What is the difference between the Frigidaire Imperial Frost Proof and Deluxe Frost Proof fridge?

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frogkid11

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 14, 2015
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Richmond, Va
Hi forum family,
I am new to the forum and still trying to navigate the site. I am looking at purchasing a 1960's Frigidaire refrigerator to go with my 1962 Frigidaire Flair oven and would like to know the difference between the Imperial and Deluxe versions of the Frost Proof fridge. The Flair came in two versions - the Customer Imperial (which is what I have) and the Custom Deluxe and I know that the Imperial has more features/luxuries than it's Deluxe counterpart but I haven't been able to find that information for the comparable fridges.

I appreciate any assistance. Take care
 
Welcome!

There are some Frigidaire refrigeration fans here so they may post some useful information for you.  Give it some time, as not everyone visits this site on a daily basis.

 

You may also try to locate literature that can be downloaded for a small fee.  Click the icon to the right of the forum indexes at the top of this page to access the automatic ephemera site and you can do a search by manufacturer and appliance type.
 
Differences aren't exactly the same throughout the years but if you're speaking about a 1962 model, the Imperial has more chrome trim on the outside (on the cabinet edge around the doors) and a larger decorative panel with the emblem at the top of the upper door. On the bottom-freezer models, the Imperial also has a foot-pedal opener for the freezer door instead of a handle.

 

Inside, the Imperial adds a butter conditioner (heater) and another non-heated storage in the door, removeable egg trays (some Deluxe models have them too), and a "Meat Tender" drawer with a cooling port that allows slightly lower (32°F) temperature than the rest of the refrigerator section. The freezer (on Imperial bottom-freezer models) adds a light and has two smaller baskets instead of a single large one for the Deluxe version. After 1963, the Imperial top-freezer models also got a freezer light.

 

There were also Cycla-Matic versions of both the Deluxe and Imperial models. These had manual defrost freezers and the refrigerator section of the top-freezer models also had a visible cold plate and no "flowing cold" (fan) cooling. The Cycla-Matic version of the bottom-freezer was offered in the Deluxe only and it did have a hidden cold-plate and a fan in the refrigerator section. 

 

The pictures 1 to 6 show the Deluxe top-freezer Frost-Proof for 1962 and pictures 7 to 10 show the Deluxe bottom-freezer Frost Proof model. 

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Here are some Imperial models from 1962. 

 

The first 6 pictures show the "Imperial Cycla-Matic" top-freezer model. From the outside, the Frost-Proof looks the same (but it says "Frost-Proof" instead of "Cycla-Matic). Inside, you can see the manual-defrost freezer and the visible cold plate. Note the "Meat-Tender" drawer that's missing in the Deluxe models and the butter conditioner. The top-freezer models of both Deluxe and Imperial series should have ice tray covers but they are often missing.

 

The pictures 7 to 10 show a 13 cubic-feet Imperial Frost-Proof bottom-freezer model with brushed-chrome doors. Compared to the 13 cu-ft Deluxe in my post above, you can see the extra chrome trim on the cabinet, the foot-pedal opener for the freezer door, the half-shelf over the (missing) Meat-Tender drawer, the butter conditioner and extra storage beside it in the refrigerator door. 

 

The last 3 pictures show the 5¾" taller Imperial 15 cu-ft model in Turquoise with the "picture window" hydrator, an extra shelf in the refrigerator section and egg drawers instead of door-mounted egg trays. More pictures of the exact same model in this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/33723086@N02/galleries/72157622708092179/

 

BTW, all the pre-1964 Frost-Proof Frigidaires are 32" wide and either 64" or 69¾" tall and their capacity range from 13 to 16 cu-ft.

In 1964, larger 19 Cu-ft models were introduced and in 1965, smaller 12 cu-ft Frost-Proof models with 60" tall cabinets were introduced. The 12 cu-ft models for the US market were narrower at 30" and the Canadian ones remained 32" wide.

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And as Ralph said, there's the "Tech Talk" document for the complete 1962 Frigidaire refrigerator lineup available here:

 http://www.automatice.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi?showdoc~1231~~

 

There's a download fee but these are high quality scans! I do have the paper version but these are so nice that I buy them anyway!

 

If you need information on other models/years or on something you spotted, let us know!

