mach
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 135
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Post by mach on Mar 19, 2018 17:15:08 GMT
First, I'm extremely grateful to have found this forum. I've been reading for the last couple of days. I'm as excited as a llittle kid to get my CF back in action. I found my flat top several years ago at a used appliance store. It was running off in a dark corner, buried behind boxes, and in much the same shape as shown below. Long story short, the owner saw me coming, I paid too much, knew nothing about what I was buying and it still makes me smile everytime I see it. So, I bought new seals and started down the repaint path but got scared off when I saw the SO2 tag. I can't smell much of anything and in a sealed building, I wasn't keen on finding a leak the hard way. So its sat forlornly in my workshop ever since while I wondered what to do with it. After Google led me here, I read with great interest the r124 experiment. Not sure how I'm going to get the SO2 swapped but I'll figure it out. So with renewed motivation and supplies ordered for rewiring, I say thank you for all the amazing information. More pics as progress occurs but I wanted to say Hello and thanks!
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Post by Travis on Mar 19, 2018 17:34:07 GMT
Good luck with your unit. I would not be too concerned about the so2.
I would suspect that the unit needs to be rewired but you would have to take a look, some of them are OK.
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Post by coldspaces on Mar 19, 2018 18:21:25 GMT
Yes good luck! The wiring inside of the cabinet for the lights was good on my 38 so I left it. The wiring outside of the cabinet could be dried out. The so2 normally doesn't leak out unless the system is damaged such as defrosting the coil with a sharp tool, major no no. I have solder new wires on more than a few monitor top compressors now. The first time was the 38 flat top, I was nervous that time. Now I don't worry about it. It would take a lot more heat than a soldering the wires on to make the glass sealed terminals leak.
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Post by ckfan on Mar 19, 2018 21:04:53 GMT
Nice flat top you’ve got there. Like the others have said, and you already know, requiring is a must on all of these but only replace what you need to. If the wire is still nice and pliable, leave it alone. These things rarely leak on their own accord. Like really rarely. Damaging a line or defrosting the evaporator forcefully are the only two ways that it can leak out. A word of caution though, be mindful of the line coming out of the bottom of the compressor, and the lines going to the bottom of the condenser plate. Those are more at risk of getting hit. Otherwise, check for rust and apply rust proofing paint where needed. I run one in my house and don’t worry about it at all. Even if it does leak you will know pretty quick and will be able to open some windows and put some fans up.
Of course don’t let that discourage you from switching it over. It should purr like a kitten on 124.
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mach
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 135
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Post by mach on Mar 20, 2018 15:03:19 GMT
Thanks gentlemen, I'll rewire and make sure it's still working before I swap to r124. Who knows, I may change my mind after rewiring. Looking forward to the adventure either way.
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Post by elec573 on Mar 21, 2018 4:51:31 GMT
Welcome Mach ! Its always great to welcome new members !
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mach
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 135
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Post by mach on Mar 24, 2018 0:51:02 GMT
Thanks Elec! Good to be here. I've been doing reading and searching for parts and tools while I'm away from the fridge on a business trip. Also accruing quite a favor deficit, as I keep asking my good natured wife to go to the garage to take pictures. I hadn't opened the fridge in years and so I was exceedingly pleased with what I believe is a completely intact interior. Glass drawer cover and cold storage tray look good. Was there a cover for the cold storage tray in the CF units? The only part that I'm missing is the decorative base grille which I thinks is the same part from 39-41. Does anyone know if they're interchangeable across model years? The Scotch Yoke manual mentions different attachment mechansims for various drawer options but not if they can be swapped. Is there a parts catalog pdf floating around? Attached is the grille on a porcelain CF from ebay.
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Post by stlvortac on Mar 24, 2018 20:33:57 GMT
Nice Flat top! I rewired my entire fridge except for the cabinet light, the cord literally looked brand new and it saved me from having to cut into the insulation to rewire it. I wouldn't worry about the so2. Mine seems to have a correct charge so I assume if its made it this far I shouldn't have anything to worry about. Make sure to defrost it the old fashioned way, let the ice melt off. Putting a pan of hot water on the evap after startup from defrost will help to remove any oil built up in the evap.
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mach
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 135
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Post by mach on Mar 24, 2018 21:24:20 GMT
Thanks! And thanks for the tip on the defrost. Rewiring will be the first thing that I do. Your wires under the top showed signs of age too?
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Post by birkie on Mar 25, 2018 3:14:04 GMT
That's nice! It's much less common to find them with drawers and "cold storage" tray intact. 1941 is also a good year. Those were the most refined in terms of features and tweaks/improvements. There were some models made in 1942 (the last year the scotch yoke machines were manufactured), but I think they had porcelain evaporators due to the unavailability of stainless steel during war time.
I'm not sure all came with covers on the cold storage tray.
You may have luck looking on craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for a cheap machine to harvest parts from.
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mach
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 135
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Post by mach on Mar 25, 2018 8:52:55 GMT
Thanks Birkie, after finding an old brochure, I don't think this one had a grille. I believe it's a Utility Six Extra optioned fridge which means value priced ie no special add-ons like the Deluxe, or Royale including the grille. It does have the cold storage and veg drawer which makes it "Extra".
I've got some old brochures coming to verify. I'd like to find an old sales catalog to be sure. Old newspaper ads will be my next stop.
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Post by coldspaces on Mar 25, 2018 13:22:41 GMT
My 40 Hotpoint has a kick plate that looks like a car grill.
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mach
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 135
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Post by mach on Mar 25, 2018 13:33:44 GMT
I'd guess it's the same part, as FIG 280 in the scotch manual shows a whole laundry list of models between 40 and 41 that share the same cabinet type. We'll look at this, a 1941 GE refrigerator catalog. Not sure this is linked already but finding this made my day. 😀 archive.org/details/GeneralElectricRefrigerators
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mach
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 135
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Post by mach on Apr 4, 2018 22:14:01 GMT
Well that sucks, I found a replacement chiller tray on eBay today that is right for my fridge. I got this email from the seller just now
I packaged up your item and put it by the mailbox at my house and the mail person ran over the box.
Back to searching...
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Post by ckfan on Apr 4, 2018 23:21:47 GMT
Well that sucks, I found a replacement chiller tray on eBay today that is right for my fridge. I got this email from the seller just now I packaged up your item and put it by the mailbox at my house and the mail person ran over the box.
Back to searching...That’s terrible! So sorry to hear that.
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