Nate was here for a weekend visit, and damned if he didn't serve as a lucky charm yet again.   My FWB was over for a visit and told us he was helping a friend work an estate sale and that there was an old fridge there.  He knows nothing about vintage on this sort of thing, so we had no idea what it might be.

Yesterday he texted pictures, and confirmed it ran and cooled.  We were at the Re-Store and quickly bailed to go home, hop into the Baja, and drive over to check it out.  One picture captured the price, but even though we both agreed it looked like it read $15, that it couldn't be right.

Well, it was!  We loaded it up (along with a Eureka Roto-Matic Power Team vacuum with all attachments and extra bags -- $5) and headed home to start the cleaning process.  With two of us, it didn't take long to get it into presentable condition.  It runs quiet and is holding at around 37 degrees with cold control set exactly in the middle.

I've attached some pix.  It needs some parts, so if anyone has some laying around, hit me up!  Missing stuff includes the (presumably) glass shelf above the crispers and also (maybe?) above the fruit bin, and all of the hardware that suspends the crispers and allows them to glide.  One picture shows a couple of items that may be crisper-related.  It does have the original ice trays.

I'm going to fashion a clip of some kind to keep the two small flip-up shelves on the right hand side stationary.   The sagging issue might be resolved with a complete crisper assembly, but I don't know for sure.

Can anyone advise on what the metal bin is for?  Ice maybe?  That strikes me as a very sticky situation.  I'm currently using it in the freezer section to hold other stuff.  Ditto re: the plastic bin with the curved edge.  Where would it belong?

The funny part of this is that when my FWB called this morning and I expressed our mutual amazement that the fridge only cost $15, he said, "Do you know how hard it is to get rid of an old refrigerator?  How many people do you know who would pay more for a fridge like that?"  I jumped onto one of his favorite retorts:  "Have we met?"

Thanks David! 

I found an on-line image of a vintage Kelvinator ad that contained verbiage referencing their "unfailing" mechanical system.  That seems applicable to this old box.  The understated sound when running reminds me of the '49 Westinghouse I grew up with, and I love the vault-like sound the door makes when it closes as well.  This thing is a tank!

I have one that's a few years newer, but no where close to the same condition as yours.

 That aluminum tray may be for lunchmeat or similar. I'll have to look if mine has one. Here is one similar, but a bit different.

Thanks Eddie/Ken/Kenny! 

Gary, I'll start another thread here in Super about the Eureka and will post some pix.  I have a question or two.

Ken, there are two sort-of-nesting clear plastic trays below the freezer.   The top one has embossed lettering advising to install it one way for warm weather operation, and to turn it around (not upside down) for defrosting.  It's hard to figure out how the defrost water would migrate into a provided receptacle, but finding a fish poacher at a thrift store seems like a good idea from what I can see.  I think the metal bin might be able to collect defrost water if positioned perfectly under the openings in the plastic trays, but the plastic bin is way too small and narrow. 

There's also very little clearance between the bottom of the freezer and the trays.  If frost accumulates on the bottom, defrosting will be necessary fairly often, otherwise everything will get frozen and stuck.  The bottom tray is cracked in the middle up front, but snaps back together and could be easily epoxied.  It also appears that the bottom tray made contact with the light bulb at some point and melted a bit, likely during a defrost operation when the door was open for a long period and the tray made contact with a standard size bulb.  I've installed a small appliance bulb to make sure that doesn't happen again.

Additionally, I'd love to see pix of what's missing for shelf above the fruit bin and the crispers' rigging when you can find time to take them, Ken.

Eddie, both Nate and I thought 1952 was kind of early for decorator colors.  Nate wondered if there were NOS white refrigerators kicking around for a while at Kelvinator that ended up getting a repaint in color.  He also said it's easy to figure out the model year because Nash used it in the model number (at the beginning, I think -- in this case, 52), so that's how we arrived at 1952.  If it is a repaint, there's virtually no overspray.   The sides are smooth as glass.  The center top area of the door isn't as smooth, so it makes me wonder if just the door got yet another non-factory coat of yellow at a later date.

Interestingly, my parents got a free Kelvy back around 1970 for a spare fridge in the basement, and it was the same model as in Kenny's link above, and it was the same shade of yellow.

I love how this fridge runs so little and cools so well, and I'm thrilled to have more room in the main kitchen fridge, which had been jam packed since the Combination fried itself back in February.

Thanks guys.

I'm wondering if the 8 cf model tested in the CRB had a corner freezer unit instead of one across the top.  There isn't any shelf in close proximity below the full width freezer on my fridge.  I'll check for any indication that the plastic container belongs somewhere.  For now, I need the extra space without the plastic container until I devise a shelf for above the fruit freshener bin.

