Zach
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Posts: 30
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Post by Zach on Feb 2, 2019 1:30:56 GMT
It had a partial charge of so2 in it when I got it. Enough to cool the evaporator down a little bit but that was about it, so I disposed of the so2 and charged it back up with a painful amount of r12. I had to replace the starting capacitor, and from what I can tell something got hung in the needle seat a few days ago but I believe I convinced it to pass it. I have seen your repairs, I have essentially read this entire forum out of fascination since I found it last year when I got my monitor top. Yeah, I know that feeling! I also read almost all the forum when I first found it. Moved from that to rebuilding fridges and visiting other members on road trips. It's a real positive, uncommon situation that the shaft seal is good in your unit. That's been the Achilles Heel in all the ones I've located. It's very fortunate that the R12 was heavy enough to lift the low-side float and make it work properly. One of our members has a Frigidaire with low-side float which was charged with R12, unmodified, and it does not work properly due to density problems. Please, when you have time, make a video for us. That would be awesome! Sincerely, David I also expected the shaft seal to be bad, the compressor skid is a greasy mess from what I assume must be the compressor. But, the system was holding 30 psi when I got it, then held a good vacuum so I went ahead and charged it to see what happened. It may be leaking slowly, I honestly expect it to, but so far it's lasted a week. It pulls the evaporator down to around 10 degrees by the time it cycles off. I've got a short little video of the compressor rattling away I can add to my google drive folder so you guys can tell me how sick it does or doesn't sound. Edit: I have added a short video to my google drive, I took it right after I got it running so the wiring is slightly less scary now.... slightly. If you want a different type of video or more pictures let me know.
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Post by birkie on Feb 2, 2019 2:45:03 GMT
That's good to hear. Do make a video at some point if possible, they're quite effective at conveying the gist of it for those who might never see one.
As far as Stewart Warner information, there is a chapter in the Nickerson & Collins book (1947) on servicing hermetic units. The book focuses on the post-1939 hermetic units, but does briefly mention the earlier ones:
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Post by turbokinetic on Feb 2, 2019 2:57:08 GMT
I also expected the shaft seal to be bad, the compressor skid is a greasy mess from what I assume must be the compressor. But, the system was holding 30 psi when I got it, then held a good vacuum so I went ahead and charged it to see what happened. It may be leaking slowly, I honestly expect it to, but so far it's lasted a week. It pulls the evaporator down to around 10 degrees by the time it cycles off. I've got a short little video of the compressor rattling away I can add to my google drive folder so you guys can tell me how sick it does or doesn't sound. Edit: I have added a short video to my google drive, I took it right after I got it running so the wiring is slightly less scary now.... slightly. If you want a different type of video or more pictures let me know. Thanks for the video! It doesn't sound bad at all. The compressor skid mounted on springs tends to shake like that due to the compressor having pulsations at each time the piston reaches top center. It will be less pronounced when the evaporator is pulled down fully cold, because there will be less refrigerant compressed at each stroke. If it took decades to "partially" leak out the charge it had; then it should go quite a long time with a new, full charge - I would expect. The best thing for it will be to let it run and cycle. Did you ensure the motor still has a working overload protector? That's good to hear. Do make a video at some point if possible, they're quite effective at conveying the gist of it for those who might never see one. As far as Stewart Warner information, there is a chapter in the Nickerson & Collins book (1947) on servicing hermetic units. The book focuses on the post-1939 hermetic units, but does briefly mention the earlier ones: Thanks Aaron. Very good info. I believe Travis has one of the early models which may have had a rotary compressor?
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Zach
New Member
Posts: 30
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Post by Zach on Feb 2, 2019 3:22:28 GMT
That's good to hear. Do make a video at some point if possible, they're quite effective at conveying the gist of it for those who might never see one. As far as Stewart Warner information, there is a chapter in the Nickerson & Collins book (1947) on servicing hermetic units. The book focuses on the post-1939 hermetic units, but does briefly mention the earlier ones: Interesting. Thanks for that little bit of information. Maybe that book I ordered will clear even more of the fog surrounding this thing.
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Zach
New Member
Posts: 30
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Post by Zach on Feb 2, 2019 3:34:10 GMT
I also expected the shaft seal to be bad, the compressor skid is a greasy mess from what I assume must be the compressor. But, the system was holding 30 psi when I got it, then held a good vacuum so I went ahead and charged it to see what happened. It may be leaking slowly, I honestly expect it to, but so far it's lasted a week. It pulls the evaporator down to around 10 degrees by the time it cycles off. I've got a short little video of the compressor rattling away I can add to my google drive folder so you guys can tell me how sick it does or doesn't sound. Edit: I have added a short video to my google drive, I took it right after I got it running so the wiring is slightly less scary now.... slightly. If you want a different type of video or more pictures let me know. Thanks for the video! It doesn't sound bad at all. The compressor skid mounted on springs tends to shake like that due to the compressor having pulsations at each time the piston reaches top center. It will be less pronounced when the evaporator is pulled down fully cold, because there will be less refrigerant compressed at each stroke. If it took decades to "partially" leak out the charge it had; then it should go quite a long time with a new, full charge - I would expect. The best thing for it will be to let it run and cycle. Did you ensure the motor still has a working overload protector? That's good to hear. Do make a video at some point if possible, they're quite effective at conveying the gist of it for those who might never see one. As far as Stewart Warner information, there is a chapter in the Nickerson & Collins book (1947) on servicing hermetic units. The book focuses on the post-1939 hermetic units, but does briefly mention the earlier ones: Thanks Aaron. Very good info. I believe Travis has one of the early models which may have had a rotary compressor? That has been my hope in regards to the compressor seal, we shall see... I haven't actually confirmed that the overload still works, I've got one I should throw in it to be safe. I need to put a new belt on it too, and paint it... Travis sent me pictures of his and it certainly looks earlier than mine but it has the same style compressor as mine. I wonder if the early units had reliability issues and were swapped out later on?
