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Post by aricsworkshop on Dec 21, 2023 15:40:15 GMT
Greetings All. New here, and to antique refrigerators in general. I recently bought what appears to be a 1932 DR (S-44) with a FEA-2-D16 on top, and while it seems to work the wiring is in poor condition with lots of cracks. Replacing the power cord was straight forward enough, but it's not looking like the wire to the pump or fan are replaceable on this model. Is that actually the case? Also, can someone verify that the cylindrical bump on the wire to the temp control is simply a splice? (rightmost pic) I believe that is the case, but want to make sure before removing it.    On a side note, it blows my mind that GE would use a 2 phase fan with a generated leg coming off the compressor motor. Any idea why they did it that way? Thanks. |
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Post by ckfan on Dec 21, 2023 17:28:36 GMT
I believe a member on here was able to get the end cap off of the compressor with a pair of channel locks if I remember correctly.
Yes, that is just a splice.
I think they did the two phase motor for efficiency reasons. If the wiring on that fan motor is shot, it will also need to be replaced for safety reasons. There are generic single phase replacements that will work. I think Dayton is the company who makes them.
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Post by aricsworkshop on Dec 21, 2023 18:36:10 GMT
Thanks ckfan! It wasn't clear to me if it's a completely sealed unit or if that cap will come off. Will poke at it more tonight then. I'm not yet sure if the fan works, as it was fairly gummed up and hadn't realized at the time that it's 2 phase. I figured it was either a noise or efficiency thing, and find it amusing. Looks like rewiring it would be difficult at best, so I may just swap in a new single phase one rather than mess with it. Pretty excited about this fridge, and it'll look great in the workshop as it had been repainted for use as a prop on a tv show (not sure what one at the moment). I was rather surprised to find that it actually worked, once I replaced the power cord, and plans to simply use it as a warm box to keep paint from freezing in the garage have been scrapped. It's much too cool for that, and will have beer in it instead.  |
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Post by aricsworkshop on Dec 22, 2023 21:39:14 GMT
Just a quick follow-up in case anyone else tries this. Yup, it's simply a cap but a royal pain to get off. While I was able to get a cold chisel in the seam along the compressor housing body and shift it a bit, I still had zero luck with a channel lock. At which point I cut the wire flush, pushed it into the cap, broke off the fully hardened rubber strain relief, and then inserted hooks from the slide hammer. Still no joy, as the hooks simply pulled through the thin metal of the cap. At which point the cap was ruined anyway, so out came the snips and I cut to the edge then used a chisel to cut the band. Seems there was a lot of corrosion between the band of the cap and the boss on the housing, so it was never going to come off easily. Finding a replacement is more effort than I care to go to for a part that isn't visible, so I'll likely just 3d print a plug for it instead. Attachments:
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Post by ckfan on Dec 23, 2023 14:51:55 GMT
To be perfectly honest, they are a royal pain to get out. When I did mine I didn’t know it was a cap. So I cut a hole in the side with a cutoff wheel. At least yours is completely off and looks better.
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Post by aricsworkshop on Dec 30, 2023 4:08:56 GMT
True, but also exposed wires when I take the cover off to show people. Designing/printing a cap is on the short list, as I also need a temp control knob anyway.
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Post by elec573 on Dec 30, 2023 5:58:39 GMT
Hello and welcome to the forum !!
It’s been a while since I been on the forum , so you may have been on before. And I missed it .
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Post by douro20 on Dec 31, 2023 3:23:50 GMT
Some of the post-CF models of the late 1940s-early 1950s used a very similar compressor, and the whole cooling unit would come right out the back of the cabinet, evaporator and everything. Phoenix Fabrications did a video on one they repainted.
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Post by turbokinetic on Feb 11, 2024 20:53:02 GMT
Greetings All. New here, and to antique refrigerators in general. I recently bought what appears to be a 1932 DR (S-44) with a FEA-2-D16 on top, and while it seems to work the wiring is in poor condition with lots of cracks. Replacing the power cord was straight forward enough, but it's not looking like the wire to the pump or fan are replaceable on this model. Is that actually the case? Also, can someone verify that the cylindrical bump on the wire to the temp control is simply a splice? (rightmost pic) I believe that is the case, but want to make sure before removing it. View Attachment View AttachmentView AttachmentOn a side note, it blows my mind that GE would use a 2 phase fan with a generated leg coming off the compressor motor. Any idea why they did it that way? Thanks. As for the two-phase fan motor, it is very efficient that way. The other ways are a capacitor motor, or a shaded pole motor. The shaded pole motors produce a lot of heat. The capacitor would be creating a phase shift for the motor, but capacitors cost money. The compressor motor is sitting there generating phase shifted voltage all the time it's running... for free! |
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