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Post by Ryan1934 on Jan 12, 2020 2:29:04 GMT
We’ve (wife and I) been talking about building a bar in the basement this winter. We’re both a fan of older vintage things so I started searching for vintage/antique refrigerators. I stumbled across these monitor tops, found one in Green Bay, Wi and did a little research. Seems they are pretty simple, reliable, and efficient since they are not frost free. So I message the seller and said I would like to come get it the next day. Seller said everything works. Below are the pictures from the ad. (I’ve never attached picture links so bear with me.) photos.app.goo.gl/uJVjz3DrPkALQNNMAphotos.app.goo.gl/nRHCApFHS7Ctih9SAphotos.app.goo.gl/gdiH6cqKBbbwDcVn7
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Post by turbokinetic on Jan 12, 2020 2:38:45 GMT
We’ve (wife and I) been talking about building a bar in the basement this winter. We’re both a fan of older vintage things so I started searching for vintage/antique refrigerators. I stumbled across these monitor tops, found one in Green Bay, Wi and did a little research. Seems they are pretty simple, reliable, and efficient since they are not frost free. So I message the seller and said I would like to come get it the next day. Seller said everything works. Below are the pictures from the ad. (I’ve never attached picture links so bear with me.) photos.app.goo.gl/uJVjz3DrPkALQNNMAphotos.app.goo.gl/nRHCApFHS7Ctih9SAphotos.app.goo.gl/gdiH6cqKBbbwDcVn7Welcome and glad you found a working CA-1 model! It looks nice and clean as well. These are very unique in many ways, requiring the most care of any of the Monitor Top models. Since it is still working, you should have no problems with it, once you give it its needed maintenance of checking for built up noncondensible gas in the system. Sincerely, David
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Post by Ryan1934 on Jan 12, 2020 2:58:40 GMT
Thanks. I’m hoping to write a step by step of what I’ve learned (mostly from this forum site, which I’m extremely great full for) to help the next guy. I’ve taken pictures that I haven’t come across that I would like to attach. I think each MT has a mostly unknown history and a unique discovery process for its new care giver. I’ve not had this one a week and I already want another one.
Can anyone see the three photos above? I linked it from my phone, but can’t see them on my iPad. Does it take a while to upload? Did I make an error?
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Post by coldspaces on Jan 12, 2020 3:05:52 GMT
Yep the links worked for me. Welcome to the forum and good luck with your new refrigerating machine!!
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Post by coldspaces on Jan 12, 2020 3:07:34 GMT
Hey were practically neighbors in the world of Monitor Tops. Most of us are much farther apart.
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Post by elec573 on Jan 12, 2020 3:08:37 GMT
Hello Ryan And like turbo said welcome to the forum ! Nice looking fridge. There is a lot of free information here, recommend looking through the ca section since that’s what you have . Two important things on the cas is the heater and non condensable gases . Both not that hard to fix but need checking out . Look in the ca section under those headlining. Theirs plenty of information there and we can help fill in the gaps !
The photos came up for me .
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Post by Ryan1934 on Jan 12, 2020 3:28:16 GMT
Thanks everyone! Thanks for the support so far. Since the pic links work I’ll continue. So I drove to Green Bay and met the guy. It was in a cold garage. He plugged it in and turned it on. It made that weak metal clanging sound. That was all I had to go buy. It looked original, not butchered of molested in any way. I paid him his $300 asking price (seemed fair from what I had read) and loaded it up. Holy sh*t are they heavy. The cabinet was easy, but the top was something else. I layed it control knobs down because I read that here somewhere, strapped it all down and headed home. Once home I unloaded the cabinet into the basement, but left the top in the truck for the next day. I made a wood support for the top and used a car wheel dolly make it moveable. photos.app.goo.gl/75zPDBNr2MqgcALS9After a slightly scary ride down my wood ramps, I had it in the garage. photos.app.goo.gl/E6M2eyh8DRGeFEkA9photos.app.goo.gl/1mRvj2oZomAterJo6I started looking it over and realized it was completely original from what I could tell. No signs of anyone’s poor attempt to repair anything.
