Antique GE Fridge restoration

[andy]

I bought one of these over the weekend:

http://www.constructionjunction.org...12865455-GE monitor-top refrigerator $400.JPG

It's my first, and hopefully only, antique fridge. Has anyone here restored one? Do you have any tips that will save me time, trouble, or money? Is there a pdf of the repair manual around? Are there any good vintage appliance forums?

It's in very good condition apart from the door seal, missing one of the shelves, and the door handle is missing. I plugged it in, and it does cool, and the compressor was quiet.

My biggest concern is the brittle rubber wiring between the compressor and thermostat, and the compressor and AC line in junction box. It looks like it could be a real nightmare to replace this wiring. There doesn't appear to be any way to get to the wiring without bending some of the refrigerant lines in the evaporator area. I hate to leave dry rubber insulation, but I'm tempted to leave it as is rather than risk damaging the evaporator. Can anything be done to restore and preserve the rubber which is intact, but rock hard?

I'll post some pictures tomorrow night.

 

[onepixel]

There was a member that posted some incredibly beautiful fridge restorations a number of years ago. Don't remember who but you might be able to find him in search.

Cool fridge you got there. Good luck!

 

[Sandy G]

Saw a few unrestored ones over the years. You never know-there's usually an outfit in most larger cities that sells, or can get, parts for these things-They might be able to still get stuff for yours. Worth a shot !

 

[Jailtime]

There was a member that posted some incredibly beautiful fridge restorations a number of years ago. Don't remember who but you might be able to find him in search.

I think Similost has one. Dunno if he ever posted pics of it.

 

[diamondsouled]

You might be able to remove the rubber carefully and replace it with heat shrink.

Cheers

Lar

 

[RickB]

Look here:
http://www.antiqueappliances.com/monitor_top_refrigerators.htm

I just did an ixquick search and that was one of the first things that was listed for "GE Monitor Top refrigerator...

 

[tshoejohn]

Look here:
http://www.antiqueappliances.com/monitor_top_refrigerators.htm

I just did an ixquick search and that was one of the first things that was listed for "GE Monitor Top refrigerator...

A bit of caution with these fridges-

“All of these models were cooled with one of two refrigerants used during this time, sulfur dioxide or methyl formate”

From Wikipedia:
“The first refrigerator to see widespread use was the General Electric "Monitor-Top" refrigerator introduced in 1927. The compressor assembly, which emitted a great deal of heat, was placed above the cabinet, and surrounded with a decorative ring. Over 1,000,000 units were produced. As the refrigerating medium, these refrigerators used either sulfur dioxide, which is corrosive to the eyes and may cause loss of vision, painful skin burns and lesions, or methyl formate, which is highly flammable, harmful to the eyes, and toxic if inhaled or ingested. Many of these units are still functional today. These cooling systems cannot legally be recharged with the hazardous original refrigerants if they leak or break down..”

 

[andy]

Thanks for the suggestions. I had seen www.antiqueappliances.com, and they should be good for the door gasket, if nothing else.

I plan to be very careful when working on it. I'm working in an open garage, and will wear a full face shield when doing anything with the compressor.

Hopefully it will be a fun project, and result in a good beer fridge.

 

[PioneerGuy75]

Holy cow! I saw one very similar in a house we were working in a while back!!
This one was much larger, looked like an icebox at first, but had the compressor on top just like that!

THis one was left by a previous owner of the house (Couldn't get it out of the basement I would imagine!)

NICE FIND!!!

Good luck restoring it and BE CAREFUL!!

Cheers!

 

[andy]

...THis one was left by a previous owner of the house (Couldn't get it out of the beseent I would imagine!)

NICE FIND!!!

Good luck restoring it and BE CAREFUL!!

Cheers!

Those 2 and 3 door models are worth quite a bit of money, but I can't imagine having to move one.

The whole thing is made of steel, so it's VERY heavy. It was pretty much a straight shot from the room where it was to the back of my SUV, but even then it was difficult to move. It was tricky because the top cover and compressor are all one piece and just sits on top. The top is very heavy, has sticky rubber gaskets holding it on, and the fragile evaporator coils on the bottom. We tried to lift it off, but it was impossible without two more people, and more space to work. We ended up strapping the top on, tipping it on its side with an appliance dolly, and then unstrapping it and sliding off the top. We had to make two trips (one with the box, and the other with the compressor). Needless to say, I had the windows rolled down for the entire compressor trip. I hated putting it on its side, but there was no other way under those conditions. I just hope it still works when I get it back together.

