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Thread Number: 80067
/ Tag: Refrigerators
GE Compressor Swap Cont'd |
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| Post# 1040004 7/30/2019 at 11:10 (1,725 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA) | ||
So as to not keep everyone in the dark, a quick update on the compressor swap on the '65 GE. That old compressor was a beast, I'm half tempted to throw it on the scale and see what she comes in at.
In the meantime, I did pick up the late model WP SxS fridge with a donor compressor (Panasonic). A quick fit up and I think I should be able to make it work in the same space with a modified back for clearance. The condenser motor blades are a just a tad too big to consider this a drop-in, so I'll have to get creative. Same story for supporting the condenser and compressor, but that shouldn't be too tough with some aluminum angle. In the meantime, I have a new cap tube drier on the way and hopefully will be able to close the system this weekend. One question for the experts...in converting to R-134a, what should I do about the oil charge? Both fridges were upright long enough for any residual oil to have drained back to their respective compressors. Will the PAG in the new comp be sufficient? I'm not real concerned about trace amounts of mineral oil in the GE, but wasn't sure if a little more PAG should be introduced. I'll blow out the condenser when I remove the drier, maybe see what comes out for volume. Thoughts?
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Post# 1040010 , Reply# 1 7/30/2019 at 12:02 (1,725 days old) by Ultramatic  (New York City) |
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Post# 1040011 , Reply# 2 7/30/2019 at 12:06 (1,725 days old) by turbokinetic (Northport, Alabama USA) |
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Hey, thanks for sharing this! I am excited to see how well it works and what you encounter during the swap. Sincerely, David | ||
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Post# 1040247 , Reply# 3 8/1/2019 at 07:10 (1,723 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Compressor Swap Great progress Cory, If you want to use the newer more efficient WP condenser fan motor you can often use the fan blade from the GE on the WP motor if the WP motor is still a similar metal motor, if the WP has a newer style plastic ECM motor you would have to get creative.
As far as the oil issues you should check with my Brother Jeff as he has done retrofits like this many times.
John L. | ||
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Post# 1040389 , Reply# 4 8/2/2019 at 10:36 (1,722 days old) by jeff_adelphi (Adelphi, Maryland, USA) |
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Compressor oil Whirlpool told us some time ago that you could replace a R-12 compressor with a R-134a compressor and not worry about the small amount of mineral oil remaining in the system. Flushing the condenser coil is a good idea, and if you think any of the PAG oil was lost when the compressor was removed you could add a small amount, an ounce or two. | ||
| Post# 1040392 , Reply# 5 8/2/2019 at 10:47 (1,722 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA) | ||
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Sounds good! I did blow out the condenser earlier this week and had only the slightest trace of oil blow out, just a film, nothing worth measuring. Condenser is now installed, dryer is soldered in and last night I got the compressor mounted and worked out the wiring. Tonight I'll focus on making brackets for the plastic bodied fan motor and sweat the last couple of joints.
For kicks I cut open the old drier and all looked okay. No internal restrictions. Looked brand new, actually, which points moreso to the compressor as the issue. | ||
| Post# 1040427 , Reply# 6 8/2/2019 at 18:24 (1,722 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA) | ||
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Based on the top 5 threads, maybe we should change the name of this forum from "Super" to the "Discussion Area for Poor Saps that own Vintage GE Fridges"
Anyhow, gratuitous shot of the '65 under vacuum. Fan now mounted, wiring mostly complete. We'll see if things hold.
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Post# 1040429 , Reply# 7 8/2/2019 at 18:52 (1,722 days old) by Lorainfurniture (Cleveland ) |
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That looks very nice, the average lay person would not know that is not original. Great work | ||
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Post# 1040430 , Reply# 8 8/2/2019 at 19:04 (1,722 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City) |
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Post# 1040431 , Reply# 9 8/2/2019 at 19:11 (1,722 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions) |
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Post# 1040437 , Reply# 10 8/2/2019 at 19:56 (1,722 days old) by Jeff_adelphi (Adelphi, Maryland, USA) |
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Post# 1040462 , Reply# 11 8/3/2019 at 04:34 (1,721 days old) by turbokinetic (Northport, Alabama USA) |
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very nice! That looks like it came from the factory like that! Just curious; where did you hide the defrost valve? Sincerely, David | ||
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Post# 1040472 , Reply# 12 8/3/2019 at 07:09 (1,721 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Looking Good Cory It looks like you might win The Jeff Lefever award for neatness, when my brother Jeff does these jobs there is no mistaking them for original factory jobs because Jeffs work is far better than factory work.
If you look at the typical original brazing of joints etc they are usually pretty sloppy and freon lines are not neatly run etc.
Hi David, This refrigerator is a dual evaporator cycle-defrost type so there is no timer, defrost valve etc.