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Post by turbokinetic on Jan 12, 2020 3:31:14 GMT
Thanks everyone! Thanks for the support so far. Since the pic links work I’ll continue. So I drove to Green Bay and met the guy. It was in a cold garage. He plugged it in and turned it on. It made that weak metal clanging sound. That was all I had to go buy. It looked original, not butchered of molested in any way. I paid him his $300 asking price (seemed fair from what I had read) and loaded it up. Holy sh*t are they heavy. The cabinet was easy, but the top was something else. I layed it control knobs down because I read that here somewhere, strapped it all down and headed home. Once home I unloaded the cabinet into the basement, but left the top in the truck for the next day. I made a wood support for the top and used a car wheel dolly make it moveable. photos.app.goo.gl/75zPDBNr2MqgcALS9After a slightly scary ride down my wood ramps, I had it in the garage. photos.app.goo.gl/E6M2eyh8DRGeFEkA9photos.app.goo.gl/1mRvj2oZomAterJo6I started looking it over and realized it was completely original from what I could tell. No signs of anyone’s poor attempt to repair anything. Wow that does look so original! The cord, especially, is original. Your car wheel dolly seemed to be a good idea. The curvature for the car wheel nicely accommodated the evaporator LOL!
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Post by Ryan1934 on Jan 12, 2020 3:32:25 GMT
Hey were practically neighbors in the world of Monitor Tops. Most of us are much farther apart. I see your in Chillicothe. I went to Bradley University and spent a year with NTN bearing before moving back up here. Thanks for your efforts on here.
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Post by Ryan1934 on Jan 12, 2020 3:50:49 GMT
Yes. The dolly works good. Anything to make it easy for one person to move. Here’s a couple more pics of the top. photos.app.goo.gl/G7dNnfdNGQVEEMhh7photos.app.goo.gl/iUeRyMW4AxhuroJU9The cord. That’s where I started. I read where the wiring on these old machines is toast and mine was no exception. I’m an electrician and instrument technician by trade. If you don’t disturb it, it might be ok. But the cord was done. photos.app.goo.gl/X8g5rFaRHQEySD2a8photos.app.goo.gl/BPvFVpZr6doe7jUm7My local Ace Hardware has the cord needed. I also purchased a new plug end that had an older style look to it. Unfortunately the twist off end at the relay box was incredibly stubborn. Not sure if someone had tried to pull it off incorrectly before or if I screwed it up, but I pretty much ruined it getting it off. I purchased a two wire cord female end that pinches the original spades nicely. I didn’t worry about the light plug at this time. Here’s a couple more examples of the cord condition. Just shot. photos.app.goo.gl/UUN8ojPX2XAvbzJC9photos.app.goo.gl/mDBgmEsKJpVtipyK9I plugged it in and briefly turned it on to check it. It started and again made the weak clang sound.
