gjr
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Post by gjr on Apr 24, 2017 17:39:20 GMT
Hi everyone, My mom has this refrigerator in her basement and it has been running well since my grandparents bought it when it was new, many years ago! Great shape including door wood, seals, cosmetic condition. I may be inheriting it depending on a few things... My big question is, will it run well in my garage here in PA? It's an attached garage, insulated but not heated. The garage interior will get down to 45° on only the coldest winter nights. Will that cause issues with the thermostat/internal temperature of this refrigerator? Other questions- does this unit run on freon? And, if I don't want to tackle problems myself down the road, are there others on this board who have had professional appliance repair people work on their units, or all you all doing your own repairs? If you've used outside help, is it hard to find someone willing to work on it? Thanks for any insight!
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Post by ckfan on Apr 24, 2017 18:13:52 GMT
Welcome to the forum GJR, That looks like a very nice FEA you have there. Most of them are missing the blue knob and the printed decal around it. The FEA series were issues as replacements for monitor tops that developed issues or died long after their warranty ran out. The cabinet that yours is on, which is in very nice shape, would have originally had a very early DR type machine on it. Probably dates it to around 1927-1928. The FEA unit however is much newer and was made sometime during the 40s. Adding grease to the hinges and the latch will add many years of life to them. First things first. You mention that the door seal is in good shape. I am assuming that the cabinet has its original cloth rope type seal. If so, you should have no problems with it as long as it isn't frayed and it is still making good contact with the cabinet. It should offer resistance to a dollar bill being pulled out when the door is closed on the bill. The other thing to note is that there is a seal that sits between the unit and the cabinet. Go ahead and inspect the area where the top plate that the evaporator is bolted to meets the cabinet. There should be a good, pliable rubber seal in between. If there is not, or if it is in bad shape it will need to be replaced. We can help you find that no problem. The only other thing to note is that these FEA units have a condenser fan under the square cover. These fans have to be oiled periodically, say once every 6 months under normal use. If it has not been oiled in a while it will probably require quite a bit. Here is a thread that covers that piece of maintenance. monitortop.freeforums.net/thread/334/oil-fea-condenser-fan-motorOther than those minor things, there isn't much to go wrong. The only other things to check would be the condition of the tubing to make sure it isn't rusty, the condition of the condenser to make sure it isn't covered in dust, and the condition of the evaporator. Once the frost gets about a half inch thick you will need to turn the knob to defrost and let it sit and drip into a drip tray placed underneath for most or all of a day. After it is melted you can wipe it dry and turn it back to whatever setting you want. NEVER use a sharp object to scrape ice off. Simply let it melt off. If you follow these instructions, the unit will not have to work hard. Placing it in a garage will put more strain on it but as long as the fan is working right and is oiled, the condenser is clean, and the seals are in good shape it should have no problems. The heat will be more of an enemy to this unit vs. the cold. The only thing you might watch out for is the cabinet temperature during various conditions. You may have to adjust the thermostat warmer or colder to suit. Yes, this unit runs on "Freon" or R12 to be exact. You should have no problems finding someone to repair this unit if it ever develops a leak. As long as you don't abuse it though you should be perfectly fine. These things rarely leak. Another thing to note before moving it is that the compressor needs to be locked down during the move and unlocked after it is put into place. That way the compressor doesn't bounce itself around so much that it develops a line leak. The instructions to do that are listed here: monitortop.freeforums.net/thread/333/compressor-mount-locking-unlocking-instructionsOh, a couple more things. The unit on top is not held to the cabinet at all. Gravity is the only thing holding it on. So be careful when you are moving it. Either strap the unit to the cabinet with a firm ratchet strap or take it off completely and carefully put it into a crate to move it separately. When you do this you have to be careful when you set it down so you don't crush a line. I also think that the top cover is not bolted down so you may want to secure it as well. Last thing, these old units usually have old rubber insulation on the wiring. Some of them made during the war have cloth insulation like a few that I have. Either way, you will need to carefully check the wiring and make sure that it isn't in poor condition. If it is, it will need to be replaced. We can help guide you through that. I have rewired a freezer with the same unit and this will be much easier than that. I know that is a lot of info at once so please feel free to ask as many questions as you want. That is what we are here for. Good luck! P.S. these are the most reliable, fastest cooling, quietest, and most efficient (brutally so) monitor top units made.