 

Frost-Proof refrigerators that are 50 years old are more complicated and not as energy efficient as other models which don't have fans, defrost heaters and timers that can go wrong. Some of their parts are getting hard to find so be aware that if you're getting something like that. It might be in very nice shape but keep in mind that it may eventually fail and these are sometimes hard to fix! And most are in continuous duty even if they are lightly used! That's probably why they are now harder to find than a Flair range (which can be complicated to fix too!).  But I have to say that they are among my favorite appliances and I'm quite happy and proud to own and use a few of them!

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Thank you all so much for the information as this is new territory for me. I am dying to put vintage appliances back in my unremodeled kitchen.

I am attaching a picture of the fridge I am considering and a close up of the badge as it doesn't look like most I have seen in the photos. I have asked the seller if they know the production year so I can do some very direct research but if this fridge looks familiar to anyone, please let me know what information you know about model year.

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This is a 1963 model, FPD-14T-63,  FP stands for "Frost-Proof", "D" for "Deluxe", "14" for "14 cubic-feet" and "T" for "Top freezer"

 

I have the (Canadian-made) Imperial version from the same year (FPI-14TC-63).

 

See the yellow #8 in the two-page ad in the link below (I also attached the picture but the text is too small to read). The yellow #1 is the similar Imperial version.

 

The differences between both are the vertical chrome trim on the doors behind the handles on the Imperial that is missing on the Deluxe, the stainless trim on the edge of the Imperial cabinet also missing on the Deluxe and the door emblems (one metal emblem on the freezer door on the Deluxe, one on each door with clear plastic inserts on the Imperial).   Inside, the Imperial has aluminum shelves, a butter conditioner and a meat drawer on the top shelf. 

 

If you're used to a newer refrigerator, you'll notice that these have a relatively narrow space between their non-adjustable shelves. It's quite common that owners of these fridges remove one of the shelves (and the meat drawer) to accommodate taller items.


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Thanks!

Thanks PhilR ! This is great information. So it doesn't look like I'm missing out on a lot of "must have" luxuries between the two models.

Can you give me a quick summary of any issues I should look out for specifically on this model when I go to see it in person?
 
Before you go to see it, you should ask the seller if it's already plugged and if it's not, ask that it be plugged and running on the coldest setting for two days before you see it.

Visually inspect it for damaged seals, plastics, missing parts like door shelf retainers, cabinet rust, etc. (Frigidaire refrigerators don't rust that much compared to other brands but it can happen).

Have a thermometer (or two!) to check the temperatures in the freezer and food sections. You want the freezer to be at least a few degrees below 0°F at the coldest setting, the refrigerator section could be too cold too, around or below 32°F. These refrigerators defrost their freezers twice a day so unless the defrost cycle took place in the last 2-3 hours, that's what you should see. Turning the cold control towards "off" should make the compressor cycle off much before you reach the "off" position. Turning it back to the coldest setting might not make it start again immediately if the temperatures are still very cold inside, leave the doors open and wait until it restarts.

 

Look for water dripping or frost at the top of the refrigerator section. If there's a trace of water or frost, it's likely caused by bad (wet) foam insulation under the evaporator. That's a common issue with old Frost-Proof refrigerators and it's usually not a big problem to fix but it can be annoying if not fixed.  The easy way to fix that is to stick a heated wire underneath the foam so it dries the insulation before it drips. The other way is to replace the insulation but that's not easy and finding the replacement molded foam might be impossible or almost! 

 

Then, look for noises from the fan motor (there's just one, located in the freezer in this model), the compressor, look for oil leaks at the electrical connections under the compressor. If it's noisy, it could be a tired compressor but it could also be caused by hardened rubber mounts, there are two for the compressor and another one at the front for the superheat coil. The defrost timer could be noisy too. It's located under the refrigerator accessible when you remove the lower aluminum trim plate (to remove, open the refrigerator door, grasp the lower section and pull on it, then just lift it out of it's top anchors).

 

If you have a multimeter, you can have an extension cord with a ground connection, and plug one probe of the multimeter in the ground connection of the extension cord and the other probe on an unpainted part of the refrigerator (it could be a cabinet screw) to see if there's a current leak (you need to have the multimeter set to 200V AC). Reverse the plug of the refrigerator in the outlet (the 1963 models still have no ground or polarized plugs) and test again to see if there's a current leak. If there's one, it's likely the defrost heater that is shorted to the ground but it could be something else too!

 

Then you might want to manually advance the defrost timer to see if the defrost cycle works. First, look through the freezer air inlets (under the freezer floor) with a flashlight to see if there's any visible frost on the evaporator. If there is, it should melt during the defrost cycle.