Growing up, we had a double-wide ice tray that came with the '49 Westinghouse, but it didn't have any levers to loosen the cubes, so it never got used.  The two single wide trays did have levers, and we used those regularly.

Ken, I'll extract the plastic trays and take a closer look.  We were in a hurry to get the fridge cleaned up and moved into place before dark, so I didn't pay much attention.  I think reversing the top tray for defrosting may serve as a way to divert water into the small drain hole, so I'll check that out.

John, thanks for posting the full report.  Very interesting!  If only CR still offered such detailed and unbiased information today, I might subscribe again.

I did check the plastic trays under the freezer and there is a drain hole at right rear of the bottom tray.  Reversing the top tray assures all water will be directed into the drain hole.  The problem is that the area of the bottom tray that was melted by the light bulb will allow defrost water to leak into the cabinet space.  For easy no-mess defrosting, it will need to be patched up.  The melted area is very uneven, so I'll need give some thought to the most effective approach for repairing it.  Maybe some Flex Tape? 

I think it's clear now that the plastic bin is in fact used to collect the defrost water.  I would only place it in the corner of the top rack when defrosting.  Otherwise, it takes up valuable space since two shelves are missing.  

I fashioned a clip that helps the two flip-up shelf sections align better.  I think what that shelf assembly needs is support from the bottom to prevent sagging.  Likely the shelf on top of the crispers provided an assist with some kind of post; perhaps it's the one pictured in the OP.   I doubt I'll ever find those components, but this fridge is an entertaining placeholder until a dream fridge with all of its parts turns up.

NP Ken.  I can relate.

What I'm noticing is that this fridge runs very cold.  I have the thermostat set all the way to the warmest end of "warmer" and the cup of water I have as my indicator is still holding steady at 37 degrees. 

I wonder if this could be caused by the fridge having sat for who knows how long and the concertina thing in the cold control has gotten stuck.  I turned the fridge off yesterday morning and left it off for about half an hour.  I slowly rotated the cold control until the compressor kicked in, and that is where it has been set for the past 24+ hours.  The temp held at 39 all day yesterday, but this morning it's back down to 37.

The cup of water is at the very front of the shelf, which is usually the warmest part of a refrigerator.  If it's 37 up front, it must be even colder at the back, where cold air from the freezer section drops through two elongated holes in the trays right below it.

I like my beer and soda cold, but I don't want them freezing solid once I crack one open.

For $15 this fridge is fine as a placeholder until something else comes along -- if the cold control has lost control.  At least if it's stuck, it's stuck at a setting I can accommodate if necessary.

Thanks Ken.  I'll check that out. 

The top tray does indicate that the holes should be to the rear for "warm weather operation," and while I don't know what they consider to be warm weather, we're getting into the cooler patterns that will remain until April or May, so turning that tray around may help.  I'll do that and report in after the change has had time to take effect.

It's been about six hours since I turned the tray around and the thermometer readout is up to 39.   By morning I should know whether I'll need to actually turn the temperature control more in the "colder" direction.

I suspect that reversing the tray is also helping to lower the temperature in the freezer.  I haven't checked how cold the freezer is yet.  I like that it has a door gasket to help maintain low temperature inside the freezing compartment, and perhaps reduce frost accumulation in there as well.

It seems to have maxed out at 40.

I moved the water cup to the rear of the fridge and it dropped one degree in about 30 minutes' time -- after the fridge had cycled once since relocation.  We'll see how much colder it gets, if at all, then adjust as needed for +/- 35 back there.  I noticed a big difference when I cracked open a 40-degree beer last night.  Not cold enough for me!

Ken, thanks for the excellent pictures!  It appears I have just the one surviving metal piece that belongs in the middle where the two crispers meet.  It's highly unlikely that I'll ever find that entire glass shelf assembly, so the crispers are being used for storage atop my Penncrest freezer in the basement.

Meanwhile, with the cold control dead in the middle, the water in the cup at the front of the lower shelf is holding in the 36-37 range.  In the morning, the readout indicates 36, and during the day it's 37.  I don't think I can do any better than that.  Now I'm anxious to see how cold it is in the freezer.

While I'm not super impressed with the build quality -- like no porcelain coating on the crispers, or the exterior aesthetics like the (IMO) unsightly piano hinges for the door, I'm very impressed with the durability of the mechanical system, particularly after reading the report about your fridge firing right up and cooling after sitting idle for a few years.  I have no idea when my fridge last ran before it was tested out at the estate sale where I got it, but I'm thinking it may have also sat idle for quite a while.

I haven't quite given up on getting my '57 GE Combination fixed, and if I manage to find someone to install a replacement compressor, I'll be happy to send you the plastic tray system for underneath the freezer if the Kelvinator's job as placeholder ever comes to an end.

My first thought was to have thick glass cut for the missing shelf.  I just haven't pursued it yet.