This is the second one of these I've seen in Austin. I guess they were popular in the South because of the heat. The other one was outside and very rusty.

It's at the new house, where I'll be working tonight and can take some pictures.

 

[PioneerGuy75]

I hated putting it on its side, but there was no other way under those conditions. I just hope it still works when I get it back together.

Let it sit upright for at least 24 hours before plugging it back in! When tipped sideways the compressor oil goes where it shouldn't and you want to make sure it's all back in the right places first!

 

[andy]

I plan to give it a few days upright before I turn it on again.

Here are some pictures. Unfortunately, it's not very accessible, and I didn't want to move it again right now. I'm starting a major remodel on a new house, so moving heavy fridges isn't a top priority!

I think most of the rust inside is just dirt, and from the shelves. You can see the problem with getting to the wiring. I assume there must be screw terminals on the bottom of the compressor, but it's hidden inside that box the evaporator attaches to. Short of cutting the evaporator lines, I think the only way in there would be to cut a hole in the metal plate that the evaporator is screwed to. It's heavy enameled steel, so I would hate to cut it. The sides are just cardboard, so maybe I can at least get a look at what's under there, but there isn't enough room to work. I think I'll have to leave the wiring as is and hope for the best.

 

[andy]

Good news, the wiring will be easy to replace. I have it sitting on bricks, and I was able to remove some of the cardboard from the front. After removing the insulation, I can easily get to the compressor connections without having to bend any of the refrigerant lines. Fortunately, they used soldered connections instead of screws, which would have been difficult to get to with a screwdriver.

While I have it apart, I might replace the paper insulation with fiberglass.

 

[koseltri]

I just bought this fridge for $150 at a yard sale. The guy said it worked when he bought it, doesn't now. It has a small ally plate riveted to the outside that says it uses R-12, so it must be one of the first to do so. It should be relatively inexpensive to repair, since there are no dangerous refrigerants and no retrofitting necessary. Can't wait to start the mancave project now!

 

[RossW]

Real R12 is $$$...

Nice fridges. Back in college my dorm had an old GE fridge that we used as a beer fridge. Good times.

 

[OvenMaster]

These cooling systems cannot legally be recharged with the hazardous original refrigerants if they leak or break down..”

Okay. So what do you recharge them with?
Tom

 

[andy]

I've been too busy with the house to think about it, but here are a couple of shots of it all back together. It was a job to reassemble it and move it! It's so top heavy that it's scary to move, even on an appliance dolly. If you tilt it a little too far back on the dolly, it gets very heavy very quickly. It felt like it would have been easy to have it come crashing down.

It's been in use for about 3 weeks no problems. It's very quiet, and doesn't seem to run much. I monitored the temperature for a few days, and it stayed within a degree of 38 all the time with it only on 3/9. It was the only fridge in the house for about a week (while the new one was on order). It worked fine apart from the lack of a proper freezer. It's the basement bar fridge now.

koseltri, yours is one of the last generation of monitor tops. Does the compressor run, but it just doesn't get cold?

 

[koseltri]

I don't get to bring it home 'til Tues. He didn't actually say what behavior it exhibited or what he thinks failed. As far as the R-12 charge, according to the plate it only has 9 1/4 oz. of refrigerant, so a new compressor would cost quite a bit more ($250 range for a 1/8 hp) than the charge. The compressor is the size of a large 'dorm' compact type.

 

[hpsenicka]

It would be fascinating to measure the power consumption of one of these old beasts using a Kill-A-Watt, or similar device.

 

[andy]

It would be fascinating to measure the power consumption of one of these old beasts using a Kill-A-Watt, or similar device.

I suspect it would be better than you'd expect since it's small, and not frost free. If I ever make some measurements, I'll post back with the results.

While I had it apart, I replaced the insulation. The original insulation was made of sheets of dimpled paper stacked and wrapped up in paper like a candy bar. It probably wasn't bad when it was new, but it was starting to fall apart, and had evidence of water damage. I would imagine its R value decreases a LOT when it's damp.

I replaced it with 3 layers of R-Max foam insulation board from Home Depot. It should last a long time, and it's water resistant. The edge pieces were in good condition, so I reused them (they are sort of an ultra low density particle board).