000 BTU window units. These were custom made for a church in College Station, Texas that had the 1950's style crank open windows with the 12" square glass. They were made to exactly fit where one of the glass panes was - they are longer (deeper) than most units: about 12" square by 2' deep. The church had many class rooms and there were probably at least two dozen units made for it. My landlord was a member of the church and gave me 4 broken units (I was a po' boy and needed A/C for the hot farmhouse I rented - you know its going to be a bad summer when the second weekend in May hits 107 degrees F!). Two had wiring problems that I promptly fixed, the third had a working compressor and the fourth was good for only parts. It donated a blower fan and capacitor to the third unit. The two I have at the house are behind a lot of car parts - they were still working last summer.
dial-a-matic
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OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!
I want a tiny casement a/c soooooooooooooooooooo bad!
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I want a tiny casement a/c soooooooooooooooooooo bad!
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58limited
Well-known member
I am going to use mine in a 10X16 storage building/workshop that I want to build soon. My friend might move this year, so I'll get the other unit back if he doesn't want to take it with him. They weigh at least 60 pounds each.
I've got a 6000BTU GE fashionette in my workshop shed that is at least 30 years old. It uses R12 refrigerant, spine fin coils, and gets 38 degree duct temperatures during the summer...great running little unit! I'll hafta take a picture of it and post it sometime. The previous owners left it in the shed. It had all sorts of crud clogging the coils and wouldn't work at all when I moved in. After disassembling it and cleaning out all the leaves, dirt, bugs, etc, it worked like brand new!
My Brother in law has a big 24,000 BTU Sears Coldspot window unit that's not in use anymore. It dates back to about 1958 or so as much as I can tell. The unit origionally was used to cool the rescue squad building my parents belonged to. When they installed central air in the squad building in the early 80's, they gave it to my parents. It resided in our dining room window for the next 8 years or so till Mom & Dad bought a central air system. That was also about the time my sister & brother in law got married, so it was sort of a wedding present for their new home which didn't have air conditioning. They used it for another 10 years or so till they had kids and moved into a bigger home with central air. He's keeping it to install in his garage once it's built. The unit has been around, but everyone loves it because it puts out such cold air! The thing about it is that it is HEAVY and is a real power hog!
Now, the last story involves the GE zone-lines that my grandparents put in their new (in 59) home. I think I posted that story a good while ago. Too bad the house isn't in the family anymore, but I noticed those air conditioner / heat pumps still hum away when I've been by the house. These units were nice because of their unique grille arrangement. The front was a complete metal panel that sat away from the wall about 4 inches or so. The cool air was discharged out the top, and it was drawn in at the bottom. My grandmother had wall-papered the cover to match the rest of the walls in the bedroom, and upon casually looking into the room, you wouldn't notice the air conditioner under the window! Only one had been replaced, and that was the one in the rear family room, and I imagine that was because it got the most use.
My Brother in law has a big 24,000 BTU Sears Coldspot window unit that's not in use anymore. It dates back to about 1958 or so as much as I can tell. The unit origionally was used to cool the rescue squad building my parents belonged to. When they installed central air in the squad building in the early 80's, they gave it to my parents. It resided in our dining room window for the next 8 years or so till Mom & Dad bought a central air system. That was also about the time my sister & brother in law got married, so it was sort of a wedding present for their new home which didn't have air conditioning. They used it for another 10 years or so till they had kids and moved into a bigger home with central air. He's keeping it to install in his garage once it's built. The unit has been around, but everyone loves it because it puts out such cold air! The thing about it is that it is HEAVY and is a real power hog!
Now, the last story involves the GE zone-lines that my grandparents put in their new (in 59) home. I think I posted that story a good while ago. Too bad the house isn't in the family anymore, but I noticed those air conditioner / heat pumps still hum away when I've been by the house. These units were nice because of their unique grille arrangement. The front was a complete metal panel that sat away from the wall about 4 inches or so. The cool air was discharged out the top, and it was drawn in at the bottom. My grandmother had wall-papered the cover to match the rest of the walls in the bedroom, and upon casually looking into the room, you wouldn't notice the air conditioner under the window! Only one had been replaced, and that was the one in the rear family room, and I imagine that was because it got the most use.
dial-a-matic
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We have two zonelines
They are from 1983 and they are heat pumps. they are in the gameroom the controls are on the top so you need something to stand on to control them. They heat up really nice and cool very nice! They are on fan only 24/7/365. but the heat comes on when the temp is -65 and the a/c will come on about 73+ if you set it on a/c! because there are NO furnaces in the basement, that is why we have these!
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They are from 1983 and they are heat pumps. they are in the gameroom the controls are on the top so you need something to stand on to control them. They heat up really nice and cool very nice! They are on fan only 24/7/365. but the heat comes on when the temp is -65 and the a/c will come on about 73+ if you set it on a/c! because there are NO furnaces in the basement, that is why we have these!
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I gave away two GE Lexan (plastic)carry-cools that were from 1974. Worked perfectly.