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gjr
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Posts: 10
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Post by gjr on Apr 24, 2017 19:28:40 GMT
Thanks so much for the quick and informative reply!! This definitely gives me some confidence that I'm doing the right thing in trying to get this to my garage. The move will be expensive but hopefully worth it (mover wants to bring in four guys to lift it and bring it up the basement steps). I would make sure to lock the compressor, as you pointed out, and strap down the top. Good think you mentioned that. My concern about the garage temperature is that I see some new refrigerators marketed as "garage ready," meaning that their thermostats don't get fooled by cold ambient temperatures which cause the compressor to not kick in when needed. Here's a link with more info. I'm not sure if it applies to these antiques though... I guess I could do what you said and adjust the temperature to compensate: www.appliance-repair-it.com/garage-refrigerator.html
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Post by ckfan on Apr 24, 2017 19:33:42 GMT
Yes, it will take 4 good guys to move it up steps if they aren't using a dolly. I would suggest strapping it to a good appliance dolly if you can at all. The unit isn't very heavy but the cabinet will be very heavy.
As long as your garage ins't getting super hot (more than 100 degrees for an extended period of time) I would imagine that a unit as robust as an FEA would have no trouble. The older units might have an issue with that hot of an environment for an extended period though. Of course the lower the temperature, the easier it will be on the compressor. As the seasons change you will just have to adjust the thermostat to keep the right temperature. It shouldn't vary that much.
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Post by jnorris90 on Apr 24, 2017 19:54:07 GMT
I have my monitor top in a garage here in NC, and I have never had an issue with it. When they built these beasts back in the 30s, alot of people actually had them on their back porches, which would be much more extreme than a covered building would be. I have never had an issue with mine in the garage It doesnt phase it a bit! So i wouldnt worry about it!
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gjr
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Posts: 10
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Post by gjr on Apr 25, 2017 1:24:14 GMT
Thank you both for your reassurances. I'll take a closer look at the refrigerator and will let you know how things go. So glad I signed up to be a member of this great forum today!
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Post by Travis on Apr 25, 2017 1:46:03 GMT
If you want to make moving easier, remove the unit and remove the door and shelves. The door on that size cabinet weighs 70 lbs or so.
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 25, 2017 2:32:34 GMT
Welcome to the forum, that is a nice looking cabinet and FEA.
As for the control being bother by cold on modern frigs, most modern units have the control in the 40 degree box,if you put a frig like that in a cold garage it will not run enough to keep the freezer cold. Your FEA has the control sensing tube hooked right to the evaporator coil, it will still be cycling on at 45 but not a lot and the freezer in a Monitor Top is not that cold to start with so you won't have any ice cream in it to melt anyway. If your garage was getting real cold there is a bit of chance that cold oil on start up could have too much R12 condensed in it but at 45 and above you should be ok
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gjr
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Posts: 10
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Post by gjr on Apr 25, 2017 19:26:20 GMT
Thanks for the info, guys! Here's the plaque I found on the top of the case. Also, looks like I may have been wrong about the door seal. The black vinyl seal looks good but I didn't realize that there's probably supposed to also be a cloth seal which was probably worn and taken completely off at some time. Where would I be able to find a seal to replace it? Maybe I can use some general home weatherstripping from Lowe's in the meantime?
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Post by ckfan on Apr 25, 2017 20:06:42 GMT
That plaque places the date at 1945 I believe. The door seal looks good, you aren't going to find a rope seal that will look like the original seal anyway. I would just leave it alone if it looks good.
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gjr
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Posts: 10
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Post by gjr on Apr 25, 2017 21:05:28 GMT
Ok- great! Thought maybe the indented wood section was meant to hold another seal. Thanks.
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gjr
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Posts: 10
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Post by gjr on Apr 25, 2017 21:17:55 GMT
I also wonder if someone can please explain the control options of this fridge- on the left side of the blue dial are "1,2,3,4," center says "Normal," and on the right are "A,B,C,D, Off." I searched for a manual for this model but came up empty. Thanks in advance!
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 26, 2017 2:21:03 GMT
Your cold control should have a date on it also, two of my FEA units have Jan 44 and Jan 45 on them, I often wonder who rated getting a replacement unit during war time.
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Post by ckfan on Apr 26, 2017 15:50:33 GMT
Clockwise makes the unit run colder, counter clockwise makes it run warmer. The A, B, C, D are settings that are warmer than "normal" and are only used if you don't open the door much or are going on vacation (or have the unit in a cold garage). The numbers past "normal" indicate colder settings. "4" would be frigid.
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gjr
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Posts: 10
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Post by gjr on Apr 26, 2017 17:20:58 GMT
Perfect explanation. Thanks! Two more questions if you don't mind:
1) What would you recommend I use to clean up/protect the exterior finish a bit... would good quality auto polish/wax be ok to use? 2) About the interior- I noticed some discoloration on the floor of the fridge because recently there was a small amount of sitting water on the bottom when the door was closed and unit turned off. Would barkeeper's friend or a similar scrub harm the finish on the inside?
Thanks again!!
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