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Post by turbokinetic on Sept 23, 2018 21:47:22 GMT
Got an interesting project upcoming. A neighbor approached me to get this running for him.
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It is a 1940's Coca-Cola cooler, made by Cavalier. While it looks like a chest freezer, it's quite different. It is designed to be filled with water, about 6 inches deep. The device to the left is an agitator. It agitates the water around an evaporator coil, and keeps the water bath ice cold. There's a light bulb in there as well, so the Coke bottles sit in a sparkling, agitating, ice cold water bath. These were designed to appeal to the folks visiting the country general store; back in the day. For years prior to this; the Coca-Cola coolers had looked the same way. They just had an ice tub inside, and the ice truck would stock it with ice every day. People were familiar with the look of the Coca-Cola chest, and with pulling their cold drink out of a bath of ice water. This machine took away the need for an ice truck; while keeping the familiar sensation of pulling out a dripping, icy cold bottle from ice water.
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Has a "hoss" of a large Frigidaire Meter-Miser compressor with a fan-cooled condenser. .jpg)
My neighbor wants it to be slightly modified. It will keep the water bath system fully functional and intact. We will also install a fan-equipped finned evaporator coil inside the cabinet up at the top. This will allow the unit to be used with or without water. They plan to use it at gatherings and antiques fairs etc.
They're going to bring it over here tomorrow. Definitely expect some videos and discussion about this one!
I will be doing the modification and mechanical restorations. Another local business will do the cosmetics on it, once it's running.
Sincerely, David
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Post by solarmike on Sept 23, 2018 22:27:28 GMT
Man that is awesome..... When I was a kid the Union 76 station down the road from us had a cooler just like that..... It was really cool to pull the drinks through the slots to get the drink out... LOL At least it was for a 10 year old.....
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Post by turbokinetic on Sept 23, 2018 23:02:58 GMT
Man that is awesome..... When I was a kid the Union 76 station down the road from us had a cooler just like that..... It was really cool to pull the drinks through the slots to get the drink out... LOL At least it was for a 10 year old..... Thanks, and yeah there were a few of these around when I was younger as well.
This one, however, isn't an automated vending machine. It's just a cooler for a store with a cashier. You would take out what you wanted to buy, and have a cashier ring it up at the counter along with your packet of peanuts, to drop in the Coke bottle! 
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Post by solarmike on Sept 24, 2018 0:24:55 GMT
Turbo I don't remember if you had to prepay, like insert a coin to get a drink because the machine was inside... I guess it could have been that the prepay was taken out..... Either way it was cool for the drinks to be in cold water...
I remember people getting peanuts, I always liked Mallow cups better... LOL
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Post by ajc31980 on Sept 24, 2018 2:38:25 GMT
The water reminds me of how the milk coolers that where at my grandparents farm. The milk cans sat down in water and the cooling unit was up on top of the cabinet. There was another cooler in the milk house that had a belt driven unit sitting off to the side the cans sat down in water in that one as well. I was just little kid back then and don’t remember much els. Wish that stuff was still around. They got rid of most it back in the 1980s when they sold off the dairy cows. They were required to up date the equipment and just couldn’t Afford that kinda money.
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Post by coldspaces on Sept 24, 2018 2:59:56 GMT
Nice project! I have a 47 water bath Coke cooler with a Westinghouse cooling system in it. monitortop.freeforums.net/thread/733/coke-cola-water-bath-cooler I don't understand the air coil addition. How do you plan to use it as air or water? Are you going to have two evaps and valving? I don't think it would be realistic to think the air coil will keep the water cooled properly, gonna frost up easily I would think in that humid environment. Personally I would just keep it water. Edit: Ok I reread and see it looks like you plan two entirely independent cooling systems. Will be interesting! |
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Post by ckfan on Sept 24, 2018 12:41:26 GMT
Very nice. This will be very neat when it’s done. I’ve seen those big papa meter misers in the big repair manual that I have. I think they were used on big residential units as well.
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Post by elec573 on Sept 25, 2018 1:21:40 GMT
It we’ll be an interesting project. Also curious to see how you work the secondary cooling system in . I guess it we’ll be completely independent of the water bath system
other than sharing the main power incoming.
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Post by turbokinetic on Sept 25, 2018 3:12:07 GMT
So, the cooler made it to my place today! It's so interesting and different from anything else I've worked on.
The mechanical parts are 100% Delco / Frigidaire. I love it as a GM guy! .JPG)
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Unfortunately, the condenser fan is ridiculously seized up. .JPG)
Wiring compartment doesn't look too bad. .JPG)
Nice to have a diagram! .JPG)
Ice cold! What's under that cap? .JPG)
Another Delco motor for the cold water agitator! .JPG)
Spiral evaporator coil, with a little propeller below it! .JPG)
Got a touch of a mud dauber issue going on.... .JPG)
All wiring bypassed.... an RO81 hooked up... Does the compressor run?!? This is the first spark it's seen in 30 years.... .JPG)
See what the results are in this video! 
Sincerely, David
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Post by solarmike on Sept 25, 2018 11:55:54 GMT
Man this is going to be an awesome restore to watch....