My brother Jeff did install a Tecumseh compressor in a 1960 GE Frost Guard upright freezer over 30 years ago which is still working perfectly where he had to use the original GE defrost valve from the GE compressor.
John L. | ||
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Post# 1040514 , Reply# 13 8/3/2019 at 11:44 (1,721 days old) by turbokinetic (Northport, Alabama USA) |
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Thanks for the info on the dual evap cycle defrost functionality. That is a really neat system as well. | ||
| Post# 1040562 , Reply# 14 8/3/2019 at 19:29 (1,721 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA) | ||
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Hot Damn! We are back in business! (knock on wood)
No degradation of vac overnight, so I went ahead and started things off with 7oz of R134A this morning. Here we are 10 hours later with a nice even frost pattern in the fridge section, smooth, quiet operation. A setting of 2-3 on the cold control yields a 40F fridge temp and ~5F in the freezer in an 80F room (had to turn it down, it'll freeze water now). Things are cycling properly. The kill-a-watt says 1.7 Amp draw when running (roughly 50% reduction from the original). Thanks for everyone's help with this and all the kind comments on the install. Here are a few more pics. Keen eyes will note a high side port accessible from the toe kick. One last thing will be to replace the cardboard rear panel with a metal one that bumps out 1/2" to provide a little breathing room for the compressor. I'll fab that up tomorrow, then back in the kitchen it all goes. | ||
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Post# 1040564 , Reply# 15 8/3/2019 at 19:34 (1,721 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City) |
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Post# 1040613 , Reply# 16 8/4/2019 at 06:59 (1,720 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions) |
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| Post# 1040658 , Reply# 18 8/4/2019 at 12:41 (1,720 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD) | ||
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Very nice save :) and cool mostly salvaged parts were used. I'd be cutting open the old compressor to see what went wrong with it :) | ||
| Post# 1040666 , Reply# 19 8/4/2019 at 14:18 (1,720 days old) by sfh074 ( ) | ||
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Can you please .... take a picture of the tag on the side of the new compressor showing part number and post it here? | ||
| Post# 1040704 , Reply# 20 8/4/2019 at 18:25 (1,720 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA) | ||
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Alright, all buttoned-up and back in the kitchen. Now cross your fingers!
Bud, the compressor turned out to be a Panasonic, model DG66C10RAU6 out of a 22 cu ft WP (Estate) SxS fridge. This turned out to be a good donor because there was no way anyone was going to buy it for their kitchen. Pulled from a rental, it looked like it went through a war. David, if you had suggested I try this a year ago, I would have said you're nuts! I always figured bad compressors and lost freon were death blows for nice looking vintage fridges. Between John suggesting a compressor source, Ben digging up the service info, and a DIY geothermal project that had prompted me to study up on refrigeration and buy A/C equipment (don't ask), I figured why not give this a shot. Pretty Wild!
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Post# 1040705 , Reply# 21 8/4/2019 at 18:32 (1,720 days old) by turbokinetic (Northport, Alabama USA) |
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Glad you made it happen after learning what was necessary. As I've often said - it's not Black Magic getting these running! Also that rear cover looks good. :) | ||
| Post# 1040771 , Reply# 22 8/5/2019 at 11:13 (1,719 days old) by sfh074 ( ) | ||
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Well ...... an awesome job! So happy to see another vintage fridge saved. | ||
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Post# 1040824 , Reply# 23 8/5/2019 at 23:20 (1,719 days old) by neptunebob (Pittsburgh, PA) |
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I hope you recovered the R12... I also wondered if you flushed the components with nitrogen before pulling a vacuum. Doing so makes a vacuum happen much faster. In fact, I think NASA uses this process in their vacuum chambers when testing spacecraft.
How would you know how much refrigerant? There is probably a label but with the new compressor wouldn't the volume now be different? | ||
| Post# 1040857 , Reply# 24 8/6/2019 at 08:55 (1,718 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA) | ||
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Hey Bob, yeah, the R-12 I took out then went into my '93 pickup. When charging R-134a I took John's advice of 6-7oz, ran it for a day, and everything checked OK. Nice even frost pattern and 'beer can cold' return line. Fridge and Freezer temps matched the GE service lit.
I don't have a nitrogen setup since I'm only a hobbiest; but this was a small enough system that I was down to 500 microns in an hour, and stick with Stay-Brite #8 for my joints. I've heard of some guys using welding gas as a purge, but it's a little pricey. | ||
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Post# 1040869 , Reply# 25 8/6/2019 at 11:29 (1,718 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Late to the party... | ||
| Post# 1040930 , Reply# 26 8/7/2019 at 06:27 (1,717 days old) by funktionalart (Rison, AR) | ||
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| Post# 1041025 , Reply# 27 8/8/2019 at 08:28 (1,716 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA) | ||
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