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Post by desertadobe32 on Jan 20, 2021 18:46:25 GMT
Hello Everyone, I'm about as green as it comes to antique appliance repair, but jumped in and purchased a working 1939 GE fridge (model B6-39-A) to go along with our restoration of a 1932 adobe house in Tucson. The door gasket was in pretty bad shape, so we replaced it with the 1788 gasket from Antique Appliances. Now that the new gasket is in, we cannot get the door to latch closed. The door closes about 98% of the way, but just won't give us that final beautiful "click"... Does anyone have any advice on how to get that final bit of precious door closure? I've tried using a hair dryer to soften the gasket, and ratchet straps overnight, but to no avail. Here is a link to a few pics of the unit: imgur.com/XdQXeXB imgur.com/LGDDHMx imgur.com/a2dhpgFThank you for any advice in advance! Alex |
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Post by ckfan on Jan 24, 2021 2:43:51 GMT
It sounds like the gasket might be too thick. I do know that over time it will get better but you need the door to close first without straining the hinges and latch. I think there is an adjustment on the strike on the fridge cabinet, not the door. At least I know there is on my flat tops. I would see if you could adjust the strike so that the door latches when it is further away from the cabinet.
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Post by turbokinetic on Jan 24, 2021 4:59:16 GMT
Hello Everyone, I'm about as green as it comes to antique appliance repair, but jumped in and purchased a working 1939 GE fridge (model B6-39-A) to go along with our restoration of a 1932 adobe house in Tucson. The door gasket was in pretty bad shape, so we replaced it with the 1788 gasket from Antique Appliances. Now that the new gasket is in, we cannot get the door to latch closed. The door closes about 98% of the way, but just won't give us that final beautiful "click"... Does anyone have any advice on how to get that final bit of precious door closure? I've tried using a hair dryer to soften the gasket, and ratchet straps overnight, but to no avail. Here is a link to a few pics of the unit: imgur.com/XdQXeXB imgur.com/LGDDHMx imgur.com/a2dhpgFThank you for any advice in advance! Alex That's a nice fridge there. Love the flat-tops! The gasket from Antique Appliances is very stiff compared to the hollow silicone foam ones I prefer. You can warm the gasket up with a heating gun, all the way around, to soften it. Do this until you can close the door without undue force on the hinges or latch. Allow it to stay closed for a few hours after this has been done. Heating guns produce a much higher temperature than a hair dryer. Also, in addition to the heating, you may be able to move the latch striker plate forward, to allow the door to latch without compressing the gasket so much. I think there are two screws beside the latch striker, which can be loosened to adjust it. |
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Post by desertadobe32 on Jan 25, 2021 15:39:24 GMT
Thank you for the tips! I adjusted the strike on the fridge cabinet as far forward as I could, but it still is not latching - it feels like it needs less than 5mm to latch. Argh! I'm going to pick up heating gun today and see it that does the trick. Makes sense that the heating guns get hotter than a hair dryer. I should have waited to replace the gasket until the summer here in AZ, as the ambient temps would have probably softened the gasket better than anything.  I'll let you know how things go. |
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