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Post by birkie on Sept 25, 2018 13:21:15 GMT
Very nice and informative video! The heat protective "discharge heat overload" is interesting. The CKs use a solder pot that melts when there is too much current, which allows the mechanism inside (under tension) to snap to the "off" position as it rotates around the now-unfrozen solder pot. This one seems to be a similar principle, so presumably the missing component provides tension against that splined wheel in the solder pot? What's strange is that it seems to be in an inaccessible position. With the CK, the user unwittingly re-applies tension to the overload simply by turning the on/off knob, so it's in the "ready to trip if needed" state. The one on the cooler doesn't look like it is linked to any control the user normally interacts with. So is it the case that when it trips, the operator has to figure out what happened, then mechanically actuate some obscure knob or lever near the discharge overload to get it working again? By the way, the rolling shutter effect around 16:43 makes the cooler look like it made of undulating rubber or gelatin |
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Post by turbokinetic on Sept 25, 2018 14:36:00 GMT
Man this is going to be an awesome restore to watch.... Thanks! I will document it the best I can. Very nice and informative video! The heat protective "discharge heat overload" is interesting. The CKs use a solder pot that melts when there is too much current, which allows the mechanism inside (under tension) to snap to the "off" position as it rotates around the now-unfrozen solder pot. This one seems to be a similar principle, so presumably the missing component provides tension against that splined wheel in the solder pot? What's strange is that it seems to be in an inaccessible position. With the CK, the user unwittingly re-applies tension to the overload simply by turning the on/off knob, so it's in the "ready to trip if needed" state. The one on the cooler doesn't look like it is linked to any control the user normally interacts with. So is it the case that when it trips, the operator has to figure out what happened, then mechanically actuate some obscure knob or lever near the discharge overload to get it working again? By the way, the rolling shutter effect around 16:43 makes the cooler look like it made of undulating rubber or gelatin Thanks, glad you found it informative! There is a general drawing of the overload switch on the electrical wiring diagram. It looks like it has a reset button on it, at the lower left of the switch housing, actually. More than likely, this would have been a red button. It is a little inconvenient, yes. But, there's no on/off switch either. And the temp control is in the same area inside the base of the unit. Just plug the unit in and it runs. Being a commercial unit, I guess they figure whoever is in charge of the shop would have a certain level of technical knowledge.... crazy I know but back in the day people were much less helpless than they are now! The motor overload protector is auto reset. So; if there was a power blink or other reason that the motor would stall, that would trip, wait, and then reset. They know that if a high discharge temperature event happens, it means there is a serious problem with the unit; such as a stalled condenser fan or lost refrigerant charge. In this case, intervention is necessary; as the system won't recover from this sort of problem without help. It makes more sense to have a manual-reset shutdown switch, than to have the unit keep cycling until the compressor is ruined.... at least in my opinion! LOL at the rubber-gelatin effect! I noticed that a little on my video editing software as well. Seems the compressor being mounted on isolators, at that RPM; combined with the resonant frequency of the hermetic service adapter made things get a little rowdy! |
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Post by birkie on Sept 25, 2018 15:46:38 GMT
They know that if a high discharge temperature event happens, it means there is a serious problem with the unit; such as a stalled condenser fan or lost refrigerant charge. In this case, intervention is necessary; as the system won't recover from this sort of problem without help. That's a good point. So the prospect of requiring a service tech to reset it is a feature in this case! |
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Post by turbokinetic on Sept 25, 2018 17:34:38 GMT
They know that if a high discharge temperature event happens, it means there is a serious problem with the unit; such as a stalled condenser fan or lost refrigerant charge. In this case, intervention is necessary; as the system won't recover from this sort of problem without help. That's a good point. So the prospect of requiring a service tech to reset it is a feature in this case! Yep, I bet they intended it that way!
Got the agitator tested and working today. Unfortunately, the cabinet liner will have to come out for a pinhole to be repaired.
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Post by turbokinetic on Oct 26, 2018 0:18:39 GMT
So the owner of this cooler got in touch with his auto body man and the repairs are a go for sure. I took the cooling sytem out and built this sexy wooden work stand for it. I don't think I need to quit my dayjob to become a carpenter!
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The test stand keeps the lines in their proper shape. Also, I an hang a bucket of water over the evaporator coil and put load on the unit that way for testing.
The wiring was hideously deterio-rotted. .JPG)
Removed wiring from the relay compartment as well. It was all extra crunchy. .JPG)
Notice the warranty seal is still in place over the cover screw on the control! .JPG)
The fan motor.... is a real work of American engineering. The motor is 100% sealed. There was no dust in it at all. It has replaceable standard ball bearings. This was an early maintenance-free motor and it apparently worked for 50+ years. Only after the cooler was abandoned and not run for decades did the bearings dry up. .JPG)
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The quality I am seeing here on all parts of this machine is a real attest to Frigidaire and GM. This was a commercial unit so the engineers got to play and not be constrained by bean counters as they were with the residential stuff.
Will get fan motor bearings tomorrow and this motor will go back together for another 50 years. |
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