If it still has the original style defrost timer, there's a metallic shaft that's visible from the front of the refrigerator (with the aluminum trim still removed). Turn it clockwise until you hear it "Click" and the compressor should stop. Then the defrost heater should melt the ice on the evaporator and the freezer floor might get warm in the next few minutes. Wait until the compressor restarts by itself at the end of the defrost cycle (that should take 10-18 minutes). Then, after 32 minutes, the defrost timer should reset back to "normal" and defrost again in 12 hours. (you should check that again!).  

 

 

I just took a few pics of my 1964 Frigidaire at home. The defrost cycle just took place a few minutes before I took the pics, the temperature in the freezer was still below 0°F (-20°C) as there is some food in the freezer that acts as a ballast but if it would be empty, the temperature would have gone up quite a bit. 

The second picture shows the evaporator fins that are barely visible but clear of frost under the plastic air inlet grille in the freezer.

 

The third and 4th pictures show the original type defrost timers in two different fridges. It's at the same location on the 1963 models. The red arrow on the 4th picture shows the advance shaft of the timer.

 

 I have no idea about how much you're going to pay for this fridge but if it's local and priced reasonably, you might want to do some of these tests at home before you put it in service, not at the seller's place! 

 

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This fridge is SHORT!!

I just received the measurements on the fridge I want and I didn't realize how short it was at 5'4". Are most of the refrigerators from this era that short? Maybe since I was a child of the 1970s I had a different perspective while looking up at these things and perhaps I'm too used to the more current 69" tall models. I really, really want the charm of a vintage, chromed out fridge but hope they made one a little taller.
 
Before you make the move to get a vintage fridge...

In 1963, a 64" fridge was a tall fridge! There was one model that was taller than that in the Frigidaire lineup and it was the biggest 15.53 cubic feet bottom-freezer model. Even that model was replaced by a shorter 66" tall "Imperial Nineteen" as the Top-Of-the-Line fridge for 1964.

 

 I have one 1963 69¾" tall fridge (the 15.53 cubic feet model) and it doesn't fit in my 1975 kitchen so I have it next to my Flair in my second kitchen at the back of my garage. The cabinets above the refrigerator at home are about 66" from the floor and the fridge needs some free space above it to let the air circulate to cool the condenser at the back). The cabinets at home won't allow anything larger than 32" so a 64" x 32" fridge is about the biggest I could fit there.  

 

The first pictures show my 1964 Frigidaire Imperial "Sweet Sixteen" (see the link below) 16 cu-ft refrigerator which has the exact same dimensions as the 1963 Deluxe you looked at. It sits on the optional Frigidaire adjustable roller kit so it's 64¾" tall but it could be adjusted to more than 65" with these. I just compared it with the 1998 GE Profile bottom freezer fridge that I have in the basement (which used to be in the same spot in the kitchen before I got the 1964, see the last 3 pictures) and the 1998 GE is 65¼ tall, so just 1/2" taller and it's also narrower by 2" at 30".

 

 There's a few other things you should take into account about early 1960s refrigerators.

First, they're not as energy efficient!

 

They aren't as easy to repair as some NLA parts require some research, which means time, money and probably multiple service calls and a possibility that you have a non-usable fridge for an extended period of time in that eventuality. That never happened to me but it happened to others!

 And they are usually not as space-efficient as new models are! The 1998 GE downstairs has almost 2 extra cubic feet of interior space as it has a lower freezer floor and an evaporator that is cleverly located in the space between the floor of the refrigerator and the top of the freezer compartment. And my 1964 refrigerator is insulated with the new-for-1964 urethane foam so it has thinner walls than any 1963 Frigidaire models (which were insulated with fiberglass insulation). The foam insulation of some 1964 and newer models increases the interior space by approximately 2 cubic feet when comparing to those with fiberglass insulation and the same exterior cabinet size. So comparing a fiberglass-insulated 1963 fridge with a contemporary one with similar exterior dimensions means you loose about 4 cubic feet of interior volume.

 

But if you want the correct looks to match with your Flair, you'll have to accept that some progress has been made on the efficiency of refrigerators in the last 50 years! There are also advantages with the old ones, the nice porcelain-enamel interiors and drawers, the solid feeling of the doors, the thick chrome-plated handles and the recessed door seals make these look and feel nicer than most newer fridges in my opinion.

