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Post by spd500 on Jul 7, 2023 18:13:46 GMT
Thanks for accepting me to the group! I just sealed the deal with an antique shop here in Chicago to have this gem returned to the Great State of Texas! My home pub more specifically. The antique dealer told me that GE made these custom for Chris Craft dealers and he was guessing it would date to late 40s early 50s. Google University has lead me to believe that the correct date will be closer to 1927-1936 when these units were in production. My question is, has any one ever seen one of these? Also, it runs and the lights on top work perfectly when plugged in, what should I do to make sure that it continues to run for a very long time? Is there maintenance that I should perform prior to putting it into service once it is delivered? Attachments:
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Post by turbokinetic on Jul 7, 2023 18:27:58 GMT
Wow, that is spectacular looking!
It is a DR machine which would mean it's no newer than the early 1930's.
I have my doubts that General Electric in any way sanctioned this piece. I say that because the decorative rope and top cover over the compressor most definitely run afoul of the installation guidelines about not restricting airflow around the condenser coil and compressor dome.
If there are several similar examples of Chris Craft Monitor Top fridges, the most likely way they came about would be that Chris Craft commissioned a third party company to outfit a certain number of these fridges for them, for dealership awards at certain sales levels.
I'll be interested to hear what our other historians such as Travis have to say about it. I have never seen another one. Not being critical - I love how it looks! It's very ornate.
As for helping it last a long time, the DR-1 machines are generally the most reliable of the DR series. They do have a crankcase heater which can fail over time and should be checked out. If the crankcase heater goes bad, it will cause refrigerant liquid to collect in the oil, causing lubrication problems. The oil has to stay hotter than the condenser coil. In your case with the rope around the condenser, the crankcase heater will be all that much more important.
Poorly sealing door gaskets are another issue which can cause excessive running and wear on the cooling unit. Recommend use of a new adhesive foam bead gasket to get optimum results.
Sincerely,
David
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Post by Travis on Jul 7, 2023 18:35:07 GMT
Very unique design, but GE wouldn’t have done that to a DR1. It looks to be a 29 or 30 model. The fact that they covered the open condenser with rope says to me decor item.
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Post by turbokinetic on Jul 7, 2023 18:37:01 GMT
Very unique design, but GE wouldn’t have done that to a DR1. It looks to be a 29 or 30 model. The fact that they covered the open condenser with rope says to me decor item. Unless it's special thermally conductive rope? |
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Post by spd500 on Jul 7, 2023 18:50:03 GMT
Thanks for all the help everyone! I have scoured the internet this morning trying to find out more about the fridge and have not seen another reference to this anywhere. I actually live not far from Clear Lake Tx but I think that dealer has been gone for decades and doubt even if they were still around I would get much info from them. In regards to the rope, I kinda wondered myself if that might be a concern. Would it be better if I add a small fan nearby to help circulate the air? I just can't believe that removing the rope would be the answer in this situation. Are there reference materials somewhere that I can read up un what to look for on the heater?
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Post by turbokinetic on Jul 7, 2023 19:21:50 GMT
Thanks for all the help everyone! I have scoured the internet this morning trying to find out more about the fridge and have not seen another reference to this anywhere. I actually live not far from Clear Lake Tx but I think that dealer has been gone for decades and doubt even if they were still around I would get much info from them. In regards to the rope, I kinda wondered myself if that might be a concern. Would it be better if I add a small fan nearby to help circulate the air? I just can't believe that removing the rope would be the answer in this situation. Are there reference materials somewhere that I can read up un what to look for on the heater? There is actually the full general electric service manual available on our site here. It's the factory service manual from these were new. If you were to place a small fan directly behind the machine, pointing up at the back of the fins from below, that might be a discreet way to mitigate the harm caused by the rope. Agree because this piece is too unique. You would not want to remove the rope. It's especially cool if they went so far as to hook up the light. Normally in order to test the heater, you simply turn the control to the off position, unplug the power cord, and then measure ohms of resistance across the power cord. If you see approximately 1000 ohms of resistance then the heater is working. However, with the light connected to your system, it will probably cause a resistance reading. So to check for the heater, you will need to unscrew the bulb out of the display lamp on top and then perform the heater test with the resistance meter. This evening sometime around 20:00 I should be back at my desktop computer and can provide more details on the testing. At the moment I'm in my workshop and only have a smartphone which in my opinion is not all that smart. |
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