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Zach
New Member
Posts: 30
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Post by Zach on Feb 5, 2019 21:06:04 GMT
Well, we had a few days of warm weather down here so I used the opportunity to strip the Stewart Warner down and give it a fresh coat of paint. I added a current photo of it to my google drive: drive.google.com/open?id=1xddDLizm2ooaYIoNz3t1lvjeVxwcSQIrIt's not perfect by any means but I believe it's an improvement over how it used to look. I also replaced the belt yesterday which has significantly reduced the noise level. I need to do a new and better video on it.
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Post by turbokinetic on Feb 5, 2019 22:35:45 GMT
Well, we had a few days of warm weather down here so I used the opportunity to strip the Stewart Warner down and give it a fresh coat of paint. I added a current photo of it to my google drive: drive.google.com/open?id=1xddDLizm2ooaYIoNz3t1lvjeVxwcSQIrIt's not perfect by any means but I believe it's an improvement over how it used to look. I also replaced the belt yesterday which has significantly reduced the noise level. I need to do a new and better video on it.
Wow that paint job really improved the looks of it! Also, the belt change will definitely improve the longevity of the compressor, with less vibration on the shaft.
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Post by ckfan on Feb 5, 2019 23:36:02 GMT
That does look much better. I like it!
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Post by Travis on Feb 6, 2019 19:02:11 GMT
Bravo! It looks much nicer.
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Zach
New Member
Posts: 30
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Post by Zach on Feb 6, 2019 20:00:24 GMT
Thanks, I might just bring it inside now... I found a centerfold ad for SW fridges from the May 1934 issue of Good Housekeeping a few days ago and I've uploaded a picture of it to my google drive. It's not the same unit but there are some similarities. Let me know if you guys think mine is earlier or later or just a cheaper model.
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Post by Travis on Feb 6, 2019 20:18:36 GMT
Zach,
We've discussed this. I think your name badge being a different style than mine points to yours being newer. I don't have any info on the variations of SW fridges. As far as I know, you and I are the only people that have one.
Your handle is more modern than mine in terms of style. It's just an educated guess without more documentation to learn from.
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Zach
New Member
Posts: 30
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Post by Zach on Feb 6, 2019 20:32:32 GMT
Zach, We've discussed this. I think your name badge being a different style than mine points to yours being newer. I don't have any info on the variations of SW fridges. As far as I know, you and I are the only people that have one. Your handle is more modern than mine in terms of style. It's just an educated guess without more documentation to learn from. I definitely think yours is earlier than mine, I wanted to see if you or anyone else had any thoughts about the machine in the advertisement I posted. I know it's just guesswork but I wanted to see what someone who was more well versed in early refrigerators thought.
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Post by Travis on Feb 6, 2019 22:51:54 GMT
Zach,
The ad you found might be my model. Without showing the door closed, it's tough to know.
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Post by csulaguy on Feb 8, 2019 2:25:20 GMT
It's a real positive, uncommon situation that the shaft seal is good in your unit. That's been the Achilles Heel in all the ones I've located. It's very fortunate that the R12 was heavy enough to lift the low-side float and make it work properly. One of our members has a Frigidaire with low-side float which was charged with R12, unmodified, and it does not work properly due to density problems.Please, when you have time, make a video for us. That would be awesome! Sincerely, David That would be me. Eventually, I'll get around to getting my Frigidaire working properly. Super cool seeing your SW. Just out of curiosity, where are you in North TX?
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Post by csulaguy on Feb 8, 2019 2:28:57 GMT
Well, we had a few days of warm weather down here so I used the opportunity to strip the Stewart Warner down and give it a fresh coat of paint. I added a current photo of it to my google drive: drive.google.com/open?id=1xddDLizm2ooaYIoNz3t1lvjeVxwcSQIrIt's not perfect by any means but I believe it's an improvement over how it used to look. I also replaced the belt yesterday which has significantly reduced the noise level. I need to do a new and better video on it. Your paint job looks a helluva lot better than I can do myself. I just sent off two cabinets to a buddy who owns an auto body shop. It wasn't cheap, but it has the exact same paint the owner has on his Camaro (and looks gorgeous). But yours - wow. Nice work, Zach!
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