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Post by Ryan1934 on Jan 12, 2020 4:09:22 GMT
The oil conditioner aka “heater” In my reading I learned about the importance of the heater. It’s easy to check. With the control in the “off” position, measure the resistance across the end of the plug in cord. The heater is on and heating whenever the unit is plugged in regardless of the control position. You should get a reading of around 1000 ohms. I had an open circuit which told me my heater was not functional. I got in this forum and did a lot of research on where to get a new heater. Seems like a lot of people had trouble and delays finding a heater. I found one thread that had a reply from an actual vendor offering their services in supplying heaters. I figured if they cared enough to post I’d give them a try. Ben at Phoenix Thermal Supply was very helpful. Their info is in the General-Suppliers section. After a brief conversation he said “oh, your a refrigerator guy.” We figured out what I wanted,12 watt, etc. They had 7 on the shelf!!! Down to 5 now as I ordered two at $33 each plus shipping. I know some have paid more and waited longer. I received them two days later. I dug the plug out of the top to access the heater. Upon fishing the heater out of the housing I realized this wiring was also bad as the insulation cracked and flew off the conductors. I didn’t really want to rewire the whole thing, but after checking the compressor wiring at the relay I deemed it was necessary. In fact. I would call it foolish to NOT rewire one of these machines. Here’s a couple pics of what I believe is an original heater. photos.app.goo.gl/5EQQUfeayq6cyh696photos.app.goo.gl/viosKqkpMtvybpAR6
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Post by Ryan1934 on Jan 12, 2020 4:57:48 GMT
Now to access the wiring. I placed the top back on its’ face (control knobs down) and removed the 8 screws holding the lower plate onto the top lid. photos.app.goo.gl/C8YfkMnEJyrYPEpk9Next I carefully removed the staples from one of the corners of the cardboard between the lower plate and the top lid. Now I had to remove the brass spacers or grommet in the same corner. They look kind of like a grommet but they just easily push into the corner. There is one in the top and one on the bottom. They push into a wood piece that is on the inside if the corner. Once removed the corner of the cardboard can be spread to remove it. This will reveal the insulation between the lower plate and top lid. Mine was a coarse dark brown insulation. Similar to fiberglass but very coarse and not at all itchy. I removed this insulation without much care because I thought I was going to put new in. In hindsight I wish I had taken my time and removed it carefully because it was in great shape and I did end up reusing it. At least for now. This is the view after removing the insulation. photos.app.goo.gl/yww8Wsdwhg7v9oVc8The wiring for the compressor was also very brittle and cracked with every time I touched it. This made me realize the necessity of rewriting theses old machines. I’ll feel better about the safety of it now.
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Post by turbokinetic on Jan 12, 2020 16:45:58 GMT
Hey Ryan, looks like great progress being made. Thank you for sharing the pictures with us.
The insulation is an organic fiber, I forget the name. It's thankfully not scratchy. Your compressor base and the top of the evaporator deck look to be in great, clean condition. That's really a good finding since it looks like the unit has not been exposed to weather or severe condensation. Many you'll find with the insulation deteriorated and everything rusted badly.
It's amazing yours still has the warranty seal on the start-relay box. That shows you how reliable it has been!
Those twist connectors can, indeed, be hard to remove. It seems they need to twist to a certain specific position (before the stop) to release.
Sincerely, David
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Post by Ryan1934 on Jan 13, 2020 3:43:09 GMT
On to the actual rewire. These are pretty simple electrically. You have a heater that gets power whenever the unit is plugged in. The compressor has a start winding and a run winding. These work automatically as long as the relay is good. The controller tells the compressor to turn on. photos.app.goo.gl/ee8ksLFEu41Xmv7E8photos.app.goo.gl/rzYnDeyQBpv6MAFK9I went back to my local Ace Hardware and bought: 2 feet of 3-16 cord. Rubber cover like the original. 4 feet of 2-16 cord. I used a soldering iron to remove: the wires from the bottom of the compressor, the three wire compressor black from the two wire control white, and the heater from the two wire heater wire. Each connection had a soldering ferrule holding the wires together making it more secure and easier to solder. You can reuse these a I did or get new ones. I measured and cut the new wire to match the old and soldered it back like I found it. The control end of the control wire used the same twist to remove setup as the power supply cord. It’s tight there but it can be removed. The heater wire had ring terminals on the relay end. The loose ends of the compressor and control wires had solder melted into the strands to help keep it together. I did this and it helped keep the strands under the screw heads tremendously. I put the insulation and cardboard surround back as best I could and reattached the lower plate to the lid. Put it back on my crate and checked the resistance at the wall plug end of the power cord. 1000 ohms just as it should be. I plugged it in for its 24 hour warm up period. After a few hours it seemed to have a pulse. Sort of a quite bubbling or boiling sound.
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Post by Ryan1934 on Jan 13, 2020 3:49:24 GMT
I also checked the compressor resistance. The black wire terminal is the common. The red wire terminal is the start winding. The white wire terminal is the run winding. Red to black (start circuit) 20.6 ohms White to black (run circuit) 3.3 ohms
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