So I have a manual purchased from ebay that covers every model except the CA and yet it indicates one needs to "cut" through the lacquer at the bottom of the white cap covering the bleeder screw housing when urging non-condensable gas.
Nooooo.... you could've downloaded the manual for free from the google drive that hosts it.
Okay, I admit - it's not that easy to find, and mostly a collection of scanned JPGs. I went further, and I combined all the manuals into one. I don't remember if I did so with my DR or CA manuals, but I know my CK manual was set as OCR searchable in Acrobat, which is certainly convenient.
Yours probably hasn't been purged, since the cap is painted shut. I'll let others chime in on how to remove the cap; I personally would lightly use a pair of channel locks. Once it's off, you'll need that .216 old style bristol key. I don't remember which vendor I ordered it from, but I found out about it on through this forum. They were pretty cheap - like 3 or 4 bucks each and then 8 or 9 bucks for shipping. I'd get 2 while you're at it and maximize your shipping (and it's nice having a spare in case you ever lose the first).
So the procedure for bleeding off NCGs - cablehack did the video, and he or others can correct me if I'm wrong. What I understand from the video and the manual is that you want to really get your fridge working. I would fill up a small sauce pan or ice cube trays with hot water from the tap (or when I did it initially, I used almost boiling water). I put that in the evap. Then, I had my cellphone ready with the stopwatch feature. I carefully opened the SECOND purge screw; there will be two - one on top, which is more of a safety/seal screw, and the bottom, which actually lets out the NCGs. Well,
before you do that, you want to put some high quality machine oil in the orifice tube where the screw is.
Slowly try to open the bottom screw. On a CA that's seized (trying what others suggested, to purge out NCGs to see if it unseizes), you might need to tap the bristol key somehow. I didn't have a hammer handy, so I used a small network switch (I also collect vintage computers and sell them, so I have a lot of that laying around). The point is to get the screw loose, but not to open it like mad. So once I felt it move a bit, I was able to
slowly open up the purge screw. The idea is that you'll see it bubbling through the oil. If it sucks up the oil, then you're not purging NCGs (and I forgot what the vacuum indicates as opposed to NCGs coming out, but I haven't had that problem yet).
Anyways, the GE service manual tells you to do this for 3 minutes on, and 1 minute with the purge screw closed. When you start to smell methyl formate with your nose so many inches above the purge tube (the manual specifies how much), is when you're supposed to stop, and possibly try it another day.
I did this on Herb's CA that he sent me, and it very much improved the frost level. It also got my Form A to work (before, it maybe got a little cool, but never cold). But then, most of us CA owners are familiar with the worn needle and float issues, but that's another topic.
Hopefully my written description somewhat helps. I was thwarted originally myself, and it's actually quite easy, and a little fun, bleeding out NCGs. And unless you have a lit candle or lit cigarette next to that purge tube, it should be a totally safe procedure (brings a whole new take on how smoking is bad for you).
Also, I laughed when you referenced wearing sandals - I actually have been wearing sandals practically the entire time I was restoring my DR1, though I'm not wearing sandals now that the temperatures are in the 40s.
Doing an edit, as I forgot your other questions.
Has anyone had to actually cut through the lacquer; mine looks to have never been purged previously?
Already answered above - see my comment about channel locks.
For those who have purged NCGs does the white cap screw off, are threads standard righty-tighty/lefty-loosey or do the refrigeration guild use reverse threads like plumbing?
Righty tighty, lefty loosey here. No reverse threads.
How quickly do I need to convince myself to stop procrastinating and dive into purging NCGs, like yesterday or is a time-frame within a couple of weeks acceptable?
Given that these are all 84 and 85 years old (as of 2018, anyways), it's not like you're in a big hurry, but it's better late than never. Like I said, order up that bristol key, and you'll be set. Travis and others suggested I order a refrigeration kit (which I did), but I won't use it yet. It'll be useful should I ever evacuate my refrigerant, but that's a project and something to learn for another year.
