WELL!!!! The 57 GEs are home!!!

[norgeway]

They both have a few issues,but nothing major,now our backs have issues!!!, The range is missing the broiler element,and the fridge needs a new roller on the freezer drawer,anyone that can help me with these items,please contact me!

 

[norgeway]

Still wrapped and on the truck!!!

They both weigh a ton!

 

[norgeway]

Well, a lot of scrubbing later!

Here is the fridge!

 

[norgeway]

Its so big!!!!

And the kitchen so small,I couldnt get the whole thing in the picture!!

 

[norgeway]

Inside!!!

This is the BEST part!!!

 

[norgeway]

The range!!!

Is still sitting in the middle of the floor, someone made off with the broiler element in the large oven before Robert got it,so ive got to find one,otherwise its near mint!

 

[pulltostart]

Contratulations!

Hans -
That's a great-looking pair for sure. I'm glad you were able to get them both. Once upon a time I talked to Robert about buying them, but I already had my '61 range and decided to stay with the white appliances, but really loved the yellow ones. You're gonna LOVE the refrigerator!
Lawrence

 

[dynaflow]

well do tell

love it love it love it

 

[norgeway]

MY BACK!!!

SURE DONT !!!

 

[qsd-dan]

Absolutely gorgeous!

Now time for some Motrin.....[this post was last edited: 8/7/2010-23:37]

 

[tomturbomatic]

Congratulations!

Don't ever let anything touch that serpentine coil in the refrigerator. Anything touching it will be frozen solid. You might find the heat distribution patterns on the older GE elements to be less than satisfactory. Hi, Med & Warm give heat spread over the whole unit. 2nd and Low do not. Some can cope; others cannot.

 

[a440]

Was thinking the same thing Tom!

I will tell you something gross if you promise not to tell....
When we were kids we could come in from the summer heat and put our gum on the coils for about 10 min. Then put them back in our mouths for a cool and refreshing treat! How gross!
Very nice pair you found Hans! They are beautiful!
Brent

 

[austinado16]

The fridge is killer with those lazy-susan shelves and the exposed coil. It's huge inside!

 

[appnut]

Hans, they're beautiful. Didn't realize you wre gonna get them. I have to admit, I've always thought it quite odd this series had one door that was brushed chrome/stainless steel and the other door a colored porcelain enamel. Granted, I've only ever seen one piece at a time, but not at least a set where it makes a bit more sense. But still, ... Will the fridge have enough capacity when you do some of that wonderful "Hans cookin and entertainin'"?

 

[norgeway]

GE Calrod units!

The five fixed heat positions of these units doesent bother me at all, in fact I have always liked them better than infinite heat,when you push a button, you know exactly what you are getting, when infinite heat switches get old,ive found they can be quite variable.

 

[tlee618]

Totally Awesome!!

Hans, they are just beautiful! I love the inside shot of the refrigerator. I can't wait to see pictures when you have them both in place in the kitchen. I am sure that with everyones resources around here you will be able to find the parts that you need. Hope the back is feeling better!!

 

[rp2813]

Both pieces are gorgeous. The fridge looks to be top of the line with an extra rack and generous door shelving, along with what appears to be a temp-controlled butter compartment. I noticed your butter dish on the bottom rack of the fridge. I've found that on my '57 top-freezer model, apparently the GE-issue butter dish is the only thing that will fit in the compartment (although I don't have a GE dish) as everything else is too large. Isn't it elegant to rotate the racks out rather than having to reach way back in there? I love that feature even though it does reduce the amount of usable space.

I'd love to see a picture of the freezer interior (or basket) if you can manage. I love how these models are truly counter-depth and have clean backs that go up against the wall, which helps in kitchens with tight spaces.

What are the dimensions on the fridge? Mine is 61" tall by 30.5" wide. I presume yours is taller as the freezer section is larger than on the top-mount models.

P.S. I tried to e-mail you with some questions, but it came back with a failure notice.

Ralph[this post was last edited: 8/8/2010-13:47]

 

[norgeway]

Ralph....

My e-mail is [email protected], the dimensions are71 1/2 tall, 30 wide and 24 deep, yes I have the glass butter dish as well as cheese dish!

