Quiet Conditions Last Night

[KM1H]

Thats the guy Todd. Say hi for me when you are in VT and tell him I'll try to have the amp at Nearfest.

[k4kyv]

Ah, yes - that would be what's known on here as the Big Fridge. Late 20s G.E., weighs in at a half ton or more. We had to remove one of the plate glass store windows to get it through into the back of the Penske truck. Then a group of us slid it on its back up through the window opening and onto some dollies we'd built waiting in the truck.

Does it still work?  The circa 1930 G.E. Monitor Top I used in the shack for cooling beverages worked great for a few years after I acquired it, but apparently the compressor blew a seal.  It made a strange noise, and then the motor kept on running with a different sound but it stopped cooling.  I can start it back up and it cools for a few minutes, then I hear the same noise, the sound from the motor changes, and it stops cooling. Apparently the 80 y.o. rubber or whatever they used for a seal finally gave way.

If I ever could find anyone who could repair it I would.  But I wouldn't attempt it myself.  The refrigerant it uses is sulphur dioxide - highly toxic and caustic.  Any attempt at repair needs to  be done by someone who knows exactly what they are doing, and has the proper tools and materials. In the meantime, I have been using it for parts storage.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Thats the guy Todd. Say hi for me when you are in VT and tell him I'll try to have the amp at Nearfest.

Will do, Carl. I'll be seeing him in a few days. I'm sure he'll be curious to find out what was causing the problems in that amp.

Does it still work?  The circa 1930 G.E. Monitor Top I used in the shack for cooling beverages worked great for a few years after I acquired it, but apparently the compressor blew a seal.  It made a strange noise, and then the motor kept on running with a different sound but it stopped cooling.  I can start it back up and it cools for a few minutes, then I hear the same noise, the sound from the motor changes, and it stops cooling. Apparently the 80 y.o. rubber or whatever they used for a seal finally gave way.

Technically-speaking, it did work when I bought it but with a replacement compressor mounted remotely. They had removed the original from the top some years before and a son-in-law who does refrigeration added the new one with R-12, I think. Sadly, the old compressor disappeared and I've yet to find one or even a picture of it. Being a commercial fridge it used a 220V 1/2 hp unit with 20 lbs of sulphur dioxide according to the tag which is still affixed. Found one fellow who says the larger units were custom made for commercial customers, though there's a 5 door like mine on ebay sans triple-pane glass doors right now. It's also missing the compressor. Fortunately I at least got the original mounting plate for the top of mine. It shows clearly where the compressor bolted on.

As far as your unit there Don, so long as it cools you're all set. There's a check valve and a relay or two that are notorious for hanging up and causing the symptoms you describe. Check around online and you'll find some group discussions covering it. Even if a relay needs replacing, you're still far better off than having the refrigerant leak out. Then it's toast, and it stinks pretty bad too.

So far I've resisted the urge to use mine for storage as I'm sure a glass pane would get broken at some point. Would make a helluva display case!

[Steve - K4HX]

That thing is not worth anything if it cannot keep beer cold.   

[k4kyv]

There's a check valve and a relay or two that are notorious for hanging up and causing the symptoms you describe.

But wouldn't replacing or repairing a check valve involve breaching the closed system that contains the sulphur dioxide?

In mine, the compressor mounts on top (looks like yours might have been similar), and the cooling unit extends down into the ice-box, which is identical to the old ice-boxes that actually held blocks of ice.  I have heard it said that early monitor tops actually consisted of the outboard refrigeration units that mounted on top of an existing original ice box.  A hole was cut in the top of the box to accommodate the one-piece add-on unit. With mine, the cooling unit can be lifted off the box as a single unit, but the box was manufactured by G.E. to go with the unit.  The weight of the unit forms a seal around the edge of the hole, using a composition gasket.

I knew an old man (now SK) who blinded himself back in the mid 1940s when he was squirted in the eyes with refrigerant while working on an old refrigerator, probably ammonia or sulphur dioxide.  He spent the rest of his life exercising his trade as a saw sharpener. He did it by hand and was said to be the best within a radius of hundreds of miles. To-day, a saw sharpener would be about as much in demand as a radio & TV repairman.

The refrigerator is called a "monitor top" because the top of the unit resembles the turret of the USS Monitor iron-clad battleship used during the Civil War.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

That thing is not worth anything if it cannot keep beer cold.   

...and has to reside in the garage because it won't fit through the typical doorway of a 'newer' home. I can't even get it through the double doors for the deck, too tall. And even if I could, it wouldn't fit through the kitchen doors. Blah!

But wouldn't replacing or repairing a check valve involve breaching the closed system that contains the sulphur dioxide?

I misspoke, Don - it's a float valve. You can check it to see if it's floating properly with a magnet, like an old horseshoe type or something with some scrote to it. You should have a round canister thing that looks like an upside-down funnel with a refrigerant line sticking out of it. Pretty sure that's where it resides. I'd try turning it on and listening to it run until it has its seizure, and note any clicks around that time. The earlier models like mine had a separate box for the controls with the relays providing easy access. If yours looks like the one in the photo, it's more likely a 32-34 model or later with the controls on the front of the compressor. The earlier ones had open coils on top and the separate controls mounted on the top plate.

Basically the early models were indeed iceboxes adapted for refrigeration and the compressor on top worked so well for GE that they just left it there for years ('Heat rises' and 'on top where it belongs' were some of their selling points). I don't hold out much hope of finding an original, working compressor so mine will end up using the updated evaporator and fan currently installed on the base inside with a remote compressor, but it would be nice to eventually find an original for looks, at least. It's probably half again or twice as large as the one in your shot.

[k4kyv]

Basically the early models were indeed iceboxes adapted for refrigeration and the compressor on top worked so well for GE that they just left it there for years ('Heat rises' and 'on top where it belongs' were some of their selling points).

They were right. A fridge would be more energy efficient if the compressor/motor combination weren't located at the bottom to heat up the food storage compartment and cause the unit to have to run more often, particularly after the inevitable water seepage has caused the insulation under the bottom to become less effective. Since you wouldn't want stoop all the way down to floor level to reach food at the bottom, the refrigerator stood up on legs.  I guess they eventually figured the typical housewife wouldn't want the fridge to be too tall to pile crap on top, and elevated off the floor enough to collect visible ghost turds in the space underneath, so styling won out over efficiency.

[K5UJ]

I know a guy with some kind of refrigerator, that let you remove the compressor and remote it, so he did that, actually putting it outside the box and IIRC, maybe even through the floor into the basement.  Anyway, he said if you do that so it can dissipate heat, it will never give out.   I have started trying to do the next best thing--I put a fan on mine and for about half the year when it is hot, I run the fan on the compressor.  I have shot temp readings on the compressor and without the fan, when it is running, it is up around 170 or 180 F. and with the fan on it, it is down to around 110.   Mine is a 35 to 40 year old GE and I want to keep it going.   It seems to be built better than the new ones.

[KB2WIG]

"35 to 40 year old GE and I want to keep it going.   It seems to be built better than the new ones"

I had a GM that worked very well untill I stabed one of the frosted lines and it bled out.

klc

[WD8BIL]

What does refridgerators have to do with band conditions???

Getting back to the subject........

The bands have been toast the last few nights with storm noise, so I thought.
Turned out to be a noisy motor control in my freezer!