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Post by sheeplady on Jun 27, 2018 3:42:43 GMT
This freezing block is awesome. It is very pretty (the GE logo is a very nice touch). Tactile feel is great. birkie has not yet made me a martini with the DR ice. I will report back my findings once I have conducted my own experiment. I may also need to run a gin and tonic test...stay tuned. |
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mach
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 135
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Post by mach on Jun 27, 2018 4:35:13 GMT
Wow, great video and analysis! I'm putting the slight size difference down to shrink. I'll laser cut some slightly larger templates to adjust. The color match is pretty good. Not sure on the logo. Seeing it next to the original, I'm not crazy about it. Probably still need a mark to indicate its a repro but not the quarter size logo. I was thinking that I'd cast silicone bronze as well but the thermal conductivities are much worse. A shorter block is as easy as shortening the foam blank. On the bow, I'll pay closer attention to the foam next time. It's likely the drywall mud flexing the foam as it dries. I'll look at thinner layers. With the size validation, I'll do some additional testing. This freezing block is awesome. It is very pretty (the GE logo is a very nice touch). Tactile feel is great. birkie has not yet made me a martini with the DR ice. I will report back my findings once I have conducted my own experiment. I may also need to run a gin and tonic test...stay tuned. Lol, not the testing we want but the testing we need! 😀 |
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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 27, 2018 14:04:13 GMT
OK an update - mach sent me the cast freezing block last week, and I was able to test it out. The results are fascinating. I took some video and created a playlist of the freezing block in action in a recently acquired (and un-restored) DR2. The playlist: Testing cast freezing blocks in a DR2
Wow, thanks for making the videos! It impresses me that GE sold a 5 pound ice tray with these machines! That is really a test, making the compressor work that long that hard.
I noticed that the DR2 in your video has quite a few areas that have blue masking tape on them. Just have to ask what's up there? I am probably totally wrong, but that makes me think you're working on re-gluing parts or preparing for paint work?
One thing I fault YouTube for is the automatic advance of the playlist. This is frustrating when you are creating a comment, and the video ends before the comment is finished. Your comment is lost when the playlist advances. If I remember, they used to have a selectable AutoPlay Off/On slider on the playlist - but that is gone now.
It's good that you posted the individual video links as well.
Mach; your casting job sure turned out well. Love the GE logo cast into the block. Such a nice finishing touch! The freezing block really got the job done, too!
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Post by birkie on Jun 28, 2018 0:00:51 GMT
Wow, great video and analysis! I'm putting the slight size difference down to shrink. I'll laser cut some slightly larger templates to adjust. The color match is pretty good. Not sure on the logo. Seeing it next to the original, I'm not crazy about it. Probably still need a mark to indicate its a repro but not the quarter size logo. It was impressive how it worked out - especially since you don't have a DR for immediate feedback. So I thought it'd be a good idea to show firsthand how they're essential to the process, and how well nicely it performed! turbokinetic 's videos were sort of an inspiration for style (though I found dumping the clips into a playlist easier than editing). I kinda like the GE logo, but can see your point. I noticed that the DR2 in your video has quite a few areas that have blue masking tape on them. Just have to ask what's up there? I am probably totally wrong, but that makes me think you're working on re-gluing parts or preparing for paint work? It's a porcelain cabinet with monel trim around the edges - the trim holds the porcelain panels in place. The tape is there because the panels are loose and the cabinet is quite leaky. Restored, it'd look something like this one. (though I don't believe for a minute I'd do half as good of a job as timeswelding did on that cabinet) |
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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 28, 2018 2:16:15 GMT
....It's a porcelain cabinet with monel trim around the edges - the trim holds the porcelain panels in place. The tape is there because the panels are loose and the cabinet is quite leaky. Restored, it'd look something like this one. (though I don't believe for a minute I'd do half as good of a job as timeswelding did on that cabinet) Interesting! That would indeed be a good reason to put tape on the joints. The one in the linked thread, done my timeswelding is really a work or art, BTW.  |
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Post by birkie on Jul 8, 2018 19:51:54 GMT
My goodness, so cool (and productive). They look great! So what did you chose as the makers mark on this batch?
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Post by turbokinetic on Jul 8, 2018 21:58:51 GMT
My goodness, so cool (and productive). They look great! So what did you chose as the makers mark on this batch?
One of the things I love about this group of people here is how things get done after the discussion gets going. That has disappointed me about so many other online communities. Grand plans are discussed, but nothing materializes. Here we have everything from semi-hermetic compressor rebuilds, to home foundry projects, to alternative refrigerant testing; as well as seeing the networking working out so well. An ad gets posted and then the next post is a picture of the fridge in the back of someone's pickup headed to a new home!
I realize there aren't a whole lot of online communities which are productive like this one.
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mach
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 135
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Post by mach on Jul 8, 2018 22:00:36 GMT
These were the original batch of foams so some have the GE logo and some are blank. Half are 4% bigger to account for shrinkage that we saw on the first ones. I think the bowing is due to uneven cooling when I pull them out of the sand before they are cool. A few minutes in the hydraulic press and they're flat. One of the things I love about this group of people here is how things get done after the discussion gets going. That has disappointed me about so many other online communities. Grand plans are discussed, but nothing materializes. Here we have everything from semi-hermetic compressor rebuilds, to home foundry projects, to alternative refrigerant testing; as well as seeing the networking working out so well. An ad gets posted and then the next post is a picture of the fridge in the back of someone's pickup headed to a new home! I realize there aren't a whole lot of online communities which are productive like this one. Agreed this is a pretty amazing community. How short are the DRA freezing blocks? Same width and height but shorter right? I found 1 & 2 inch foam at home depot so I can make the thicker ones that Travis mentioned. Can someone check me on the dimensions? Travis mentioned larger ones. Which refrigerator do these go to? The old ones are 4 3/8” x 9 1/4” |
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Post by birkie on Jul 9, 2018 3:20:12 GMT
I'll see about getting a measurement on the DRA2 tomorrow morning before I head out on our vacation, but the length is the only dimension that is different. As far as the larger blocks, Travis would know better than I, but think those were only in earliest (1927) models.
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Post by birkie on Jul 9, 2018 15:32:32 GMT
Looks like the DRA2 takes a 6 1/2" long block.
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Post by Travis on Jul 9, 2018 15:33:39 GMT
The oldest DR's (27-29) would have had the larger freezing blocks. I am not sure when the newer smaller blocks were released. In my opinion, they might have been an updated version made after the machines were first built. In other words, all oven evaporator DR's had the old style blocks when sold.
It stands to reason some of the older DR's got rebuilt and the blocks got lost and replaced. There's nothing functionally wrong with either. The older style is a waste of metal and has more mass. This makes sense because the first DR's were wasteful of metal and had more mass.
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Post by birkie on Jul 9, 2018 20:37:41 GMT
The oldest DR's (27-29) would have had the larger freezing blocks. I am not sure when the newer smaller blocks were released. Interesting. So they must have had different ice trays too? The stackable ones I have are a fairly tight fit wit the small blocks, if the block were much taller it doesn't look like they'd both fit in it together. |
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Post by Travis on Jul 9, 2018 21:10:58 GMT
Likely, they’re just ice trays. The older ones are pretty archaic.
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Post by Travis on Jul 9, 2018 21:14:37 GMT
Let’s say it this way, I’ve gotten the older style blocks with 28 and possibly 29 units. The one newer block I have came with a 28 or 29 unit also.
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