 

[tomturbomatic]

Hans, it not the 5 heats; I love them myself in most situations and cooked on them for years. There was no fiddlin' with the dial; you wanted low heat, you pushed LO. That's why Hotpoint called them "Recipe Heats." No, I'm talking about the older Calrods that were wound with an outer band and an inner band. Some units were wired so that they gave heat patterns on 2 and LO where only the outer band was heated that sometimes were hard to deal with under skillets.

 

[luxflairguy]

Inner/outer burner heats

Tom! Is this what you're talking about? From a late 50's Hotpoint book. Greg

 

[hooverwheelaway]

Wow, Hans!

Those are suuuuper cute! Love the yellow/stainless combination!
That '57 range is such a looker! Greg has one in Pink, and it's super dreamy!

 

[rp2813]

Hans, this is what I get when I try to send you an e-mail:

Sorry, we were unable to deliver your message to the following address.

<[email protected]>:
No MX or A records for yadtel.net

 

[tomturbomatic]

Greg, Those are the newer elements you are showing where the two coils are wound side-by-side and give a pretty even heat distribution over the 5 heats. The older Calrod elements were all wound like the 6 inch hi-speed Calrod with an outer ring and an inner ring, like an areola around a nipple. On most of the 6 inch hi-speed Calrods, only the inner coil heats on 2 and LO, but on the 8 inch Calrods, the outer ring only heats on 2 and LO. This can be an advantage when using a 12 inch skillet since it helps keep the center of the pan from getting hotter than the outer edge, but it takes some getting used to.

Speaking of 12 inch skillets, I used my 12 inch Farberware yesterday for chicken bosoms and it performed flawlessly as always. Now this week I will be able to enjoy tossed salads topped with sliced chicken and honey-mustard dressing.

 

[kevin313]

Super-Ultra Fabulous!

What an incredible pair of beautiful GE masterpieces you have brought home!! The color is just wonderful and I can't get over the condition - they were obviously very well cared for and I'm glad that they found a new home where they will be appreciated. I always thought the lazy-susan interior shelves were such a great idea - I don't know why they still don't offer it (I know shelves pull out these days, but it's not the same!). Enjoy your new acquistions - I know they will provide many, many years of faithful service!

 

[gadgetgary]

Swing out trays

Someone may be trying to duplicate them.

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/...sc.Swingout-Refrigerator-Tray-by-Lori-Greiner

 

[kevin313]

That's a nifty idea - I wonder how sturdy they are. I would love to see some shelves like this actually "built in" to a new fridge.

 

[rp2813]

Convenient as they may be, rotating shelves come with a cost: usable interior space. I think this type of system caught on for a while because people were replacing much smaller capacity refrigerators in the mid 50's, and even with the loss of usable space, when new these GE's were still able to hold more than most people's previous refrigerators.

As a daily driver, this style may be more functional with the rotating shelves but it can't hold as much as an average sized modern fridge. Hans seems to have discovered this rather quickly, but I hope my suggestions will help him make the machine more practical for him.

The reason I dislike top-freezer refrigerators is because I don't like having to bend down and reach way in back for something. I like my rotating shelves, but again, I don't consider my Combination a practical choice for a daily driver. It's my drinks fridge and that way if it decides to fail after 50+ years in service, it was just my overflow fridge anyway. I've gotta say that with the bottom freezer arrangement, Hans has a great unit there, with fridge section at eye level plus the convenience of rotating shelves. Absolutely the best of both worlds, and visually about as appealing as a midcentury modern fridge can get.

 

[rp2813]

I've also noticed that the fresh food section on Hans' has the serpentine evaporator all the way across the top. On mine, there's a gap in the middle of the serpentine to fit tall items all the way in back. Perhaps due to the large capacity, the extra cooling from that additional amount of serpentine coil was necessary.

For comparison, here's the fresh food racking system on mine:

 

[rp2813]

Here's a shot of the serpentine with gap in the middle:

 

[48bencix]

Frost Free

I think that is an energy saving way to do frost free. The refer section has the exposed coil which will build up some frost during the cooling cycle, but it melts when the compressor goes off and drains. No fan an no energy to melt the frost.