:-(
:-(
whirlcool
Well-known member
A freind of ours built a nice out building behind their house to store household items (clothes, appliances, etc) when not in use. They insulated the building and had it off the ground about 2 feet. It was very nicely finished and a very tight building. They added a thru the wall A/C unit to keep it climate controlled. At the end of the summer they went out there to bring in their fall items. Of course they had not gone inside the shed for about a month and a half, and they found that everything in the place had molded! All the clothing was full of mold, it was on the ceiling and the floors, everywhere! And stink, whew! The only thing they could figure out is that the building was too tight and the A/C may have been too big for the building and didn't dehumidify properly.
60's GE
There's an old wood-grain (painted woodgrain, not plastic) GE window air conditioner in my enclosed patio. It's mounted just below the high ceiling, vented through a hole in the wall. It's missing the control dials so I have to guess what the various settings are. The fan works ok but the AC blows the 30 amp circuit breaker, which also runs everything else in the patio, so I don't use it. I suppose there's a problem with the compressor motor or an internal short. The previous owners built a little awning that covers the exterior top of the unit, effectively shielding it from the sun (southern exposure).
Because it's so high up it's rather difficult to set/adjust, and I've left it in place. I've been planning on replacing it at some point, but it never occured to me that there might be collector interest in old A/C units. I've held off because of the energy consumption issue, as well as the weight of the unit (it will be a challenge to remove).
There's an old wood-grain (painted woodgrain, not plastic) GE window air conditioner in my enclosed patio. It's mounted just below the high ceiling, vented through a hole in the wall. It's missing the control dials so I have to guess what the various settings are. The fan works ok but the AC blows the 30 amp circuit breaker, which also runs everything else in the patio, so I don't use it. I suppose there's a problem with the compressor motor or an internal short. The previous owners built a little awning that covers the exterior top of the unit, effectively shielding it from the sun (southern exposure).
Because it's so high up it's rather difficult to set/adjust, and I've left it in place. I've been planning on replacing it at some point, but it never occured to me that there might be collector interest in old A/C units. I've held off because of the energy consumption issue, as well as the weight of the unit (it will be a challenge to remove).
Here's a shot of the old GE AC
GE logo
Instructions
dial-a-matic
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WHATS THE OUTSIDE LOOK LIKE?
Thanks for the pics. What do you mean it trips the breaker? what does it sound like?
-a-
Thanks for the pics. What do you mean it trips the breaker? what does it sound like?
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~What do you mean it trips the breaker.
Equaivalnet of "blows a fuse." Too much current draw. Perhaps as was stated; a short-circuit or a locked rotor or some other reason.
Equaivalnet of "blows a fuse." Too much current draw. Perhaps as was stated; a short-circuit or a locked rotor or some other reason.
dial-a-matic
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Can ya post a pic of the outside? and what does the noise sound like?
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It doesn't amke any unusual noise, just what you'd expect from an older AC unit.
The outside is covered up pretty well by the rain cover, the rest is painted white, and it's over a roof and not easy to access. No doubt I will have to access it at some point to pull the unit to see if I can figure out what's wrong with it. But that's not gonna happen until the weather warms up. Chances are I'll have to board up the opening.
The outside is covered up pretty well by the rain cover, the rest is painted white, and it's over a roof and not easy to access. No doubt I will have to access it at some point to pull the unit to see if I can figure out what's wrong with it. But that's not gonna happen until the weather warms up. Chances are I'll have to board up the opening.
Actually that's a 1950s GE; at least the one I used to look at was already installed by the mid 50s. They were very quiet running units. Tell us about the fuse blowing. Is it immediate like the compressor is locked? The way the poor thing is enclosed with the awning and so close to the roof under it, I wonder if it goes out on thermal overload. So the unit is not on a single outlet circuit? Is the 30 amp breaker feeding a second service panel for the porch? This is interesting. GEs were prone to locked compressors. Sometimes you could jolt a 110 unit with 220 to get the compressor going, but with a 220 unit, most people did not have anything greater to hit it with.
perc-o-prince
Well-known member
1950's Port-A-Temp
This is a portable table-top air conditioner. They also made these for cars with a cig lighter plug. Mine is for home use. It's about the size of a large table radio.
These work with ice. There was container that you would freeze and put into the clip inside the unit(see second picture). Mine didn't come with the containers but I use freeze packs that you use in a cooler. What it does is pull air, from the back, over the ice and out the front. It does work!! I have used it and though it isn't frigid cold it is nice and cool and fairly quiet.
Neat thread. Please keep up the great picture.
Rich
This is a portable table-top air conditioner. They also made these for cars with a cig lighter plug. Mine is for home use. It's about the size of a large table radio.
These work with ice. There was container that you would freeze and put into the clip inside the unit(see second picture). Mine didn't come with the containers but I use freeze packs that you use in a cooler. What it does is pull air, from the back, over the ice and out the front. It does work!! I have used it and though it isn't frigid cold it is nice and cool and fairly quiet.
Neat thread. Please keep up the great picture.
Rich
