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Post by joneske on Jun 18, 2018 15:37:45 GMT
I saw this fridge on Craigslist last week and had no idea what it was. I sent the link to Ray and he immediately identified it as a Frigidaire Koldchest, and was exited to see it as they apparently are quite rare. The price was right, but at the moment, I am saving every penny to go towards a potential rewind of my DRA2. Instead, I agreed to go buy it and hold onto it for Ray, which I did Friday night. It is missing the shelf and the keeper that prevents the lid from opening too far, the power cord was crispy and the plug end was in pieces but otherwise it is in reasonably good condition. On Saturday, I hooked up a temporary power cord, crossed my fingers and plugged it in. Amazingly, it started right up. It took quite a while but eventually the condenser started getting warm and the evaporator began to frost. I ran it for a couple of hours, then had to shut it down for the night, but by then the evaporator had a nice layer of frost. I will be off next week an I plan to run it longer to see if it will cycle. More pics: drive.google.com/open?id=13LlkCkcCnPC6lHrGlcuUTtY0BSiMAy3oNow we just need to figure out how to get I across the country to its rightful home Attachments:
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Post by ckfan on Jun 18, 2018 22:41:39 GMT
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.
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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 19, 2018 1:18:53 GMT
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!
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Post by elec573 on Jun 19, 2018 3:34:59 GMT
Like the network idea would like to see a place on the forum to post. 1.Where it’s at 2 . What it is 3. Price Just an idea
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Post by birkie on Jun 19, 2018 12:15:58 GMT
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?
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Post by ckfan on Jun 19, 2018 12:33:59 GMT
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? Kevin sent a video of it running to me. I’m not sure how to go about posting it. It made it sound much louder than it is. Sounds just like any other early meter miser that I’ve heard. Yes, the condenser is of the plate variety. The dimples are where it is welded together I think. All of the early Frigidaire models used this style of condenser. Gill has a 3 cubic foot model D like one that I have that has a simple copper tube condenser but he thinks that was added after the fact since it is on the back of the original plate style condenser. When he showed it to me I thought it was stock but now I know that it isn’t.
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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 19, 2018 12:34:40 GMT
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!
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Post by stlvortac on Jul 3, 2018 2:38:42 GMT
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. 45 watts!! Impressive. Perfect for something like a hunting cabin etc that's off the grid. Would only need a simple solar system to keep it going.
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Post by ckfan on Jul 3, 2018 13:16:20 GMT
Yep, that wouldn’t take much at all for a solar system to power it. One decent sized panel would put out anywhere between 225 to 350 watts, DC of course. If you convert that to AC you still have plenty of reserve power to charge up a battery at the same time.
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Post by Andy M on Oct 13, 2018 23:03:20 GMT
I just purchased a Koldchest D-2-36 and am trying to remove the back panel as it does not appear to be working. We removed the screws but the back panel will not come off. Could any provide suggestions on removing it.
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Post by turbokinetic on Oct 13, 2018 23:16:05 GMT
I just purchased a Koldchest D-2-36 and am trying to remove the back panel as it does not appear to be working. We removed the screws but the back panel will not come off. Could any provide suggestions on removing 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
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Post by card83m on Oct 14, 2018 0:39:53 GMT
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
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Post by turbokinetic on Oct 14, 2018 10:03:40 GMT
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
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Post by turbokinetic on Oct 15, 2018 12:08:15 GMT
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Post by ckfan on Oct 15, 2018 13:25:55 GMT
That’s too bad. It really does seem like some of them just have bad seals and some of them never have that issue.
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