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Post by elec573 on Aug 16, 2018 23:36:32 GMT
I guess we’ll have to call you the magician of old fridges. Nice work !
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Post by turbokinetic on Aug 17, 2018 5:03:32 GMT
I guess we’ll have to call you the magician of old fridges. Nice work !
LOL thanks. Not a magician though... just one who has fought the battles and learned from the failures and heartbreak of years past.
Today I got the compressor all cleaned up. Amazing what the pressure washer can do!
Could this be the same condenser?!?!
And the fan / fan shroud...
Next, I found a very dangerous modification done by a previous owner sometime in the past. They had moved the control from the rear of the fridge, to directly inside the evaporator! That meant that you could reach inside the evaporator and touch live wires! The original design has a shaft and the control on the back. I went back to this design for safety and reliability. The extension is made from 5/16" steel automotive brake line.
Compressor and its accessories all painted up!
Getting ready to go back in....
It's in position! Now to solder the lines....
All soldered, and vacuum pump in operation...
After that, I put in two 10 oz cans of R152A. It ended up being too much. I didn't weigh how much was taken back out, but after recovering two or three times, in 15 second intervals, it started to cool properly. More explanation of the symptom in the video, as well
And we have frost! Frawst! PHRAWST!!!!! It's alive!
Video of today's work:
So I am relieved that it is working again and I didn't destroy an appliance that was owned by one family since new until I bought it! Still got a lot of detail work to do, of course. But I know it is going to function again!
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Post by ajc31980 on Aug 17, 2018 5:14:33 GMT
You are like The Pied Piper of refrigerators! Good work! Glad it’s alive. I learned that, that is one of the best feelings when you bring one of these back to life!
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Post by turbokinetic on Aug 17, 2018 5:23:01 GMT
You are like The Pied Piper of refrigerators! Good work! Glad it’s alive. I learned that, that is one of the best feelings when you bring one of these back to life!
Thanks, and yes it is a good feeling to get it back working. Still don't understand exactly what happened on the trip home. The evaporator was cold at the seller's place, but it was definitely empty when I checked it out the next day.
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Post by ajc31980 on Aug 17, 2018 5:30:27 GMT
You are like The Pied Piper of refrigerators! Good work! Glad it’s alive. I learned that, that is one of the best feelings when you bring one of these back to life!
Thanks, and yes it is a good feeling to get it back working. Still don't understand exactly what happened on the trip home. The evaporator was cold at the seller's place, but it was definitely empty when I checked it out the next day.
Perhaps it was at the tail end of a 20 year old leak ? And you caught it just in time ?
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Post by turbokinetic on Aug 17, 2018 5:39:09 GMT
Thanks, and yes it is a good feeling to get it back working. Still don't understand exactly what happened on the trip home. The evaporator was cold at the seller's place, but it was definitely empty when I checked it out the next day.
Perhaps it was at the tail end of a 20 year old leak ? And you caught it just in time ?
Could have been. That charging port was bad as well. I tried to open it with the service kit, and couldn't. Then later came back and tried with the puncture tap. I think that maybe I created a leak at that first attempt and didn't realize it.
And you're probably right. It may be able to operate to some degree with a very small charge, and overnight running with nothing in the cabinet, it was enough to feel cold to me while I was there.
Time will tell.
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Post by ajc31980 on Aug 17, 2018 5:51:05 GMT
Perhaps it was at the tail end of a 20 year old leak ? And you caught it just in time ?
Could have been. That charging port was bad as well. I tried to open it with the service kit, and couldn't. Then later came back and tried with the puncture tap. I think that maybe I created a leak at that first attempt and didn't realize it.
And you're probably right. It may be able to operate to some degree with a very small charge, and overnight running with nothing in the cabinet, it was enough to feel cold to me while I was there.
Time will tell.
It kinda reminds me of how my GE was running. With the low charge that was left. It would get the case cold. Even cold enough to cycle off If I let it run all day on a lower setting . They joys... of the mysteriously leak ! Lol Wishing you continued success with this project. AJ
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Post by solarmike on Aug 17, 2018 13:02:35 GMT
Thanks, and yes it is a good feeling to get it back working. Still don't understand exactly what happened on the trip home. The evaporator was cold at the seller's place, but it was definitely empty when I checked it out the next day.
Man that is awesome and so quick also..... It just wanted you to work on it that's all... It's just like new now...
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Post by turbokinetic on Aug 18, 2018 2:52:31 GMT
Details! Got a few details sorted today.
First, this box arrived from a fellow antique appliance enthusiast. It has a Westinghouse fan motor from a dehumidifier; and a motor start relay. This is perfect since I am missing the Westinghouse motor relay for this fridge.
The relay. It had the same exact relay inside it as the one in my Deluxe Westinghouse. Should work nicely!
I modified a box to house the Ranco replacement temperature control, the motor start relay, and a terminal strip.
Everything fits in there nicely.
The cords have strain reliefs. Those came from Lowe's for use with outdoor boxes and Romex cable.
Looking nice with the top back on!
Got the light in place. The socket needed some soldering internally. The rivets had popped apart. I replaced them with small brass screws, and then soldered the screws in place. Also, put new MTW wire for the light circuit. No shoddy wiring here!
And, of course, a short video!
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Post by elec573 on Aug 18, 2018 3:19:11 GMT
Well as usual very nice work. It nice to see one brought back from the brink .
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Post by turbokinetic on Aug 18, 2018 3:40:44 GMT
Well as usual very nice work. It nice to see one brought back from the brink . Thanks! It seems to cool very strongly and sounds good as well.
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Post by birkie on Aug 18, 2018 3:41:02 GMT
I put the setscrew on an Allen key bit (for use with ratchet) and then chucked the bit in a drill. With the setscrew spinning in the drill, it was brought against a fine grit grinding wheel, until the tapered tip was formed. After that, it was sanded with sandpaper while spinning in the drill, to remove any imperfections. Then, finally, it was pressed hard into a pad of red Scotch-Brite to polish and smooth the tapered tip. Ahhh, now that is simple and clever. Never would have thought to use a drill and a grinder, but it makes sense.
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Post by sheeplady on Aug 18, 2018 3:57:05 GMT
And just for fun here is a video showing westy models for that year. youtu.be/D89bbzmlgDYYou will notice that it is not from the 50s as the title suggests. Also, it cuts off before the video finishes but you get the idea. Haha- I love the cabbage hen and her brussel sprout chicks. Makes me laugh. And the little walking hot dogs. Thank you for posting that!
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Post by icebox on Aug 18, 2018 12:23:26 GMT
Well as usual very nice work. It nice to see one brought back from the brink . Thanks! It seems to cool very strongly and sounds good as well. Looks great, I love the sound of the oil splashing in the compressor!
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Post by turbokinetic on Aug 18, 2018 13:18:40 GMT
Thanks! It seems to cool very strongly and sounds good as well. Looks great, I love the sound of the oil splashing in the compressor! Thank you! All I need to do is get a box cover for the box, so that it has a finished look. And then, of course, the rest of the cabinet is in need of quite a bit of work with the paint condition and all.
It's interesting the lengths Westinghouse went to, trying to minimize the noise. The bottom of the fridge had wood baffles in it, with flocking on the surfaces to absorb the sound. It also had the hot air exhaust flue that went on the back. That would have had some sort of insulation in side it, also for noise abatement.
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