1934 Frigidaire Koldchest

Jun 18, 2018 22:41:39 GMT ckfan said:

Thank you so much for getting this for me. I really do appreciate it. This is one that as soon as I saw it in an old brochure that Travis gave to me, I knew I had to have it. This was the direct competitor to the lift top LK from GE. Although apparently this came out one year earlier! I didn’t even know that Frigidaire made the meter miser in 34. Learn something new every day. I’m very glad that it held its charge while sitting in a barn all these years. It was using a wild amount of power when Kevin first turned it on. 45 watts! What a wasteful brute! This model has the tiniest meter miser ever made, possibly the tiniest hermetic ever made. 1/20 HP. Yes, you read right. I already have two units that have a 1/12 HP compressor and those use around 85 watts. Crazy. Of course when you only have 2 cubic feet to cool I guess it is sufficient. I’m sure it would run most of the day regardless.

This is the sort of networking I so love to see.  Two dedicated enthusiasts work together to save a very cool unique piece of machinery.

Thanks for sharing it. The pictures are great, as well. Can't wait to see pictures of the micro-meter-miser compressor! That's amazing at the 45 watts of power used!

Jun 19, 2018 12:15:58 GMT birkie said:

Very nice! Those cost-oriented models of the early depression have such an an interesting story. Glad to see it work out.

So this is the infamous 1/20 HP model, eh? Eager to see a video of it running some day! The black, dimpled surface with the "Koldchest" stamped on it - is that a plate condenser of some sort?

That is a very interesting, although long read. Thanks for sharing it!

Hi Andy.  Glad you located a Koldchest! There are so few of them left out there.

I don't have a Koldchest but I do have several other similar age Frigidaires.  Often, the "back panel" is actually the condenser. It is a two-layer hollow plate-style condenser. There should be refrigerant lines connected to it in two places.

Looking under at the bottom of the compressor, do you see any oil on the wiring or the bottom of the compressor? These often leak oil and refrigerant at this point.

It's really helpful if you sign up for the forum as a member so that you can keep track of your posts and answers to them. It's free and takes just a minute.

When you try to run the compressor; what happens? Do you hear any noise?

Here is a thread where I find out the compressor leaks on a 30's Frigidaire. monitortop.freeforums.net/thread/1480/todays-expedition Maybe it will help you out.

Sincerely,

David

Oct 14, 2018 0:39:53 GMT card83m said:

David Yes, there appears to be oil on the wiring/the bottom of the compressor.?


I have registered as Card83m but did not know how to respond back form it.


When plugged it in it sounded like it was going to start but then went dead silent. Since then when we plug it in we hear nothing.

Thanks

That's quite unfortunate.

There seem to be two separate problems going on with it.  One, the going silent after one start attempt. That seems like the overload breaker tripped and failed to reset its self. There is a relay mounted under the refrigerator which has the overload breaker in it. This will trip after a few seconds if the motor is drawing too much current; as in when it can't start up. It is supposed to trip off and stop the motor from burning out. Then, after some time for cooling, it should reset and be ready for another start attempt. Sometimes when they get old, they get worn and don't work properly. There is a replacement relay / overload device which will take the place of the original worn parts.

The fact that it tried to start but didn't start could be one of two things. One, it could be the start relay contact is not working. That would prevent the motor's start winding from getting power. The result would be a humming sound for a few seconds and then it trips. Again, replace the relay to correct this; unless you want to open the original and try to service it. I believe most of us here are generally happy with the Supco RO81 relay, although there are other alternatives.

If the start contact isn't the problem, it could be that the compressor is in a bind, or locked up; so that the motor can not spin. That will trip the overload breaker. That can happen for various reasons; and it is not always a permanent thing. There are ways to restore it to operation. Seeing how you found oil on the bottom of the compressor, it is clear that the unit has leaked. If it has been sitting for years without refrigerant in the system, the compressor can become gummed up.

Or, last and worst case, the unit was plugged in and running somewhere unattended for years. It leaked down while running, and continued to run without refrigerant until all the oil leaked out. Then, it would eventually seize up from lack of lubrication. This scenario, unfortunately, is probably fatal to it.

I would recommend you disconnect the wiring from the compressor motor and measure the resistance. That will give some idea how much chance of a successful repair is remaining.

The link I posted yesterday of the 37 Frigidaire Deluxe, shows a serious terminal leak. When I get home I plan to try to repair this and will share the results.  As with most of my projects, I want to use currently available materials to repair it so that anyone can recreate the results.

I'm at work today and out of time this morning. Sorry if my reply seems short in any way. I may or may not be able to reply until the evening. Looking forward to hearing how you fare with the resistance measurements! I think that with all the knowledge here, we'll be able to guide you through getting this working.

Sincerely,

David