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Post by coldspaces on Apr 10, 2014 4:19:40 GMT
Any one know were to get sqare orings? I am not finding what I need in square too easy. It looks like I will be selling my 1951 IH refrigerator to a good friends sister. They are doing a 50's kitchen in their basement and she said her husbands family "bleeds International Harvester red" so I am pretty sure it is going to them and not the GE spacemaker she also likes. The IH already has a new start relay and cold control but has been slowly leaking oil out of a compressor terminal seal. Hasn't leaked the Freon though. I do not want them to buy it and then have a leak so tonight I recovered the R-12 and managed to remove the seal. Had to use nitrogen pressure to push out the old seal. No one seems to sell seal kits anymore so I am on my own. I know from research that almost all rubber seals used for refrigeration are made of neoprene.  Here it is in order to put back together starting on the left. Rubber seal first,then two fiber spacers, one fiber shoulder washer, one steel washer, one curved washer, then the nut.  This is the seal it is 3/16" ID x 5/16" OD x 1/8" thick I think before compression. That is a # 008 o ring size other than maybe the thickness.  Here you can sorta see that there is a fiber board or something on the inside of the compressor that the terminals go through.  For the moment I have some 008 o rings in it and they seem to seal fine. Two did not seem to fill the void though so I have three in it. I wounder just how compressed the old seal is though , I did tighten it up last year when I first got it.  |
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Post by jhigdon2 on Apr 10, 2014 21:58:43 GMT
In a situation like this, you may have to resort to ordering some neoprene or Viton from mcmaster carr. Then punching one out.
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 13, 2014 20:36:03 GMT
In a situation like this, you may have to resort to ordering some neoprene or Viton from mcmaster carr. Then punching one out. Is the Viton good to use? Almost everything I have read says that neoprene is the thing for sealing refrigerants. I have been googling and there are a lot of grades of neoprene and different hardness ratings. Not sure just what to order. I was told by a friend that is a jet engine mechanic about a seal shop in Peoria that I may give a call first before I order anything. |
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Post by jhigdon2 on Apr 13, 2014 20:49:25 GMT
Yeah you may be correct about viton. It may not get along with mineral oil. One other thing you might try is going to the hardware store and just getting a neoprene faucet washer of the correct OD, and thickness, then punch out the center to the correct ID.
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 19, 2014 2:47:25 GMT
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Post by allan on Apr 19, 2014 3:19:11 GMT
No room to save this old Ben Hur R-22 chest freezer. I was at the house of my best friend when I was a teenager in the 70s. His grand parents bought it new and then passed it on to them. I has been more than 8 years since it last ran. It is pretty rusty inside as it looks like it sat with about 6 " of water in it so it wasn't really worth saving. His 80 year old dad says he was 12 when his parents bought it. Looks like it is made so you can get into were the cap tube and suction line hook on to the evap. Here is the compressor and it is made just like the ones in all my International Harvesters. I can't tell who made them. No were do I see a company name or symbol on them. Any one know if these are old Tecumseh's? I don't think so, they should have more identification if so. I wonder if IH made it for Ben Hur maybe? It is the wrong size to be a spare for the 1/6 hp in my freezer but it does have the same terminal design as the one I am trying to replace the seals in. So since I have no real use for it I am going to sacrifice it ans see just how the terminals are supported inside of the compressor. Wow! Running on 22 back then?? |
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Post by jhigdon2 on Apr 19, 2014 3:31:14 GMT
Isn't Ben Hur still around kinda sorta? Maybe it's U-line?
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 19, 2014 4:20:24 GMT
Isn't Ben Hur still around kinda sorta? Maybe it's U-line? U line was started by a member of the same family after he left Ben Hur in 1962. I believe this to be a 1948 by the serial on the compressor and yes it and my 1952 IH freezer are both R-22. The IH compressors are labeled "R-22 Tight Wad" More efficient in a freezer than r-12 maybe? Got her opened, gotta get some pics. |
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 19, 2014 5:32:04 GMT
Kinda hard to see but this compressor says "Made in the United States Of America" in a circle on top just like I have seen on newer Tecumseh's. Still don't see a Tecumseh symbol anywere.  Here's the tag  Not sure what LC or CL ion the casting stands for?  Found it odd that there is an extra hole in the shell that has a plug brazed in it.  Looks like the service valve and plug were brazed in at the same time.   Here you can see some of the insulating board the terminals go through.  Here is the way they kept the discharge loop from vibrating. The loop is copper plated steel tube.  |
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 19, 2014 5:49:46 GMT
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 20, 2014 4:17:16 GMT
While cleaning the garage tonight I got to looking at the Ben Hur compressor shell and realized I am dealing with a different animal that I thought. There are two types of rubber in the seal. The white rubber piece I found is from a seal gone bad. Here is a whole one I removed tonight.   This is not gonna make it any easier. I was thinking I might fashion an outer seal that goes on top of the original seal. But from what I am seeing if the white rubber seal is already getting bad it could be an easier path for the terminal to short to the shell. I now think the only way to do this without opening the shell is to use dental pics and such to get the inner seal picked out while the stud is still in place if possible.  |
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 24, 2014 2:21:17 GMT
Well I used a dental pic and nitrogen pressure and got the seals out easier than I thought I would. Except for the last one, its fiber washer wouldn't budge even with 100 psi. Finally knowing I have spare fiber washers from the Ben Hur compressor I had to drill one of the washers in two and then remove it and then the seal came out pretty easy.
I bought two sheets of neoprene to make seals from. One 1/8" 50A Duro hardness and one 1/4" 30A Duro hardness. I have made some pretty good looking seal washers out of the 1/8" rubber,just have to get them centered and they look good. The softer 1/4" is another story though. It stretches to easy and I can not get a very good product. I think I made about 20 last night and only one I think is good enough. Tried freezing the neoprene and it helps but still hard to do. I am using nothing more than a hand punch set and a block of wood to help center the 1/4" plugs while I punch out the inner hole. Any other ideas?
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Post by jhigdon2 on Apr 24, 2014 3:32:23 GMT
I use a little dab of oil. Makes them punch easier but it's still tricky.
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 24, 2014 3:41:31 GMT
I use a little dab of oil. Makes them punch easier but it's still tricky. Of course, lubrication might help. Hadn't thought to try that. Thank you. I now made a 1/4" thick metal, pate with a tapered whole to locate the plugs in. Tried it without the tapper and there is not enough clearance for the punch and the rubber both. Gonna go add some lube and see what happens. |
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Post by coldspaces on Apr 28, 2014 5:18:18 GMT
When I punch the 1/4" thick neoprene it comes out almost hour glass shaped. The center plug does the same to were if you put a drill bit in them the center pushes out and makes the outside much less hour glass shaped. I have been trying to punch the outside to the 5/16" I need. Tonight I realized I should punch it out to 3/8" and then try to turn the high spots of the hour glass shape.
All I turned the first few on was a drill bit in a drill with a file held against it. The surface is a little rough but I will tweak the approach to this part. So far I like the product much better. I have been drilling a hole in soft pine to guide the 3/16" punch in. The 3/8 plug fits in the end of the hole tighter than the smaller 5'16" I was making. I have had much better luck getting the hole centered so far. And the wall thickness is much better than before. If they are a little over sized I think they will still go in ok.
If I can make some smother ones I think I will be ready to try them out in the real world.
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