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Thread Number: 78851
/ Tag: Refrigerators
Vintage GE Fridge Info Wanted... |
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| Post# 1028376 3/30/2019 at 08:14 (1,852 days old) by bellalaundry (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada) | ||
Hi all,
I am interested in this fridge that I found on Kijiji. Does anyone have any info on this model? Approximate year, is it frost free, any common weakness? I'm thinking about making this my main fridge. Opinions? Guy CLICK HERE TO GO TO bellalaundry's LINK | ||
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Post# 1028377 , Reply# 1 3/30/2019 at 09:24 (1,852 days old) by combo52  (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Early 50s GE Two Door Ref
These were very advanced refs for their day.
It is not self-defrosting in the freezer section, the fresh food section is self-defrosting. This ref has dual temperature controls and dual refrigeration systems. These were very good refs but cost too much to build so GE switched to the cheaper to build refs with the serpentine coil at the top of the FF section by the mid 50s, and while these later ones worked ok they were not nearly as good in many ways. The big question is does this ref still work properly. It should be able to easily maintain 0F in the freezer and 37F in the FF area and not run more than about 50% of the time in a 70F house. John | ||
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Post# 1028387 , Reply# 2 3/30/2019 at 11:05 (1,852 days old) by turquoisedude (.) |
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| Post# 1028389 , Reply# 3 3/30/2019 at 11:41 (1,852 days old) by bellalaundry (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada) | ||
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Well | ||
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Post# 1028390 , Reply# 4 3/30/2019 at 11:47 (1,852 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL) |
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Post# 1028396 , Reply# 5 3/30/2019 at 12:33 (1,852 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions) |
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Post# 1028398 , Reply# 6 3/30/2019 at 12:53 (1,852 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay) |
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 I don't see any mechanical door latches. This must be the first model year, or close to it, that used the alnico magnetic latches. This is a plus IMO. I have known early '50s GE Combinations with latch issues on the freezer door that created chronic over-frosting conditions.
$800 is way too much for this fridge in spite of its over all excellent condition. | ||
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Post# 1028438 , Reply# 7 3/30/2019 at 19:20 (1,852 days old) by wiskybill (Canton, Ohio) |
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By coincidence... saw this today at an estate sale in Toledo, Ohio. They said it was in use until just recently. It was clean inside and no musty odors. The basement it was in not so much. Going today at half price for $30. | ||
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Post# 1028440 , Reply# 8 3/30/2019 at 19:43 (1,852 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay) |
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A Steal At $30! | ||
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Post# 1028443 , Reply# 9 3/30/2019 at 19:54 (1,852 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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GE Ref With No Mechanical Latches ? | ||
| Post# 1028445 , Reply# 10 3/30/2019 at 20:01 (1,852 days old) by ken (NYS) | ||
I too am surprised to see no latches on these two fridges above. The other current thread by Northwesty showing the new paint job on his 52 GE shows a mechanical latch. The new for 54 design with the rotating shelves had a mechanical latch which continued for 55. Magnetic latches with the visible receiver plate on the cabinet came in 1956.
Just guessing but maybe there was some kind of spring tension system in the hinges? Though I would think they would have to be larger than they appear to allow for such a spring. | ||
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Post# 1028448 , Reply# 11 3/30/2019 at 20:10 (1,852 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay) |
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| Post# 1028449 , Reply# 12 3/30/2019 at 20:14 (1,852 days old) by ken (NYS) | ||
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Post# 1028452 , Reply# 13 3/30/2019 at 21:14 (1,852 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area) |
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After reviewing a few old magazine ads, I'm nearly certain that this is a 1951 model. My neighbors the Bates family had one like this for many years in their house which was built that year. | ||
| Post# 1028469 , Reply# 14 3/30/2019 at 22:40 (1,852 days old) by Northwesty (Renton, WA) | ||
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the rust on the $30 might go away kinda with some effort. That $800 I admit is a lot but I might consider it if I wanted one. It seems to be in really good shape. Just a note My Combination is apparently a 1953. I only see one temperature control. | ||
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Post# 1028503 , Reply# 15 3/31/2019 at 07:03 (1,851 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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First Style GE Combination Refs These had a temperature thumb-wheel control on the back wall of the ref and the freezer control behind the hinged kick-plate-grille, with this dual control system these refs would even keep a 0F freezer temperature in a cold garage.
As mentioned the GE refs with the serpentine evaporator in the top of the FF section were much simpler and cheaper to build but had a lot of trade offs.
GE did not build another great ref like these first Combinations till they came out with the bottom freezer Frost Guard models [ without the serpentine ref coil and real dual temperature controls ] In 1961.
John | ||
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Post# 1028510 , Reply# 16 3/31/2019 at 07:58 (1,851 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL) |
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Tom, You are correct - 1951. After looking through my literature I found the Use and Care book for this refrigerator. The only mention of the door gaskets is this:
"Don't forget to clean the Koroseal sealing strips around the inside of the doors. For cleaning, use a mild soap-and-water solution… rinse thoroughly... wipe dry."
There are no mechanical latches; no mention is made of a magnetic seal. There is also no mention of the foot pedal although the cover illustration shows the model using this feature.
lawrence | ||
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Post# 1028541 , Reply# 18 3/31/2019 at 13:16 (1,851 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay) |
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Very interesting about the latch/no latch models during the same year, and so early on in the Combo's timeline. Many years ago I snagged a 1950 Combo through a friend and gave it to my sister. It had latches. The thing I liked about GE's latches is that they closed so easily compared to the door on our household's '49 Westinghouse, which would bounce back if not given a really good push, and took a good yank to open. No surprise that the handle had to be replaced twice on the Westy's door during the 25 or so years it served as our main fridge.
How did the cooling and defrosting work in the FF section of these early Combos without the serpentine coil? Was the cold plate on the rear wall like with Hotpoints?
I can't complain about the ability of my '57 Combo to maintain true zero in the freezer section, but if my pursuit of a new compressor doesn't pan out, I think I'd rather have one of these two-system early models. | ||
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Post# 1028547 , Reply# 19 3/31/2019 at 13:54 (1,851 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area) |
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Further research The earliest I could find this magnetic door mentioned was in June 1950, in which GE's ad explains how it works. As I'm posting from my cellphone, I can't get the link to the copy, but if you go to Ken's link, you can replace 1951 with 1950. The ad is in the June 19 issue of"Life". | ||
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Post# 1028563 , Reply# 20 3/31/2019 at 17:57 (1,851 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay) |
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Thanks Tom, I found it!
I wonder why GE abandoned the magnetic gaskets so quickly. Everybody else was using them at least to some extent by the early '60s if not sooner, while GE was still using the "bubble" type gaskets with exposed door magnets and metal strips on the cabinets for quite a while longer.
Re: the linked ad, scroll up, as it's a two-pager. CLICK HERE TO GO TO RP2813's LINK | ||
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