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Post by oldhotpoint on Feb 18, 2023 19:36:29 GMT
Hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone could help me with getting this old refrigerator running again. I believe it's a 1938 Hotpoint. Cat no. 110ED640, serial number is 9837432, and I believe the model number is CE-21-A16. I have 3 major concerns.
1st is it's missing the fan motor and fan. I can't find a stock replacement and wanted to know if there were proven ways of putting a modern one in, or where to find a stock replacement.
2nd concern is the wiring. The fan motor was gone, the relay was broken into pieces and only held on by one wire strand. I took apart the top and because the wiring was too damaged to reuse, I ran new wiring from the top down, to go into a relay. I just spliced in where the other accessories went into the main cord and left them alone. Their wiring doesn't appear to be damaged.
3rd concern is how to go about seeing if there's refrigerant in the system. I cannot see any evidence of a puncture anywhere in the system. But I don't want to run the system if it doesn't have refrigerant or oil in the system, obviously trying to avoid damaging it. This is a model that uses 1.75lbs of So2. If anyone has advice about how to tackle this project, I would greatly appreciate it.
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marko
7 Cubic Foot
Posts: 141
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Post by marko on Feb 18, 2023 22:53:29 GMT
Answers:
1- Yes
2- You need a relay
3- Address #1 & #2 first, especially #2, a short run without a condenser fan will prove if there is a refrigerant charge.
Is this refrigerator a G.E. re-badge?
Pictures would be a very big help, especially of the condenser fan question.
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Post by oldhotpoint on Feb 19, 2023 1:40:09 GMT
Here are some pictures, if more are needed please let me know. |
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Post by cablehack on Feb 19, 2023 8:25:12 GMT
It's a rebadge of a GE Flat Top, so it's covered in the Scotch Yoke service manual, which can be downloaded. The wiring diagrams start on page 91. There is no CE-21 listed by General Electric, so presumably that's a Hotpoint number, However, GE does have various other CE types listed. If you go through all the wiring diagrams with fans, one will match up.
You can test the compressor without a relay to confirm everything is OK with the refrigerant, etc. No fan is needed for this test. Connect 120V directly to the common and run terminals, and immediately touch the start terminal to the run terminal. The motor should come up to speed within about two seconds, and then remove the start to run connection straight away (leaving it connected will burn out the start winding). Similarly, make sure the motor is started within a few seconds of connecting the mains supply, otherwise the run winding will burn out. In doing this test, there is no overload protection.
Just run it for a few minutes to make sure the evaporator gets cold. Though not essential for a short test, I would recommend using a plug in power meter to keep an eye on the power consumption, since this tells a lot about the condition of the refrigeration circuit, and will alert you to any abnormal condition that might damage the compressor.
I would be surprised if it doesn't work perfectly straight away - Flat Tops are just too reliable, and after all, were the peak of GE's pre-war fridge design.
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Post by oldhotpoint on Feb 19, 2023 14:13:21 GMT
Thank you for your reply cablehack, I will conduct that test asap. I've followed turbokinetics troubleshooting videos and with the volt meter my compressor seems to be good. Assuming that the test you instructed to do goes well, what recommendation would you make to source a a fan and fan motor?
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Post by ckfan on Feb 19, 2023 17:45:58 GMT
That looks identical to my 1940 Hotpoint that I use in my kitchen.
I actually ended up giving up on putting a correct fan in the condenser area. What I ended up doing was zip tying a little clip on desk fan to the condenser coil to blow through it. It has worked fine for almost two years that way. The design of this condenser coil / fan is very poor in my opinion. You have to unbolt the coil and swing it 90 degrees to gain access to the fan area. I didn’t want to disturb the lines, so I just zip tied a fan on and called it a day.
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Post by oldhotpoint on Feb 19, 2023 18:53:29 GMT
I might just have to do that, thank you for the reply
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Post by oldhotpoint on Feb 24, 2023 9:52:09 GMT
Hello everyone, just wanted to update this thread. After rewiring everything, installing a R081 relay, purchasing a counter clockwise fan motor and fan, and also making my own custom mount, I'm happy to report that it's running like a dream. I want to give a big thanks to everyone here, especially TurboKinetic. He was a crucial part in sourcing parts, advice and knowledge. A couple things I'd like to point out for anyone that'll look to this thread for guidance on their hotpoint. 1. Make sure the fan motor is counterclockwise with a counter clockwise fan. 2. The relays get really hot and that's normal. 3. The wiring schematics on these provided by members here was crucial for me. You'll need to look up the original schematic for identifying the original wiring and terminals, implement the schematic drawn by members here, while also paying attention to the schematic to the relay itself. 4. Turbo Kinetic has a YouTube channel, davida1hiwaaynet, it was a wealth of knowledge. Check it out. Thank you everyone again. |
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Post by turbokinetic on Feb 24, 2023 13:52:36 GMT
Hello everyone, just wanted to update this thread. After rewiring everything, installing a R081 relay, purchasing a counter clockwise fan motor and fan, and also making my own custom mount, I'm happy to report that it's running like a dream. <> Happy to hear you got it going! I'm also very happy that you found my You Tube channel useful. That's what motivates me to keep making videos. I do understand Ray's point about not disturbing the lines and using a desk fan for a condenser fan; but I (being the worry-wart that I am) would fear that cheap consumer-grade motor would die randomly as they are known to do; and overheat my compressor while I wasn't there to deal with it. The unit-bearing motors are built to run for hours at a time for years without failing. Sincerely, David |
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