 

To me that's enough to keep the old one upstairs and the 1998 GE Profile downstairs but some people won't accept to trade their energy efficient fridges with their spill proof glass shelves, their automatic ice makers and their larger interior volume for a 50 years old fridge that has none of these features! Some won't even want to have the older one running in the basement as they are too expensive to run! I've been testing one of my old fridges for more than two years with a watt-meter/calculator and it spends just a bit more than $100 of electricity per year at the rate we pay here. That means it would spend almost $300 in the states where Electricity is near $0.20/kWh... To some, that a lot of money but it all depends of our priorities!  I have a friend who will spend more than that at the bar in one single night but he's trying hard to lower his electricity bill as he hates spending on electricity as much as he likes spending at the bar!


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Thanks for all the considerations, Phil. I really like the look of your Imperial model in your kitchen. I don't think my 1960 kitchen was ever remodeled but the opening for the fridge allows for a 32" wide and a 70" tall fridge (the bottom of the upper cabinets come in at 72" so there is plenty of room for ventilation).

I am fine with the lack of energy efficiency for an older model because it's the look that I'm really going for as long as it will hold my stuff. My home doesn't have a basement or any other area for a 2nd fridge or freezer, so this is my primary and only refrigerator. The Flair has the optional vent hood and stands 5"10 and I can't imagine the fridge (which stands right beside the Flair) being 6" inches shorter than my stove.

I love the look of the glossy flat front fridges all trimmed out in gleeming chrome accents and handles but it may not be practical if I can't get a fridge that has a little more room than 12 cubit ft. I had no idea this would be so difficult to find everything I need.
 
The difference in old and new is...

The old fridges not only keep your food better,they are much easier to live with, I like that they are not so deep that they stick out halfway into your kitchen like most of the new monstrosities do, this also means you have narrow shelves in the door and the main shelves come out farther, thus you don't have to climb inside of the box to retrieve anything at the back...the new fridges are just plain awful, I know I have one, and as soon as I find a nice Cycla Matic im going to get RID of the new one!!!!!I personally don't care for Frost Free, I don't mind defrosting..
 
If you want something that matches the height of your Flair and vent hood, the tallest Frigidaire model is what you need then! The Frost-Proof version was made from 1958 to 1963. Their interior volume vary from 14.2 to 15.53 cu-ft and the older ones are more complex and smaller in volume. Their freezer isn't very big either...

If you rely on a single fridge and no extra freezer, that might be an issue! I would think twice before getting a fridge that's more than 50 years old and not even having a spare in case it breaks! 

 

If you don't mind defrosting the freezer, a cycle-defrost model like Hans suggested might be a good alternative as they run smaller compressors, they are more efficient if defrosted regularly and there are a lot less parts that can go wrong. 

 

On both the Frost-Proof and Cycla-Matic models, the top freezer models are a bit more simple and less prone to complicated failures. The hidden cold plates in the refrigerator section of the bottom-freezer models (both Cycla-Matic and pre-1963 Frost-Proof models) are hidden behind the refrigerator liner and they are more prone to refrigerant leaks. They also require an extra fan in the bottom-freezer version VS top freezer (one fan instead of none in the Cycla-Matic versions and two instead of one in the Frost-Proof).

 

I didn't have issues with my 1961 bottom-freezer Frost-Proof refrigerator but I've been told by Frigidaire techs that they caused more problems than the 1963 and later versions. The 1963 bottom-freezer models switched to a single fan, no cold plate and an thermostatic bellows-actuated airflow control for the refrigerator section like the top-freezer models already had and that was a bit less complicated (a single thermostat, a single fan motor, no cold plate that can potentially leak in the fridge).

 

I have absolutely no experience with the newer 33" wide 19 cubic feet models as these weren't available in Canada but these were made more like new refrigerators with the evaporator core at the back of the freezer instead of under it (GE had already done that before Frigidaire). They also had a fan-cooled condenser and no coils at the back. They went back to having two separate fan motors that circulated the air from both the freezer and refrigerator in two separate sections of the evaporator. 

 

To compare the height of a 69¾" tall refrigerator, a 64" and a Flair with the vent hood, here are one of each beside a Flair...

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May be going with a similar year GE model now...

Thanks to all of you who have given me input on this decision. It seems that the 69" model is rare to come by - not to mention I'm getting impatient to bring this project to a close - so I have found a complete vintage kitchen that is being parted out and I am seriously considering their GE. It's a bottom freezer with the lazy susan shelves in the fridge. It's still in use in the kitchen every day but they want to remodel and now everything is up for sale - including the cabinets and vintage trash compactor. Here is a picture of the model but I don't have any specifics on it yet.

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